Top 10 Amazing Holes In The Earth..

When we think of holes, most of us think of digging a hole to plant a flower, drilling a hole to finish a construction project, or even hitting a hole in one at the next golf outing. There are places in the world, however, that give the word “hole” a whole new meaning. These holes are so large it would be hard to believe they were real if you weren’t able to see them.

Kimberley Big Hole, South Africa

Kimberly Big Hole, located in South Africa, was a diamond mine over 1,097 meters deep. The mine was closed in 1914 but was later reopened as a tourist attraction. The site is now a major tourist attraction, featuring a bar, small hotel, shops, and eateries - all in the same area that these things would have been located while the mine was active.

Workers will be dressed in period garb and visitors will have the opportunity to participate in a simulation complete with dynamite blasts and dusty explosions – all designed to give visitors a feel for what it was like living in mine town.

Glory Hole – Monticello Dam, California

The Monticello Dam, which holds back Lake Berryessa, features a morning glory spillway. This type of spillway is basically a giant cement funnel. Rather than spilling over the dam, high waters spill into the funnel. Morning glory spillways are also known as bell-mouth spillways.

The Monticello Dam’s spillway is otherwise (and affectionately) known as The Glory Hole. The glory hole is located about 200 feet from the dam. Water spills over its lip when the lake reaches 1,602,000 acre-feet. The funnel’s largest diameter is 72 feet and narrows to about 28 feet. It is designed to handle a maximum of 362,000 gallons of water per second, which occurs when the lake level rises to 15.5 feet above the level of the funnel. For more information about the glory hole (as well as photos of its construction in the 1950’s).

For obvious reasons, swimming near the glory hole is both prohibited and stupid. There are buoys strung across the lake to discourage boaters and swimmers from approaching the glory hole and the dam. Furthermore, the glory hole is well fenced off from the land.

Rumors claim that a woman jumped down the hole thinking she would come out the other end but never lived to tell the tale – I’ve seen no proof, so take that story or leave it.

Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah

The Bingham Canyon Mine (image center) is one of the largest open-pit mines in the world, measuring over 4 kilometers wide and 1,200 meters deep. Located about 30 kilometers southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, the mine exploits a porphyry copper deposit, a geological structure formed by crystal-rich magma moving upwards through pre-existing rock layers. As the magma cools and crystallizes, it forms an igneous rock with large crystals embedded in a fine-grained matrix, known as a porphyry. Hot fluids circulate through the magma and surrounding rocks via fractures, depositing copper-bearing and other minerals in spatial patterns that a geologist recognizes as a potential porphyry copper deposit.

Mining first began in Bingham Canyon in the late nineteenth century, when shafts were sunk to remove gold, silver, and lead deposits that played out by the early 1900s. It would take the advent of open-pit mining in 1899 to turn the Bingham copper deposit into an economically favorable resource. In open-pit mining, the copper-containing rocks are excavated from the surface downward in terraces. By the 1930s, open-pit mining had turned “the Hill” at Bingham Canyon into “the Pit.”

This astronaut photograph of the Bingham Canyon Mine shows parallel benches (stepped terraces) along the western pit face. These benches range from 16 to 25 meters high, and they provide access for equipment to work the rock face and maintaining the stability of the sloping pit walls. A dark, larger roadway is also visible directly below the benches. Brown to gray, flat-topped hills of gangue (waste rock) surround the pit, and are thrown into sharp relief by shadows and the oblique (from the side) viewing angle of the photograph. Reservoirs for leach water (associated with ore processing) are visible to the south of the city of Bingham Canyon.

Today’s copper market is booming thanks to global demands from construction, telecommunications, and electronics sectors of the economy. The Kennecott Utah Copper Company removes about half a million tons of material from the Bingham Canyon Mine every day for processing. In 1906, the rate of removal was 100,000 tons of material per month. Over 17 million tons of copper have been removed to date. Geological and engineering models suggest that the mine can be deepened by an additional 200 meters before extraction costs become greater than the value of the remaining copper.

The geological and chemical processes that produce copper deposits also produce minerals such as iron sulfides, which react with water or oxygen on the surface to produce colorful minerals.

Geologists can sometimes use satellite observations to identify places where the topography and the rock types on the surface suggest copper ores might be present below ground.

Great Blue Hole, Belize

The Great Blue Hole is a large underwater sinkhole off of the coast of Belize. It lies near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the mainland and Belize City. The hole is circular in shape, over 300 metres (984 ft) across and 120 metres (394 ft) deep. It was formed as a limestone cave system during the last ice age when sea levels were much lower. As the ocean began to rise again, the caves flooded, and the roof collapsed. It is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System.

On-shore caves of similar formation, as large collapsed sinkholes, are well known in Belize.

This site was made famous by Jacques-Yves Cousteau who declared it one of the top ten scuba diving sites in the world.

In 1971, he brought his ship, the Calypso, to the hole to chart its depths. Investigations by this expedition confirmed the hole’s origin as typical Karst limestone formations, formed before rises in sea level in at least four stages, leaving ledges at depths of 21, 49 and 91 meters (69, 161 and 299 ft). Stalactites were retrieved from submerged caves, confirming their previous formation above sea level. Some of these stalactites were also off-vertical by 10°-13° in a consistent orientation, thus indicating that there had also been some past geological shift and tilting of the underlying plateau, followed by a long period in the current plane.

This is a popular spot amongst recreational scuba divers, who are lured by the opportunity to dive in crystal clear water and meet several species of fish, including giant groupers, nurse sharks and several types of reef sharks, such as the Caribbean Reef Shark or the Blacktip Shark.

Other species of sharks, like the bull shark or hammerheads, have been reported there, but are not regular sightings. Usually, dive trips to the Great Blue Hole are full-day trips, which include one dive in the Blue Hole and two further dives in nearby reefs.

Mirny Diamond Mine, Serbia

The Mirny Diamond Mine is located in Eastern Serbia near a small town known as Mirna. The mine itself is over 525 meters deep and more than 125 kilometers in diameter.

The hole is so wide and so deep it is believed to cause a suction effect, which has caused several aircraft accidents in the area. The Mirny Diamond Mine is now considered a no fly zone!

I’m pretty sure most people have seen this one. It’s an absolute beast and holds the title of largest open diamond mines in the world. There’s even a no-fly zone above the hole due to a few helicopters having been sucked in.

Diavik Mine, Canada

The Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada is one of the most amazing diamond mines in the world. It is believed that within the mind are over 90 million carats worth of rough diamonds.

They’re contained within three main kimberlite pipes, otherwise known as ore deposits.

While the pipes at this mine are considered small, the quality of the diamonds contained within the pipes is above average. The mine is so large, in fact, the owners have built their own private airport at the site. Mining began at the site in 2003 and is expected to continue for at least 15-20 years, if not longer.

The Diavik Diamond Mine is a diamond mine in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, about 300 kilometres north of Yellowknife.

It has become an important part of the regional economy, employing 700, grossing C$100 million in sales, and producing 8 million carats or about 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) of diamonds annually. The area was surveyed in 1992 and construction began in 2001, with production commencing in January 2003.

Facts and Information about the Diavik Diamond Mine:

• The Diavik Diamond Mine Country is found in Canada. The second diamond mine in Canada, Diavik, began production in January 2003

• The Diavik Diamond Mine Location: Lac de Gras East Island, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and is 200km south of the Arctic circle and 20 kilometers distance from the Ekati diamond mine

• The Diavik Diamond Mine diamond source: Kimberlite volcanic pipes

• Formation of Diavik volcanic pipe: Shallow lakes formed in inactive volcanic craters

• Mining Method: Open pit mining

• The Diavik Diamond Mine diamond quality: Many large diamonds have been recovered

• Age of Diamonds: 45 to 62 million years old

• Age of the mine: The area was surveyed in 1992. Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. was created with head office in Yellowknife in December 1996

• Investors of Rio Tinto plc and Aber Diamond Corporation approve $1.3 billion expenditure to build  the mine in December 2000

• Construction began in 2001 and the first diamonds were produced in 2003

• The Diavik Mine projects an average of 7 - 8 million carats per year during the life of the mine

• Diamonds from the Diavik Mine are authenticated through the “CanadaMark” service

• Color of diamonds found at the Diavik Mine: Colorless, and very rarely, yellow.

• The Diavik Diamond Mine is joint owned by the Aber Diamond Corporation and Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Group

• Aber supplies a portion of its 40 per cent share of Diavik diamonds to Tiffany and Co. of New York

• The Canadian Diavik mine leads the world on environmental standards

Sinkhole in Guatamela

A giant sinkhole opened in Guatemala City on February 24, 2007 and swallowed about a dozen homes. Officials said the 100 meter deep (330 feet deep) sinkhole in a crowded neighborhood of poor, concrete homes was caused by recent rains and an underground sewage flow from a ruptured main.

City spokesman said the sewage main ruptured after becoming clogged, the city was aware of the blockage and the army had considered a controlled explosion to clear the pipe which carries both rainwater and sewage for much of the capital.

City residents also knew that something was wrong, they had been hearing noises and feeling tremors for about a month before the ground opened up.

From the air, the sinkhole looked like a bottomless black pit surrounded by concrete streets and tin-roofed shacks.

The pit was emitting foul odors, loud noises and tremors and shaking the surrounding ground. A rush of water could be heard from its depths and authorities feared it could widen or others could open up. 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes and police cordoned off a 500-yard security perimeter around the hole.

Chuquicamata, Chile

Chuquicamata, or “Chuqui” as it is more familiarly known, is a large open pit copper mine in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago.

For many years it was the mine with the largest annual production in the world but was recently overtaken by Minera Escondida. Nevertheless it remains the mine with by far the largest total production of approximately 29 million tonnes of copper to the end of 2007 (excluding Radomiro Tomić).

Despite over 90 years of intensive exploitation it remains one of the largest known copper resources. Its open pit is one of the largest at 4.3 km long, 3 km wide and over 850 m deep and its smelter and electrolytic refinery (855,000 tonnes p.a.) are amongst the world’s largest. Chuquicamata is also a significant producer of molybdenum.

Chuquicamata is now amalgamated with the operating Radomiro Tomic mine to the north (but still on the same mineralised system), the developing Alejandro Hales mine just to the south (formerly Mansa Mina, a slightly impolite description) and the recently discovered ‘Toki cluster’ of copper porphyries to form the Codelco Norte division of Codelco^.

Udachnaya Pipe, Russia

Udachnaya pipe is a diamond deposit in the Daldyn-Alakit kimberlite field in Sakha Republic, Russia. It is an open-pit mine, and is located just outside the Arctic circle at 66°26′N 112°19′E / 66.433, 112.317. Udachnaya was discovered on June 15, 1955, just two days after the discovery of the diamond pipe Mir by Soviet geologist Vladimir Shchukin and his team.

It is more than 600 metres deep. The nearby settlement of Udachny is named for the deposit.As of 2004^[update], Udachnaya pipe is controlled by Russian diamond company Alrosa, which plans to halt open-pit mining in favor of underground mining in 2010.

Darvaza Gas Crater, Turkmenistan

In 1971, geologists discovered a massive underground deposit of natural gas on this site. Whilst excavating the hole to tap the gas, the drilling rig collapsed leaving a massive hole. To prevent poisonous gasses from escaping, the hole was allowed to burn.

It continues to burn to this day and has done so without ceasing.

Derweze underground is rich in natural gas. In 1971, during a drilling, geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas. The ground on which the drilling rig was placed collapsed, leaving a large gaping hole exposed with a diameter of about 50-100 meters.

To avoid poisonous gases coming out of the hole, it was decided to let the gases burn. As of 2009, gases in the underground cavern are still burning without interruption. Locals have named the cavern The Door to Hell.