7 Amazing Holes

1. Kimberley Big Hole – South Africa

apparently the  largest ever hand-dug excavation in the world, this 1097 metre  deep mine yielded over 3 tons of diamonds before being closed in  1914.

the amount  of earth removed by workers is estimated to total 22.5 million  tons.

2. Glory Hole – Monticello Dam

a  glory hole is used when a dam is at full capacity and water  needs to be drained from the  resevoir.

this  is the glory hole belonging to monticello dam in california and it’s the  largest in the world, its size enabling it to consume 1440 cubic feet of water every second.

 

the  hole can be seen at the top left of the photo above. if you were  to jump in for some reason your slightly damp body would shoot  out near the bottom of the dam (below).  

3. Bingham  Canyon Mine, Utah

this  is supposedly the largest man-m ade excavation on earth.  extraction began in 1863 and still continues today, the pit  increasing in size constantly. in its current state the hole is  3/4 mile deep and 2.5 miles wide.  

4. Great Blue Hole, Belize

situated  60 miles off the mainland of belize is this  incredible. Geographical phenomenon known as a blue hole. there  are numerous blue holes around the world but none as stunning as  this one.

at  surface level the near perfectly ci rcular hole is 1/4 mile  wide, the depth in the middle reaching 145 metres. obviously the  hole is a huge hit with divers. read more  here.

5. Mirny Diamond Mine, Serbia

i’m  pretty sure most people have seen this one. it’s an absolute  beast and holds the title of largest open diamond mine in the  world. at 525 metres deep with a top diameter of 1200 metres  there’s even a no-fly zone above the hole due to a few  helicopters being sucked in.

the red  arrow in the photo above is pointing to a huge  truck.


6. Diavik Mine, Canada

this  incredible mine can be found 300km northeast of yellowknife in canada.

the mine  is so huge and the area so remote that it even has its own  airport with a runway large enough to accomodate a boeing 737.  it also looks equally as cool when the surrounding water is  frozen.

7. Sinkhole, Guatemala

a sinkhole  is caused when water (usually rainwater or sewage) is soaked up  by the earth on a large scale, resulting in the ground  collapsing.

these photos  are of a sinkhole which occured early this year in guatemala. the hole  swallowed a dozen homes and killed at least 3  people.

officials  blamed the monster of a hole on a ruptured sewage  pipe.