The biggest holes in the earth.

 By Veronika  Bocharova 11-J

Among the amazing natural phenomena should be certainly included periodically widened holes in the earth on different locations around the world.

The biggest examples are introduced below.


. The first one is obviously - Kimberlitovaya Tube "Peace" (Mir diamond pipe), Yakutia.

 Kimberlite pipe "Mir" - the quarry situated in the town of Mirny, Yakutia. The quarry has a depth of 525 m and a diameter of 1.2 km, it is one of the world's largest open-cast mines. Diamond kimberlite ore mining ceased in June 2001. Currently on  the board  of the quarry is underground mine ,which is under construction, created to work out the remaining stocks, which  excavation is unprofitable.

  The world's largest diamond mining quarry is amazing.   

Another similar phenomena is Kimberlite pipe "Big Hole", South Africa.

 Big Hole - huge inactive diamond mine in Kimberley (South Africa). People believe that this is the largest quarry, designed even without the use of technology. Currently, it is the main attraction of the city of Kimberley. Starting from 1866 to 1914 about 50 thousand miners dug a pit using picks and shovels, discovering at the same time 2,722 tons of diamonds (14.5 million carats). In the process of career development has been extracted 22.5 million tons of grunt. Exactly here such famous diamonds as "De Beers" (428.5 carats), blue-white "Porter Rhodes" (150 carats) were found orange-yellow " Tiffany "(128.5 carats). 

  At the site of the mine before (about 70 - 130 million years ago) was Vulcan .Amost hundred years ago - in 1914, developments in the "Big Hole" have been discontinued, but the gaping mouth of the tube remains to this day and now serves as tourist attraction , playing the role of the museum. And ... begins to create problems. There is a serious danger of crush not only of its edges but  of roads nearby.