Hi there! Have you ever wondered about the deepest holes on Earth? Let’s dive into some amazing stories about these fascinating places!
Imagine a hot summer day in Texas. Wouldn’t it be cool to jump into a refreshing swimming hole? Texas is famous for these natural pools, and one of the most famous is called Jacob’s Well. It’s super deep, over 140 feet, and connected to an underground cave system. The water is nice and cool, perfect for a hot day!
Did you know some people dig holes just for fun? There’s a man named Ra Paulette who has been digging for over 25 years. But he’s not just digging any holes; he’s creating beautiful art in soft sandstone rock. Some of his creations are even homes with kitchens and bathrooms!
Long ago, people dug holes to live in. In Turkey, there’s an underground city called Derinkuyu. It’s as deep as a 20-story building and could hold 20,000 people! Although no one lives there now, it’s still an incredible place to explore.
Have you ever wondered how deep a hole can be dug by hand? The deepest one is called the Woodingdean Well, and it’s deeper than the Empire State Building is tall! People dug it to find water, and it took them four years to reach their goal.
Sometimes, people dig deep holes to find treasures like gold. In South Africa, there’s a mine called the Mponeng Gold Mine. It’s as deep as 10 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other! Miners work in very hot conditions to find gold there.
Some of the deepest holes were dug because people were curious about what’s inside the Earth. In Germany, scientists dug a hole called the KTB Borehole, trying to reach a layer called the mantle. They dug almost 30,000 feet deep, but didn’t quite make it.
The deepest hole ever dug is the Kola Borehole in Russia. It’s seven and a half miles deep, but only as wide as a dinner plate. Even though it’s super deep, it didn’t reach the Earth’s mantle because it’s too hot down there for normal drills.
Digging deep holes can be dangerous, so always be careful. Never dig deeper than you are tall, and have an adult nearby. There are so many mysteries in the world, and who knows? Maybe one day you’ll help solve them!
Thanks for exploring with us! Keep asking questions and stay curious. There are always new things to discover!
Build Your Own Miniature Underground City: Gather some modeling clay or playdough and create your own version of an underground city like Derinkuyu. Think about what rooms you might need if you lived underground. Would you have a kitchen, a bedroom, or a playroom? Once you’ve built your city, share it with your family and explain why you chose to include certain rooms.
Design a Swimming Hole: Imagine you could create your own swimming hole like Jacob’s Well. Draw a picture of what it would look like. Would it have a waterfall? Would there be fish swimming in it? Think about what makes a swimming hole fun and safe. Share your drawing with a friend and explain your design choices.
Treasure Hunt at Home: Pretend you are a miner looking for treasures. Ask an adult to hide small items around your home or yard. Use a simple map or clues to find these treasures. Once you’ve found them, think about how miners feel when they discover something valuable. Discuss with your family what treasures you would like to find if you were a miner.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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(Computer phone ringing) – Hi, it’s Doug. I recently moved to Austin, Texas, and there are so many new things I’m looking forward to checking out. I moved here during the summer when it’s really hot, so one thing I’m excited about is visiting a swimming hole. Texas is famous for its swimming holes, which are naturally occurring pools of water usually connected to an underground cave system.
Check this out! This swimming hole is called Jacob’s Well. It looks dark because the bottom is over 140 feet down, but I’ve heard that the water feels nice and cool on a hot day. Someone named Brayden has a question about holes in the earth. Let’s give Brayden a call now.
(Computer phone ringing) – Hi, Doug. – Hi, Brayden. – I have a question for you. What’s the deepest hole anyone has ever dug? – Ooh, that’s a great question! People have been digging holes for a long time for various reasons.
Some people dig holes just for fun, like a person named Ra Paulette, who has been digging holes for over 25 years. But not just any holes! He carves into a soft type of sandstone rock, creating beautiful works of art. The amazing thing is he digs them all by himself, without any machines. Some of them are even homes you can live in, complete with a bathroom and kitchen.
But people don’t only dig holes for fun. Thousands of years ago, people dug holes to live in, like the builders of a city in Turkey called Derinkuyu. It’s the deepest city in the world, located as deep in the ground as a 20-story skyscraper is tall. It could hold 20,000 people, but no one lives there now.
Now, even though Derinkuyu is pretty deep, it’s not as deep as this hole. This is the deepest hole anyone has ever dug by hand, without machines. It’s 1,285 feet deep, which is deeper than the Empire State Building is tall. It wasn’t easy to dig; the deeper the workers went, the darker it got, and they only had candles to light the way. They kept digging day and night for four years until they finally found what they were looking for: water.
The hole is called the Woodingdean Well, and it was dug to find drinking water. There’s actually a lot of water underground—100 times more than all the rivers and lakes combined. So where water is needed, people dig holes to try to find it.
But water isn’t the only thing you can find when you dig. Sometimes people dig holes to find valuable resources like silver or gold. For example, miners in South Africa are looking for gold in the Mponeng Gold Mine, the deepest mine in the world. It’s as deep as 10 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other. It takes miners over an hour on special elevators just to get to the bottom, and once they’re down there, it’s very hot—140 degrees, hotter than the hottest day ever recorded on Earth.
Before I go on, I’m curious: besides looking for water or valuable resources like gold, what are some other reasons you think people dig holes? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? Well, you may be surprised to hear that the deepest holes on Earth were dug because people were just curious. They wanted to know what they might find deep in the Earth. Like a group of scientists in Germany who were trying to reach a mysterious layer inside the Earth called the mantle. Using special drills, they dug a hole almost 30,000 feet deep. That’s deeper than Mount Everest is tall! It’s called the KTB Borehole and is the second deepest hole ever dug.
However, they weren’t able to reach the mantle. They did leave the hole open for people to visit, though, so if you’re ever in Germany, you can check it out.
If you think that’s deep, remember, that was the second deepest hole ever dug. This is the Kola Borehole in Russia, the deepest hole on Earth. Workers dug for over 20 years and reached seven and a half miles down, which is deeper than 30 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other. But don’t worry, it’s only about as wide as a dinner plate, so there’s no way you can fall in.
So, were they able to reach the mantle? Not even close. In fact, if the Earth were the size of an orange, the Kola Borehole wouldn’t even go past the peel. Why is that? Are the drills we use to dig just not long enough? While that makes sense, the issue isn’t the length of the drills; it’s the heat. The closer you get to the mantle, the hotter it gets. It’s so hot down there that normal drills can melt, and the rocks at that depth start to act almost like a thick, gooey liquid, just below the temperature of lava.
So it doesn’t look like we’ll be digging a hole all the way to the other side of the Earth anytime soon. Still, scientists are curious to figure out new ways to dig even deeper. If this interests you, maybe you’ll help figure it out one day.
But until then, it’s important to know that digging deep holes on your own can be dangerous. If you do try to dig, never dig a hole that’s deeper than you are, and make sure you always have an adult nearby to supervise.
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Brayden, for asking it! Now, for the next episode, I reached into our question jar and picked out three questions that we’re thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from, “How were Lego bricks invented?” “How does a compass know which way is north?” or “What is in food coloring?” So submit your vote when the video’s over. We want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week!
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