In a region away from the cities of Russia, the cola super -deep drilling well protected by a metal cover covered with rusty and bolts may not look remarkable at first glance. However, this well was one of the most impressive human -made structures as a geological portal opened to the Earth’s shell during the Cold War decades. This unimaginable depth well is located in the northwest of Russia on the Kola Peninsula near the North Norwegian border.
The well consists of many drilling holes opened by branches from a central well. The deepest of these drilling holes, the so-called SG-3, goes down from the Earth’s shell to a depth of about 12.263 meters. However, despite this impressive depth, the diameter of the well is not wider than a dinner plate.
In other words, this well descends deeper than the Mariana Pit, which is deep and deepest 11.034 meters depth of the ocean as well as the overlapping of the Everest Mountain and Fuji Mountain.
Soviet Union and the US’s well war
Like many developments in the Cold War period, Coke super deep drilling well appeared as a result of a race between the US and the Soviet Union. The first Americans started this race. In the early 1960s, the United States aimed to start the Earth’s shell and take examples from the border between the shell and mantle by launching the Mohole Project. This project, which was initiated by drilling from a ship at the sea base near a volcanic island in the Mexican Pacific, failed due to scientific opposition, bad management and financial problems and was finally canceled.
In the Soviet Union, things progressed smoothly. The drilling began on May 24, 1970 and continued shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, until 1992. However, it was not only the shortage of political turmoil and cash that ended the project. According to BBC Future, the drilling stopped because the temperatures at the bottom of the well reach a much higher level than expected.
… and expected end
The project area is currently abandoned and consists of a bolted cover fixed to the ground with a ruined building. In 2008, Russia announced plans to destroy the well. According to some speculation, a part of the well may be filled with concrete.
Although it has not been used for a while, this project has achieved many new scientific findings during the summit period. Coke super -deep drilling well offered priceless information about the world’s geology and revealed the Earth’s approximately 1.4 billion year history.
One of the most amazing findings was that deep rocks were full of water. Until then, it was thought to be impossible because the rocks were sealed under an unauthorized layer. In addition, 14 fossilized microorganisms were found in the depths of the well and gold, copper and nickel deposits were discovered.
Coke super deep drilling well was a symbol of increasing scientific competition during the Cold War. In this period, when the US and the Soviet Union pushed boundaries to achieve technological and scientific superiority, the well was an indication of the ambition and determination of the Soviet Union to compete and even overcome the achievements of the West.
