Humans have a fascination with incredibly tall things. Skyscrapers, waterfalls, and even mountains… Have you ever thought about the deepest underground structures in the world?
Humans dig incredibly far underground for a few different reasons. You’ve got your basics like swimming pools and subway stations… but did you know there are laboratories more than 2000 meters underground?
What is the deepest underground structure in the world?
Let’s reduce this question to manmade structures, which eliminates caves. Humans also dig really deep into the earth for minerals, but for this question lets eliminate mines as well. The two leading contenders that stand above all the others are the Gotthard Base Tunnel, a railway tunnel that is 2,450 meters underground, and the China Jinping Underground Laboratory which is 2,400 meters underground.
What is the deepest underground mine in the world?
It’s no surprise that all of the deepest mines in the world are located in South Africa, one of the mining capitals of the world. The 5 deepest mines, which range from 3,380 meters to 4,000 meters are located across South Africa and mostly serve the purpose of mining for gold.
What is the deepest swimming pool?
The deepest swimming pool in terms of how far underground it goes is the Blue Abyss in Colchester U.K at 50 meters in depth.
More deep things?
There are other structures that make sense to build underground aside from your basic pools and laboratories.
- The deepest basement is the Sydney Opera House’s parking garage at more than 37 meters below ground.
- The deepest hotel room is 155 meters below ground.
- The deepest auditorium is 55 meters underground.
- The deepest particle accelerator is 175 meters below ground.
- The deepest artificial point is 12,262 meters below ground! The Kola Superdeep Borehole was an attempt to drill as deep as possible into the earth’s crust.
