mirny diamond mine, siberia

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 below is pointing to a huge truck.

kimberley big hole - south africa

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

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

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 14′400 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).

bingham canyon mine, utah

this is supposedly the largest man-made
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.

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 circular 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.

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.

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.

a news report about the hole…