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The Kola Superdeep Borehole, drilled by Soviet engineers from 1970 to 1994, reached a depth of 7.6 miles (12.3 km) and helped researchers discover that the granite rock layer extends deeper than previously thought. It also revealed two billion-year-old microscopic plankton fossils. The earth’s crust is about 25 miles (40 km) deep and temperatures at the boundary between the crust and mantle can reach 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius).
Humanity will probably never make a trip to the center of the Earth (sorry, Jules Verne), but at least we’ve dug a little way. From 1970 to 1994, Soviet engineers drilled into the earth’s crust, eventually reaching a depth of 7.6 miles (12.3 km) through a hole just 9 inches (23 cm) wide. That might not sound like much, considering the fact that the average distance from the planet’s core is 3,959 miles (6,371 km), but it’s pretty impressive from a scientific point of view. The Kola Superdeep Borehole has helped researchers discover that the granite rock layer extends much deeper into the earth’s crust than scientists previously theorized. The drilling project also demonstrated the existence of two billion-year-old microscopic plankton fossils deep within the earth’s crust. If you want to get a close look at the deepest man-made point on Earth – or, more accurately, the circular metal roof above it – you’ll need to travel some bumpy roads to the small village of Zapolyarny in the northwestern corner of Russia.
Crust, mantle, core:
At the boundary between the earth’s crust and the underlying mantle, temperatures can reach 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). (
Mars, Venus and Mercury also have outer crusts, but Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are mostly gases, and therefore do not have a hard outer shell.
The earth’s crust is about 25 miles (40 km) deep, making it about 1 percent of the planet’s entire volume.
