Kola Superdeep Borehole

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(Kol'skaya sverkhglubokaya skvazhina SG-3)

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Kola ultra-deep well is located in the Murmansk
region, 15 km east of the village of Nickel and 12 km
west of the city of Zapolyarny.
Its depth is 12,262 meters, the diameter of the upper
part is 92 centimeters, the diameter of the lower part is
21.5 centimeters.
It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the
deepest human intrusion into the Earth's crust.
Unlike the other largest ultra-deep wells, which were
drilled for practical purposes (for oil, gas or geological
exploration), the Kola well was drilled exclusively for
scientific research purposes.

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The well was laid in 1970 in honor of the 100th anniversary of
the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Initially, it had the status of a
secret object, since it was located in the border zone, next to
strategic mineral deposits, and in addition, the USSR protected
its scientific priority in the study of the lithosphere.
In the early 1980s, the Kola superdeep passed 11,022 meters,
bypassing the Mariana Trench. In September 1984, a depth of
12,066 meters was reached for the first time, but the drill string
broke off.
After 1991, the research center began to decline. Drilling was
officially stopped in 1992.
By 1995, funding for the work was almost completely stopped,
and in 2008 the well was liquidated "due to unprofitability".

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As a result of ultra-deep drilling on the Kola Peninsula,
many valuable information about the earth's interior
was obtained, the simple two-layer structure of the
Earth was refuted, and it was found that the
temperature in the depth of the earth's crust is
completely different from what scientists expected.
It turned out that at a depth of five kilometers, it is 75
degrees Celsius, at seven – it reaches 120 degrees, and
at a depth of 12 kilometers it reaches 220 degrees.

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The Kola ultra-deep well was the source of the urban
legend of the "well to hell". Legend has it that when
the well was drilled to a depth of 14.5 km, the drillers
stumbled upon voids, lowered down a microphone
capable of operating at extremely high temperatures,
and other sensors. The temperature inside reached
1100 °C – it was the heat of the fire chambers, from
which, allegedly, you could hear human screams.
Now the well is preserved, and its mouth is closed by a
steel plate.

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