Discover the Deepest Hole in the U.S. (5 Times Deeper Than the Grand Canyon!)

Humans have raced to space, walked on the Moon, and engineered rovers to traverse Mars. But we have never been to the center of Earth. In fact, we have never made it past the Earth’s crust. That’s akin to never getting through the shell of an egg.

The Earth has four main layers: the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. If the core of our planet is 1,800 miles below our feet, and the moon is 240,000 miles away, why have we been able to reach the Moon but not the center of our own planet? 

Discover the answer to this peculiar question, along with the deepest hole in the U.S. and other large artificial holes on Earth.  

What Is the Deepest Hole in the U.S.?

The Bertha Rogers gas well is the deepest hole in the United States, reaching 31,441 feet below the Earth’s surface.

It was also the deepest hole in the world from 1974 to 1979. The Bertha Rogers hole is in Washita County, Oklahoma, which is in the western portion of the state. The Lone Star Producing Company began drilling the hole in 1972 on an oil-exploratory mission. 

Using a Loffland Brothers Rig 32, the largest land rig in the world at the time, the company began digging 60 feet into the ground each day.

They began in October 1972 and reached the maximum depth in April 1974, over a year and a half later. Drilling stopped when the rig hit liquid sulfur. It was estimated that the bottom of the hole contained 24,850 pounds per square inch of pressure and had a temperature of 475 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Bertha Rogers produced natural gas until 1997. The company spent seven million dollars to complete the well, and its gas yield was relatively small. As far as business ventures go, Bertha Rogers was somewhat disappointing. Shortly after production stopped, the well was sealed and abandoned. Bertha Rogers still holds the title of the deepest hole in the U.S.

Can We Dig to the Center of the Earth?

The Bertha Rogers hole reached nearly six miles beneath the ground. And while it didn’t bring the company much profit, it was still an accomplishment for mankind at the time. However, six miles barely scratches the surface when talking about reaching the center of the Earth. 

Even with the technology available to us today, we are unable to get even remotely close to the Earth’s inner core. Heat, radioactivity, and pressure make it impossible for even the sturdiest of rigs and probes to survive these extreme conditions. The inner core is a dense ball of iron with an estimated temperature of nearly 9,400 degrees Fahrenheit! Even the most heat-resistant material known to man can’t withstand temps that high.

Where Is Bertha Rogers Gas Well Located on a Map?

The Bertha Rogers gas well is located in Washita County, Oklahoma. Washita County is around 97 miles’ drive west of Oklahoma City. Its county seat is New Cordell.

What Is the Deepest Point in the Ocean?

In May 2021, researchers with the International Ocean Discovery Program drilled into the Pacific Ocean near the Japan Trench. The drill reached five miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean before pulling back sediment from the seabed. The previous record belonged to the Challenger expedition in 1978 that gathered samples from the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth.

What Is the Deepest Excavated Hole in the World?

The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest hole in the world. It is located in Russia and reaches a maximum depth of 40,230 feet. This manmade hole reached record-breaking depths in 1979 and was part of a scientific drilling expedition for the Soviet Union.

Read more about the deepest hole in the world and discover what scientists found as they reached the record level.

Kola Superdeep Borehole Sounds: Explained

You may have heard the story about the strange sounds recorded in the Kola Superdeep Borehole. Rumors began circulating during the late 1980s about the hole being the entrance to Hell, and the sounds they encountered were people screaming. 

However, this myth has been debunked. The urban legend is known as the “Well to Hell” and consists of a recording that loops together sound effects and parts of a 1972 horror movie called Baron Blood.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Motiongrapher/Shutterstock.com