The deepest hole in the world: This incredible animation shows how deep into the earth humans have dug

Have you ever wondered how deep is the deepest hole in the world? Known as the Kola Superdeep Borehole, the deepest manmade hole humans ever dug reaches approximately 7.5 miles below the Earth’s surface (or 12,262 meters), a depth that took about 20 years to reach. Located in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, the Kola Superdeep Borehole is the result of a scientific drilling project of the Soviet Union.

The project attempted to drill as deep as possible into the Earth’s crust. Drilling of the borehole began on 24 May 1970 using the Uralmash-4E, and later the Uralmash-15000 series drilling rig. Boreholes were drilled by branching from a central hole. The deepest, SG-3, reached 7.5 miles (12,262 meters; 40,230 ft) in 1989 and is the deepest artificial point on Earth.

If we were to journey to the center of the Earth, it would take a lot longer than you might expect. Here’s how deep humans have dug underground. Below is an incredible animation that shows how deep humans have dug. Hats off to the BusinessInsider team for putting this video together.