"Well to Hell": how the deepest well in the world was drilled in the Soviet Union

In 1858, in Woodingdean, England, plans were drawn up for a new building to be built and added to a nearby industrial school for troubled teenagers. The construction required a source of water, but it was decided that pumping water from different places was not profitable. The construction of Woodingdean Well began with the help of the inmates of the reformatory to further reduce costs. All work on digging the well was done by hand, and buckets of earth were raised to the surface with a winch.

Initially, it was planned to build a well 122 meters deep, the walls of which were to be lined with bricks. After two years of digging, the well was 134 meters below the ground (and slightly below sea level) and no water was found.

But that didn't work either. But they did not give up, since the source of life was extremely necessary, a titanic work was carried out and in the hope that water was already nearby somewhere. We began to deepen one of the horizontal tunnels.

This shaft was dug for another two years, while people worked 24 hours a day, digging and laying bricks. People worked in stuffy, cramped tunnels and candles were the only source of light. Finally, on March 16, 1862, the bricklayer noticed that the earth at the bottom was slowly beginning to rise. He and the other workers spent a tense 45 minutes climbing up from the well before the water rushed upwards, signaling success at last. After four years of hard digging, Woodingdeen's Well has reached a depth of 392 meters, making it the deepest hand-dug well in the world.

In the town of the same name Stolpen, located about 20 km east German city
Fortress Stolpen rises to basalt mountain Stolpen. The basalt mountain Stolpen is located on the border of the Margraviate of Meissen that existed in the Middle Ages and not far from the border of Germany with the country of the Czech Republic to the east of the large Yeysk river and at the same time at the crossroads of strategically important trade routes. The very first mention of the use of strategically favorable conditions to strengthen the borders of the country of Germany dates back to the beginning of the XII century. It was probably built at the same time. Stolpen fortress.

One of the main attractions of the German medieval Fortress Stolpen is its unique basalt well.

In view of strategic importance water supply Fortress Stolpen in 1608, the German elector Christian II ordered to dig a deep well. It took the Freiberg miners 22 years of hard work to complete this task in order for them to reach the aquifer. Working on the device of this well, the miners, on average, went deep every day only a distance of 1 cm due to the hardness of the basalt rock. The miners used this technology: they heated the basalt, then watered it cold water for it to crack. For this, 2 m³ of firewood was consumed every day. Thus, the cost of each two meters of the depth of the Stolpen well was about 140 guilders. It was a lot of money for those times. For comparison: the same dug two meters deep well cost only 32 guilders when building another deep well, which was completed in just 2.5 years with its depth of 152.5 meters.

Technical unaccounted for problems in the operation of the Stolpensky well led to the fact that the first water from this well was raised to the surface only after another 30 years, since only one cable weighed 175 kg. Due to the fact that another (external) water supply system worked much more economically, the Stolpen well was little used. In 1756 and in 1813, during the wars, the Stolpen well was filled up twice. And only in 1883 the well was cleaned again. Max Depth well in Fortress Stolpen reaches 82 meters, or according to other sources - 84.39 meters. Well in Fortress Stolpen recognized as the deepest well in the world, which is made in basalt rock. In addition to his famous well, Stolpen fortress it is also known for the fact that the Polish Countess Anna Constantia von Kozel was under arrest in it; in addition to this, two bishops of Meissen died in this fortress, who made Stolpen fortress his residence.

In the USSR, they loved the scale, but more, and this applied to literally everything. So one well was dug in the Union, which today bears the title of the deepest on earth. It is noteworthy that the well was not drilled for oil production or geological exploration, but purely for scientific research.

Tips used to drill a well.

The Kola super-deep well, or SG-3, is the deepest man-made well in the earth. Is in Murmansk region 10 kilometers from the city of Zapolyarny, in a western direction. The depth of the hole is 12,262 meters. Its diameter at the top is 92 centimeters. At the bottom - 21.5 centimeters. An important feature of the SG-3 is that, unlike any other wells for oil production or geological work, this one was drilled exclusively for scientific purposes.

The well was laid in 1970, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin. The chosen location is remarkable in that the well was drilled in outcropping volcanic rocks more than 3 billion years old. By the way, the age of the Earth is about 4.5 billion years. When mining, wells are rarely drilled deeper than two thousand meters.

The work went on for days on end.

Drilling began on May 24, 1970. Up to the mark of 7,000 meters, drilling proceeded easily and calmly, but after the head hit the less dense rocks, problems began. The process has slowed down considerably. Only on June 6, 1979 a new record was set - 9583 meters. It was previously installed in the US by oil producers. The mark of 12,066 meters was passed in 1983. The result was achieved by the International Geological Congress, which was held in Moscow. Subsequently, two accidents occurred at the complex.

Now the complex looks like this.

In 1997, several legends were circulated in the media at once that the Kola super-deep well was the real road to hell. One of these legends said that when the team lowered the microphone to a depth of several thousand meters, human screams, groans and screams were heard there.

Of course, there was nothing of the kind. If only because special equipment is used to record sound in a well at such a depth - but it did not record anything either. There were indeed several accidents at the complex, including an underground explosion during drilling, but geologists definitely did not disturb any underground “demons”.

The well itself is mothballed.

It is really important that 16 research laboratories worked at SG-3. At times Soviet Union domestic geologists were able to make many valuable discoveries and better understand how our planet works. The work at the site allowed to significantly improve the drilling technology. The scientists were also able to understand the local geological processes, received comprehensive data on the thermal regime of the bowels, underground gases and deep waters.

Unfortunately, today the Kola super-deep well is closed. The building of the complex has been deteriorating since the last laboratory was closed here in 2008, and all equipment was dismantled. The reason is simple - lack of funding. In 2010, the well was already mothballed. Now it is slowly but surely destroyed under the influence of natural processes.

The deepest well in the world is, of course, a tourist attraction and the pride of the country where it is located. However, the well is still dug for practical use, and its depth often becomes an important parameter for obtaining water of the desired quality, and its super-deep shaft becomes simply a necessity. Many legends and predictions are associated with wells, a special dream book is dedicated to them, and their depth and purity of water are considered important symbols.

The deepest well in the world was discovered in the town of Sant'Angelo Romano, located near Rome in Italy. Here, a cave with a diameter of about 20 m goes deep into the earth, and the recorded depth approaches 4000 m. The second well in this parameter (also formed by a cave) is located in Mexico (Zakaton).

Of course, when we talk about wells as sources of water, we mean, first of all, man-made structures. Among such creations of man, the deepest well in the world, dug by hand, stands out - this is a well in English city Woodingdean, whose depth is more than 390 m. Its construction took 4 years, and it was dug by the prisoners of the local prison. Of course, the purpose of the construction was not to set records - drinking water was needed.

The persistent search for water led to the emergence of a peculiar design of the well. At first, the shaft went down vertically, but at a depth of 134 m it turned out that there was no water. The next stage of construction was associated with digging horizontal passages in different directions, which also did not give the desired result.

After that, a vertical recess was continued in one of the horizontal branches. Only after two more years of hard work was the water-bearing layer reached, from which drinking water began to rise. Total depth was 392 m, which was a record for wells dug by hand.

What determines the depth of a well

When a man conceived to build his source drinking water, the depth of the well becomes a paramount issue. It is unlikely that there will be volunteers who want to break records - there is a specific task that must be solved in the best way. First of all, when planning a structure, a natural underground water source is sought. They can be such structures:

1. Ground water. The upper layer of such waters lies at a depth of 5-40 m, depending on the region and the specific terrain. Groundwater has a major drawback: it is not protected by a waterproof lens, and therefore the water quality may be poor.
2. interstratal waters. This layer is located between two aquicludes, which provides water filtration and protection from pollution. The depth of their occurrence is 16-85 m.
3. Artesian waters. Their occurrence depth is more than 30 m, and most often exceeds 100 m. Such deposits are under pressure and, when they are reached, form a fountain. The quality of this water is the best.

Thus, the question of how to determine the depth for a well is primarily related to which source is chosen, as well as at what specific depth it lies.

Methods for determining water occurrence

In order not to be in the place of those who were forced to dig wells for hundreds of meters, it is necessary to determine the place on the site where the occurrence of the water layer is most favorable. There are several methods for this:

1. Non-traditional folk ways: vine, twigs, frames (biolocation). Experts do not really trust this technique, but you can check it. True, in this way, even theoretically, it is only possible to establish the fact of the close location of the water reservoir.
2. Well depth map. In this way, determine the depth of the well, if statistics for a particular area are freely available. Such data are compiled everywhere in our time, but they give only an estimated picture, as, for example, in Fig. 1. (Map of the depths of the wells of the Moscow region)
3. Geophysical methods. The most common method is drilling an exploratory well. There are other special technologies, in particular, electrical sensing. Geophysical methods provide an accurate picture, but are quite expensive.

Technological characteristics

If the well is conceived as a source of the purest drinking water, then the best option- deepen the well shaft to artesian waters. The depth of the well to such a layer is likely to reach 80-100 m, and digging such a shaft by hand is very problematic. Most often, water from the interstratal layer is used as drinking water, which is quite satisfactory in terms of quality. With such construction, it will be necessary to deepen the mine by 20-30 m.

An economical option involves the removal of groundwater. Its quality (especially during floods) is not always satisfactory, but when boiled, the water becomes quite drinkable. The depth of such a well is 10-12 m. Thus, the definition of the problem by the depth of the well depends on which layer will be selected, and its value is in the range of 10-30 m.

Well deepening tasks

During the operation of wells, certain problems may arise: reservoir depletion, a decrease in flow rate, and water pollution. In other words, after some time, cleaning and deepening of the wells is required. If the volume of water supply does not decrease, but only its quality deteriorates, then the mine is cleaned, which is a rather laborious undertaking.

For this purpose, it is necessary to dismantle the ground part (roof, lifting mechanism) and pump out all the water. Next, you will have to go down and repair the joints between the crowns of logs or concrete rings. Repair any damage if necessary. The walls and bottom are cleaned of silt, soil, sand and other dirt using conventional hand tools (shovel, scrapers, spatula).

A decrease in the well flow rate even after cleaning the bottom filter indicates the depletion of the water reservoir. Under these conditions, the only way to extend the life of the source is to deepen the well with your own hands or with the involvement of specialists. You can deepen the mine in various ways:

1. Plastic pipe. For this technology, you will need a plastic pipe with a diameter of 85-95 mm, in the lower part of which holes with a diameter of 16-18 mm are drilled in an amount of at least 40 pieces. Inside, a metal mesh is strengthened and a pump is installed. Any hand-held drilling tool in the bottom part makes a hole with a depth of about 1 m. A pipe is installed in this hole, and then the pump is turned on. This method is called "deepening the well with a plastic pipe."
2. Undermining. With this method, it is possible to deepen the shaft with both log walls and concrete rings. Undermining is done manually, with a shovel, with a gradual, uniform upsetting of the entire wall column.
3. Deepening a well on a quicksand. At its core, a quicksand is a rather complex obstacle that arises when it is necessary to deepen the well shaft. It is a sandy layer with organic and silty components, which, when saturated with water, acquires greater mobility. Passing through such a layer is very dangerous due to the possibility of collapse. The easiest way to solve the problem is to deepen the winter time when the water freezes and the formation loses its fluidity. After it is insulated with a concrete ring with waterproofing, the danger will disappear - it will be possible to continue increasing the depth of the well.
4. Use of rings or pipes of smaller diameter. This is one of the simplest options when a shaft with a smaller diameter than the main well begins to form at the bottom.

What does it mean to dream about a well?

Many predictors consider dreams about wells to be prophetic, and therefore the corresponding dream book is popular. Most often, well dreams bring joy and income. The dream interpretation claims that a strong, high-quality well in a dream is a sign that you can expect gifts and an attentive attitude, and if it arose where it never stood, then there will definitely be cash receipts. In the case when such a structure is in a dream in its native area, prosperity and prosperity will come to the family.

The dream interpretation deciphers drinking clean water from a well as a harbinger of health and unexpected wealth. Worse when certain actions occur in a dream. For example, a dream book deciphers digging a well with your own hands as a sign of certain obstacles in business, and falling into it is really bad: failure, misfortune, despair. Of course, you can believe or not believe the predictions, but have your own well with clean water- this is exactly for good and convenience.

The wells are very great depths didn't dig for records. They got such dimensions as a result of a combination of circumstances, when they had to go so deep to reach the water source. When building wells, it is still better to determine the depth in advance, before construction begins.