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Explore with us the mystical islands and the deepest holes
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00:01Whitting-Dane Water Well
00:02It may have the title of the deepest hand-dug well in the world,
00:07but at first sight, it's just a small covered well you wouldn't even assume that is there.
00:12It's located somewhere close to Brighton and Hove, England.
00:16Despite its inconspicuous appearance, it's as deep as the Empire State Building is tall,
00:221,280 feet straight down into the dark, wet ground.
00:27Hey, toss in a penny and make a wish.
00:29Wait, it's not a wishing well. Never mind.
00:32In the middle of the 19th century, one powerful corporation wanted to build a new workhouse in the area
00:38that today is known as Elm Grove.
00:41They decided to add it to an industrial school for juveniles as well.
00:45It was established for those whose parents were living in the local workhouse,
00:50and the aim was to teach the youth the habits of industry.
00:54The corporation wanted to provide water for their new institution,
00:57so they dug a new well.
00:59It was too expensive to bring piped water in from the nearby waterworks.
01:04They first wanted to make a six-feet-wide brick-lined well down to about 400 feet.
01:09That's where they expected to find the subterranean water table.
01:13They were digging for two years, and the shaft went past those depths,
01:17but they still didn't find any water.
01:19They thought they somehow missed the water source, so they started digging horizontally in four different directions.
01:26Even after many hours of work and multiple tunnels in different directions, still nothing.
01:32For the next two years, they didn't stop digging.
01:36Workers would descend rickety ladders hundreds of feet below the surface,
01:40illuminated just by the light of candles.
01:42They only used pan tools to load their buckets with soil and pass them up to the surface.
01:48Then they would use bricks other workers would send down from above to line the narrow interior.
01:54The heat down there was intense.
01:56They were able to breathe thanks to steam engines that would pump air through pipes down below.
02:02After four years of digging, they got to a depth of 1,285 feet.
02:08850 feet of that was below sea level.
02:11At that point, the water finally broke through the surface.
02:14But as it was coming up, the workers were trying to escape it.
02:18It took them 45 minutes to scramble up such a deep shaft.
02:22It was expensive, and the company put enormous effort into this well.
02:27And they used it for just four years.
02:29They abandoned the well in favor of some other more practical one.
02:33A two-foot flint and brick wall is surrounding Wooding Ding water well now.
02:38There's also a metal lid covering its top so people wouldn't fall in.
02:43It would certainly feel like a journey to the center of the earth, don't you think?
02:47It took a research team 20 years to drill down the Kola Superdeep borehole.
02:53This one is over 40,000 feet deep.
02:56And despite getting so deep, they never actually reached the mantle.
03:00The drill bit was just around one-third of the total way through the crust to the mantle.
03:05The heat was insane, which made their work extra hard.
03:09Also, their drill got stuck in a rock.
03:11So the whole project was finally abandoned in 1989.
03:16The Kola Peninsula is located deep in the Arctic Circle.
03:20Forests, lakes, snow, and mysterious mists
03:24kind of turn this area into a scene from a fairy tale.
03:27But in the middle of one crumbling building there,
03:31you can see a heavy, rusty metal cap.
03:34It's embedded in the concrete floor,
03:36as well as secured by a thick, rusty ring of metal bolts.
03:40And that's the deepest artificial point on our planet.
03:44Bingham Canyon Mine, near Salt Lake City, Utah, is a cool one, too.
03:49More people know it as the Kennecott Copper Mine.
03:51This mine spans three square miles
03:55and produces more copper than all other mines have in our world's history.
03:59It was opened at the beginning of the 20th century.
04:02It's owned by a large multinational corporation at the moment.
04:06Back in 2010, they even declared they'd like to dig the mine further
04:11and deepen it for another 300 feet.
04:14Bingham Canyon Mine has so many roads.
04:17If you could stretch them out into one large road,
04:20it would go from Salt Lake City all the way to Denver.
04:23There was a massive landslide in April 2013 in this area.
04:27So strong, it even caused its own earthquakes.
04:31This is the world's deepest open-pit mine.
04:34So deep, astronauts can see it from orbit.
04:38Humans first started digging towards the planet's mantle in the 1960s.
04:42That's when American scientists began with something they named Project Mohol.
04:48The project got its name after a man who found the boundary
04:51between the Earth's mantle and crust.
04:53The team didn't drill on land, but on a boat in the ocean.
04:58The crust is actually thinner on the ocean floor,
05:01although the difficult part is that the crust is the thinnest
05:04in areas where the ocean is deepest.
05:06Go figure.
05:07The researchers were drilling next to the island of Guadalupe,
05:11which is off the west coast of Mexico.
05:14There's a pit of impressive size and an amazing background story.
05:19One man in a drought-ridden part of India has really done the impossible.
05:24He dug a well in only 40 days.
05:26His wife wasn't allowed to draw water from a well that was in the village
05:30because of the cast they belonged to.
05:33The man decided to dig a well by himself
05:36and give a source of water both to his family and the community.
05:39Nobody believed it was possible,
05:42but he took his shovel and kept digging day after day
05:45before going to work every morning
05:47and later in the evening after he would finish the work.
05:51Forty days later, he finally got to the water
05:54and proved that some people can sometimes
05:56truly stretch their mental and physical limits
05:59to achieve what's impossible.
06:02Now, imagine how difficult it is to dig a mine by hand.
06:06And we're talking about a really big hole mine.
06:09They would mine diamonds without any machinery.
06:12You can find such a case in South Africa in the province of Kimberley.
06:17A geological pipe there was formed
06:19after a breakthrough of gases in the crust of our planet.
06:22The pipe was named Kimberlite after the location,
06:26just like others in that area.
06:28It's in the shape of a pretty large carat.
06:30You can see its upper conical part that narrows as it goes deeper,
06:35turning into a vein in the end.
06:371870 was the time when the diamond fever began in the city of Kimberley.
06:42Nearly 50,000 people were mining
06:45and extracting more than 20 million tons of soil
06:48using only their picks and shovels.
06:50The development area was close to 2 million square feet.
06:54They dug up to 787 feet from 1871 to 1914
07:00and extracted enormous amounts of diamonds
07:03worth more than a billion dollars.
07:06This mine has become an artificial lake.
07:10Today, it's the most picturesque landmark in this province.
07:14Darvaza Crater is one of the world's most unique spots you can find.
07:19It's a burning hole people actually made more than 40 years ago.
07:23This gaping crater opened up in the desert of Turkmenistan.
07:27It was most likely a consequence of a drilling mishap.
07:31Geologists then set it on fire on purpose.
07:34They were afraid all those nauseous gases
07:37would have a negative impact on the environment.
07:39So, they wanted to burn them off.
07:42They also wanted to prevent the spread of methane gas
07:45after the ground below the drilling rig collapsed into a cavern.
07:49So, now we have a 98-foot-deep hole.
07:52They thought the crater would burn for only a week.
07:55Oops, but they were wrong.
07:57Thing is, the crater's been burning for over 40 years now.
08:01Actually, it's not that bad.
08:03The hole on fire eventually turned into a quite popular spot
08:07that attracts many tourists.
08:09This site looks like the portal to the Earth's core.
08:12Hey, maybe you have some marshmallows we can roast?
08:17You're on a ship when you notice some water foaming nearby.
08:21It looks as if a huge vessel just sunk there.
08:23But you don't see any debris.
08:26Steam is rising over the water,
08:28and large bubbles appear on the surface.
08:32In a couple of minutes,
08:33you see a small piece of land appear right in front of your eyes.
08:36It's releasing flames and lava.
08:39Millions of gallons of water evaporate in the mouth of the volcano.
08:46Frightened, you get away from this place.
08:48For the next three years,
08:50the small island covered with volcanoes will slowly be emerging from the water.
08:54Every day, it'll erupt and fill the sky with black ash.
08:58When the ash settles,
08:59it'll get mixed with the water and form the shore.
09:05This eruption lasted three years.
09:08And finally, by 1967,
09:10the island of Surtsey on the southern coast of Iceland was fully formed.
09:14Surtsey is one of the few islands that have emerged
09:17from the depths to the surface of the sea.
09:22But it's almost impossible to get here.
09:24The island has a unique ecological system.
09:27And scientists want to find out
09:29how it's going to develop without human influence.
09:32Only a few people from all over the world
09:34have permission to walk around on the island.
09:39For many decades,
09:41people's minds have been occupied with the mystery of Easter Island,
09:45a remote piece of volcanic soil
09:47far away in the Pacific Ocean.
09:49But our planet hosts thousands of such lonely islands.
09:53What is so peculiar about this one?
09:57The mystery is concealed not in the island itself,
10:00but giant stone statues covering it.
10:03Who created the world-famous huge stone heads?
10:06Did they serve any specific purpose?
10:10Rapa Nui,
10:12which is the name given to Easter Island by its first inhabitants,
10:15is the territory of Chile
10:16and is situated in the southern Pacific Ocean.
10:19And it is so far away that you can easily consider it
10:22one of the most distant places on the world map.
10:28The only transport that can take you there is a plane.
10:31If you want to get to this destination point,
10:33you will need to spend five hours on board
10:35flying from Santiago to Easter Island.
10:40The statues carry the name Moai.
10:43They started to be carved at some point
10:46between the 13th and 15th centuries.
10:48Rapa Nui statues are easily recognized
10:51thanks to their peculiar faces.
10:53They have long noses,
10:54wide chins,
10:55rectangular ears,
10:57heavy brows,
10:58and deeply set eyes.
10:59It is quite curious that the nostrils curl
11:02in the way fish hooks do.
11:06Firstly,
11:07people thought that the statues
11:08were made up only by their heads.
11:10But surprisingly,
11:11it turned out that there are full bodies
11:13that are attached to the heads.
11:15It was discovered during excavations in May 2012.
11:18The bodies were just hidden underground.
11:23Still, the heads of the statues,
11:25visible from the first sight,
11:27make up three-eighths of each statue's size.
11:30As for the arms,
11:31they were carved against the bodies,
11:33resting in different positions.
11:37Most statues,
11:38834 out of 887,
11:41were carved from the material called tuff,
11:44which is, in fact,
11:45compressed volcanic ash.
11:49Curiously,
11:50all the statues except one
11:52faced inland.
11:53It means their backs
11:54are turned to the ocean.
11:55Perhaps the reason for that
11:57was the belief that the statues
11:58were the protectors of the villagers.
12:00That's why they overlooked the settlement.
12:02The only statues
12:03not fitting into this pattern
12:05can be found at Ahu Akivi,
12:07a sacred place for the people of Rapa Nui.
12:12People keep wondering
12:13how the statues of such a huge weight
12:15have been distributed
12:16all around the island.
12:18What's more,
12:19in 1722,
12:21visitors found a small local population
12:23between 1,500 and 3,000 people.
12:26How could it correlate
12:27with the hundreds of statues on the island?
12:32The mystery surrounding the way Rapa Nui people
12:34could move the statues
12:35challenged the researchers
12:37not letting them back off.
12:39In the 1980s,
12:40some of them decided
12:41to recreate a statue
12:42and check the possibility
12:43of moving it around.
12:47Several decades passed
12:48and another group
12:49of American scientists
12:50proved that the islanders
12:52could tie ropes
12:52encircling the huge statues
12:54and move them
12:55with a walking motion.
12:56They backed up their theory
12:58with practice,
12:59moving a full-size replica
13:00using this method.
13:03Actually,
13:04their idea can explain
13:06why Rapa Nui folklore
13:07states that the statues
13:08were walking
13:09with the help of magic.
13:11It explains the way
13:12the statues were transported
13:13to their designated places.
13:18Our next stop is Brazil,
13:20far from the center of Sao Paulo.
13:22That's where you can find
13:23an island that's almost impossible
13:25to get to.
13:25But if you succeed,
13:26you're unlikely to leave it.
13:28It's called Snake Island.
13:32There's no other place
13:33on the planet
13:33with such a high concentration
13:35of snakes.
13:36They are the only owners
13:37of the island
13:38since no other animals
13:39can survive among them.
13:43The golden lancehead.
13:44They are one of the most
13:46venomous species
13:46in the world.
13:47Their venom is very powerful
13:49and fast-acting.
13:50If you let this reptile
13:51bite a raw piece of meat,
13:53the place around the bite
13:54will start to melt.
13:56Count me out.
13:59Imagine you're on this island
14:00and the snakes
14:01don't bite you.
14:02The most interesting thing
14:03you can find there
14:04is an old lighthouse.
14:06It's hidden
14:06in the dense foliage
14:07of trees.
14:08People lived on the island
14:09a long time ago.
14:11Rumor has it
14:11that the last keepers
14:12were in the lighthouse
14:13when the snakes broke in.
14:15No one has lived there
14:16ever since.
14:20How these unique snakes
14:21appeared on the island
14:22is still a mystery.
14:23The most popular legend
14:24claims that a pirate
14:25came there a long time ago.
14:27He hid a treasure
14:28somewhere on the island.
14:30Then,
14:30he left the snakes
14:31in the spot
14:32where the chest was hidden.
14:35The pirate hoped
14:36the reptiles
14:36would scare people away
14:37from his gold coins
14:38and jewelry.
14:39Since then,
14:40a few snakes
14:40have managed to increase
14:41their population
14:42thousands of times
14:43and some of them
14:45reportedly
14:45are wearing jewelry.
14:47No, not really.
14:50Even if you wanted
14:51to get to the island
14:52for some reason,
14:53the patrol services
14:54would stop you.
14:55Only a few people
14:56in special protective suits
14:58can get there
14:58to conduct
14:59scientific research.
15:03Susie gets here
15:04on a small boat.
15:06As soon as she steps
15:06on the ground,
15:07she turns on
15:08the live broadcast
15:08on her phone.
15:09She records dolls
15:11hanging on trees
15:12all over the island.
15:13They have different clothes,
15:15different sizes,
15:15and faces.
15:17There are about
15:17a dozen creepy toys
15:19on every tree.
15:21Rain and hot sun
15:23deform the toy's faces.
15:24They are covered
15:25with moss and greenery
15:26and have taken
15:27eerily scary forms.
15:29There are rumors
15:30they come to life
15:31at night.
15:32Want to check?
15:33One of the subscribers
15:34writes,
15:34No problem.
15:35Susie agrees.
15:39The sun is going
15:40down below the horizon.
15:41Darkness falls
15:42on the forest.
15:43Susie is wandering
15:44among the trees.
15:45The moon lights her way.
15:47She makes a fire
15:48to get warm.
15:49At this moment,
15:50she hears a strange sound.
15:51She notices some movement
15:53out of the corner
15:53of her eye.
15:56The phone turns off.
15:58Susie looks up
15:59and sees one of the dolls,
16:00lit up by the flames,
16:02is turning its head
16:03in her direction.
16:04Susie screams
16:05and runs away
16:05from this place.
16:07Of course,
16:08the doll didn't move.
16:10You can notice
16:10a little bird
16:11sitting behind
16:11the toy's head.
16:14A few days later,
16:16Susie found out
16:16that one of the
16:17Mexico City locals
16:18had moved to the island
16:19in the 50s
16:20and filled it with toys.
16:21He collected dolls
16:22from landfills
16:23and canals
16:24around the island.
16:25He spent several days
16:26decorating every tree.
16:30In the beginning,
16:31it looked strange
16:32and exciting
16:33for tourists.
16:34Then,
16:34as the dolls
16:35began to age
16:36and rot,
16:36this place
16:37became more attractive
16:38for people.
16:39There are several legends
16:40about the reasons
16:41for his obsession.
16:42Okay,
16:43Susie's had enough
16:43of these mysteries
16:44and creepy places.
16:45Now,
16:46she wants to admire
16:47something majestic
16:47that was created
16:48by nature.
16:51She arrives
16:52in California
16:53Sequoia National Park
16:54where the most
16:55giant trees
16:56in the world grow.
16:57She's looking
16:58with an open mouth
16:59at the biggest tree
17:00in the world,
17:00a giant sequoia.
17:02Its name is
17:03General Sherman
17:04and it's about
17:052,000 years old.
17:08The volume
17:09of this tree
17:10is almost half
17:11the size
17:11of an Olympic
17:12swimming pool.
17:13Despite its age,
17:14it's not the oldest one.
17:15There are redwoods
17:16in the park
17:17that appeared
17:173,000 years ago.
17:20And the tallest tree
17:22in the world
17:22grows here
17:23in California.
17:24It's a redwood
17:25that belongs
17:26to the sequoia family.
17:27It's called Hyperion.
17:30This is one-third
17:31of the Eiffel Tower's height.
17:33Just imagine
17:34what kind of view
17:35you can see
17:35from the tree's top.
17:39Now,
17:40Susie is on the island
17:41of Madagascar.
17:42She's going to see
17:43unique baobab trees.
17:45They look like
17:46something has ripped
17:47them out of the ground,
17:48turned them upside down
17:49and shove them back in.
17:52Baobabs are some
17:53of the most beautiful
17:54trees in the world.
17:55Most of them are here
17:56in the alley of baobabs.
17:58But you can also find them
17:59in Australia
18:00and South Africa.
18:03Their tree trunks
18:04resemble sponges.
18:05They expand
18:06and absorb moisture
18:07during the rainy season.
18:09Elephants like to drink it.
18:10They tear off
18:11and chew the trunk's parts
18:13to quench their thirst.
18:16At night,
18:17flowers bloom
18:18on the baobabs.
18:19They smell like
18:20sour milk
18:21and attract bass.
18:22But the most
18:23interesting thing
18:24is that the baobab
18:25doesn't dry out
18:26and doesn't fall
18:27like other trees
18:28after the end of its life.
18:29It crumbles,
18:31settles,
18:31and leaves a pile
18:32of pieces
18:33on the ground.
18:34let's get out.
18:34Let's get out.
18:34Let's get out.
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