China is drilling a borehole 10,000 meters deep

News Snapshot:

China is embarking on a journey into the earthy unknown. On Tuesday (May 30), the nation broke ground on its first borehole to tunnel 10,000 meters (32,808 feet) beneath the Earth’s crust, according to a Xinhua news report. The borehole is located in the Taklamakan Desert, part of the resource-rich Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region located in northwestern China. Advertisement The project will use equipment weighing 2,000 metric tons to break through 10 layers of continental strata, Xinhua reported. Eventually the borehole will burrow into the Cretaceous System, a stratified layer of rock that dates back to 145 million years ago....