Drilling Straight Through South Dakota: Where Do You End Up?
Let's settle this once and for all. We've all had this discussion at some point in our lives and now there is a definitive answer.
If You Drilled Straight Down From South Dakota, Where Would You End Up?
And if you think you'll end up in China, you're wrong. Several thousand miles wrong.
Prepare yourself-We will be traveling through the Earth's Crust, Mantle, Outer Core, Inner Core, then back out the other side again.
A Starting Point - Pierre
So, if we want to be as accurate as possible, we'll need an exact starting point we can all agree on, right? How about the State Capital of Pierre? In fact, how about the lawn in front of the State Capitol Building in Pierre? You don't think Governor Rhoden will mind, do you?
Keep in mind, this isn't actually possible with any technology humans currently possess. In fact, the deepest we've ever drilled into the Earth was around 7.5 miles back in 1989, and that was the Russians.
Okay, we've done it! We've drilled straight through the earth and come out the other side! So, where the heck are we?
The middle of the Indian Ocean? Well, that's no fun... But wait! There's some land, nearby! Are those islands? And are those... Penguins? Hundreds of thousand of penguins?
Welcome to the Sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands-the closest landmass to you in the Indian Ocean. The Kerguelen's are a French territory, with no permanent residents; although between 45-100 scientists live there throughout the year. And with the scientists, millions of Penguins make these islands their home, while raising their young.
Here's what the islands look like without all the Penguins.
But how did we get here? Some might wonder how we ended up in the Sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean when we began in South Dakota?
It all comes down to the Earth's spherical shape and what is called an antipodal point. This quite literally means an area's exact opposite location on the globe. Since South Dakota is in the Northern and Western Hemisphere, its antipodal point is in the Eastern and Southern Hemisphere.
Most of the United States' antipodal points lie within the vast Indian Ocean. One of the only exceptions is Alaska, where a portion of the giant state's antipodal would be on the coast of Antarctica itself. Alaskans would be quite used to that, right?
Story Sources: Kola Superdeep Borehole Wikipedia Page, Kerguelen Islands Wikipedia Page
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