Шахта Шергина, Research borehole in Yakutsk, Russia.
Shergin Shaft is a research borehole in Yakutsk that descends 116.6 meters into permafrost with an additional 24-meter borehole at its bottom. The structure uses larch wood reinforcements extending to 52 meters depth to stabilize the entire installation.
Merchant Fedor Shergin built this borehole between 1827 and 1837 while originally searching for water beneath the surface. The work led to the first scientific temperature measurements within permafrost.
The shaft stands as a monument to early scientific study of permafrost in Siberia and shows how researchers once tried to understand frozen ground. Visitors can see the wooden reinforcements extending to great depths today and understand the challenges of this pioneer work.
The entrance is located at 18 Kulakovsky Street in Yakutsk and is marked by a wooden hatch. Plan your visit with warm shoes, as it becomes significantly colder below the surface.
This borehole was not created with scientific intent but from a merchant's search for water, making it an accidental breakthrough in permafrost research. The measurements taken here were so significant that they founded an entirely new field of science.
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