Big Hole, Diamond mine in Kimberley, South Africa.
Big Hole is a former diamond mine in Kimberley, South Africa, that opens as a vast pit in the city center. The rim sits level with the surrounding streets, and water now fills the bottom, covering the lowest level.
The pit began in 1871 when miners started removing diamonds from the ground, and surface work continued until 1914. After open-pit operations ended, companies carried on extraction below ground until activities stopped in the following decades.
The museum nearby displays tools and everyday objects from the time when miners from Europe, Africa and other continents worked side by side. Visitors can walk through exhibition rooms that show how people lived and organized their shifts during that period.
Access is through an entrance that leads to the museum and viewing platform where you can look down into the pit. Visitors planning a trip should arrive in the morning when fewer people are around and the light shows the depth more clearly.
The walls of the pit show different rock layers that were exposed during excavation and remain visible today. Photographers often use the hours after sunrise to capture the colors and textures of the rock before the sun climbs too high.
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