Yakutia. Mirny. Kimberlite pipe (Diamond mining)

'The 7 Wonders of Russia' contest nominee: Russia. Yakutia. Mirny. Kimberlite pipe. Diamond open pit.The "peace pipe". It's depth is more than 500 meters. It's diameter is more than 1 kilometer. World's largest diamond mine: http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2005/08/worlds-largest-diamond-mine.html The local Yakut (Sakha) people called this remote area of the taiga "wretched" and shunned it for centuries, until forty five years ago, a telegram sent to Moscow stated: "The peace pipe has been smoked." The telegram contained a coded message, meaning that a kimberlite pipe was discovered. In a few years, more than five hundred kimberlites were discovered in the area, and a town of Mirny (literally: Peaceful) was founded in 1956 to become the center of the Russian diamond-mining industry.