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> hole that size Bingham Canyon is roughly cone shaped, not comparable to the rectangular prism described above. To achieve comparable volume of the rectangul

• cm2012 2y ago
  Quick calc: An 1000 yard deep cone with 35 mile diameter has 3x as much volume as a rectangle shaped hole 100 yards deep with 35 miles on each side.
• CRConrad 2y ago
  > To achieve comparable volume of the rectangular prism, you will need to dig a much deeper cone. Yeah, holes with sloped sides are easier to dig than vertical-walled ones. But you don't need to have them sloping all the way down to a deep point in the middle; for a shallow (comparatively, like this) hole you can just slope the walls down to the same flat bottom. At a 45-degree angle, you could have the bottom of your 100-yard-deep pit be 35 miles - 100 yards across, and the opening 35 miles + 100 yards. Which would be a pretty negligible difference on the surface -- and, I think, make the volume a tiny bit bigger.