Aug 2, 2011: Images of the world's 10 largest excavations and natural chasms

This whopping great open pit is the Kimberley Big Hole in South Africa, reputedly the largest hole excavated by hand in the world. Cecil Rhodes, the founder of De Beers, got his start by renting water pumps to miners during the diamond rush that started in 1871, when an 83.5 carat diamond was found on Colesburg Kopje (present day Kimberley). At its height, 50,000 diggers worked in the area. The mine was closed in 1914, after 22 million tons of earth and rock had been excavated. The mine also yielded 2722kgs (14.5m carats) of diamonds.