# Which is closer to the Earth’s center… **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609 "2024-03-30T18:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/1 "2024-03-30T18:07:35Z")
…the Kola Borehole or the Challenger Deep? (Question on behalf of Iris, age 10. I can’t figure it out.) ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/2 "2024-03-30T18:14:41Z")
I believe the Kola Borehole is deeper by 1,300 meters than The Challenger Deep according to [this](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3728326). One is measured from ground level and the other is measured from sea level. I assume that makes the hole closer to the earth’s core/center than the deep. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/3 "2024-03-30T18:17:35Z")
Definitely the Kola Borehole. Challenger Deep is near the equator, while Kola Borehole is near the pole. In fact, the surface at Kola is almost certainly closer to the center of the Earth than the bottom of the Challenger Deep. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/4 "2024-03-30T18:21:03Z")
seems the Kola wins. The Deep is 11K from sea level. The Borehole is 12K in depth from the surface. Looking up the elevation of a town near the Borehole, No idea how near. it may be around 5 m above sea level. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/5 "2024-03-30T18:26:51Z")
AFAICT, the question is not which is deeper from the top, but which hole’s bottom is nearer the earth’s center. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/6 "2024-03-30T18:37:08Z")
Yes. Chronos took that into account, as I did not. Works both ways as is. But not if their positions were reversed. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/7 "2024-03-30T18:55:50Z")
From National Geographic - . Earth’s diameter at the Equator is about 12,756 kilometers (7,926 miles). At the poles, the diameter is about 12,714 kilometers (7,900 miles). Earth’s equatorial bulge is about **43 kilometers (27 miles)**. The Kola borehole, being at the very north end of European Russia, is pretty much the winner. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/8 "2024-03-30T21:43:41Z")
Looking up the Challenger Deep led me to this fun site: [The Deep Sea](https://neal.fun/deep-sea/) Happy scrolling. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/9 "2024-03-30T21:48:35Z")
While we’re at it with the bulge, the head of the Mississippi River is closer to the center of the Earth than the mouth is. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/10 "2024-03-30T22:26:21Z")
Paris (at the surface) is closer to the center of the Earth than the bottom of the Challenger Deep. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2024, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-closer-to-the-earth-s-center/999609/11 "2024-03-31T08:26:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > While we’re at it with the bulge, the head of the Mississippi River is closer to the center of the Earth than the mouth is. Interesting. I’ve been to the head of the Mississippi River; you can cross it on stepping stones where it flows out of Lake Itasca. If you wanted to find the true source of the Mississippi, I think it would be one of the streams that flows into Lake Itasca. But there’s a nice park at the Lake, so everyone just kinda goes along with it.