China drills world's deepest hole to explore ancient forest and Earth's crust.
A massive sinkhole in China's Guangxi region contains an ancient forest with trees as tall as 40 meters. The sinkhole is 306 meters long, 150 meters across, and 192 meters deep, with a gap at the top that allows light to enter and support the primitive forest. The site was discovered by cave explorers in 2022, and scientists believe it could harbor undiscovered species. The sinkhole is part of a karst landscape, formed by the dissolution of bedrock by groundwater, and is one of 30 in Leye County.