Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Corniche facing east.
Umm Al Quwain Wall
‘Giant’ Marfa Mural
Approaching the tree while driving on the main road.
Remarkable Silk Cotton Tree
Key moments of the multi-day fight are recreated in the museum’s diorama.
Museo de la Batalla de Monterrey (Battle of Monterrey Museum)
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Seafood features prominently on the menu.
Dakar NOLA
The kabrit, or twice-cooked goat, with plantains and rice and beans is essential.
Fritai
Twelve Mile Limit is the kind of bar with a whole roster of regulars.
Twelve Mile Limit
Khao soi, the popular northern Thai noodle dish, comes with a richly spiced coconut broth here.
Budsi’s Authentic Thai
The fried green tomato sandwich comes on jalapeño cornbread toast.
Café Reconcile
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
A listener in Toronto explored Casa Loma, and a nearby park that made the city disappear.
How the Pandemic Helped Our Listeners Rediscover Their Own Neighborhoods
about 9 hours ago
You don’t need a time machine to journey through history.
Dear Atlas: Where Can I Take a Trip Through Ancient History?
about 15 hours ago
In the 19th century, Fort Jefferson projected American power far out into the Gulf of Mexico. Its defensive moat was once patrolled by sharks.
The Hidden Graveyard of Dry Tortugas National Park
about 18 hours ago
The view from the Q’eswachaka woven suspension bridge.
This Man Rebuilds the Last Inca Rope Bridge Yearly
4 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom Scotland Highland Inchindown Oil Tanks
AO Edited

Inchindown Oil Tanks

This abandoned oil depot produces world's longest echo in a manmade structure.

Highland, Scotland

Added By
eyeballinanarmchair
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
World’s longest echo in the Inchindown oil tank   Trevor Cox/CC BY 2.0
World’s longest echo in the Inchindown oil tank   Trevor Cox/CC BY 2.0
World’s longest echo in the Inchindown oil tank   Trevor Cox/CC BY 2.0
Another entrance   Peter Moore / CC BY-SA 2.0
An entrance to the Inchindown Oil Tanks   Rod Lightbody / CC BY-SA 2.0
World’s longest echo in the Inchindown oil tank   Trevor Cox/CC BY 2.0
An entrance to the tunnel leading to the oil tanks   Peter Moore / CC BY-SA 2.0
Inchindown Tank One   dac / Atlas Obscura User
Tank 1 at Inchindown   dac / Atlas Obscura User
Tank 6   dac / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Deep underground in the Scottish highlands lies a complex of disused oil storage tanks built during World War II. Located near the town of Invergordon, the Inchindown Oil Tanks were used to cache British stores of furnace fuel oil in bombproof environs, all the while hiding a sonic secret.

In 2014, 12 years after the tanks were decommissioned and emptied, an acoustic engineering professor named Trevor Cox discovered that they were capable of producing the world's longest echo in a manmade structure. 

Professor Cox got a tip from a local that one of the tanks was large enough to create a huge echo. The tank is twice the length of a soccer field, and 44 feet tall. After being lowered into the tank in a pipe (a stunt that left him covered in oil), Cox recorded the sounds of blanks fired from a gun. The sound reverberated for an incredible 112 seconds, easily beating the standing world record for longest echo. Even the tones of regular speech hung in the air for upwards of 30 seconds. 

The vast space of the Inchindown Oil Tanks complex has no known rivals in its capacity for echoing. There is, however, a chance to visit this amazing underground construction on a private tour. 

Related Tags

Abandoned Sounds World Record Noise Industrial Military History Acoustics Infrastructure Military
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Flavors of Scotland: Beyond the Haggis

Smoked seafood, single malt whisky, and warm hospitality.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

eyeballinanarmchair

Edited By

dac, Meg, Ike Allen

  • dac
  • Meg
  • Ike Allen

Published

August 8, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • www.facebook.com/groups/inchindownoiltanks
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/now-weve-heard-it-all-acoustic-scientists-shatter-the-world-record-for-longest-ever-echo-9062134.html
Inchindown Oil Tanks
Unnamed Rd
Highland, Scotland
United Kingdom
57.739723, -4.201664
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Oil Rig Graveyard

Highland, Scotland

miles away

The Fairy Glen - Rosemarkie

Rosemarkie, Scotland

miles away

Clach a' Charridh

Shandwick, Scotland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Highland

Highland

Scotland

Places 22

Nearby Places

Oil Rig Graveyard

Highland, Scotland

miles away

The Fairy Glen - Rosemarkie

Rosemarkie, Scotland

miles away

Clach a' Charridh

Shandwick, Scotland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Highland

Highland

Scotland

Places 22

Related Places

  • Thurgoland Tunnel.

    Thurgoland, England

    Thurgoland Tunnel

    A repurposed railway tunnel with otherworldly acoustic characteristics.

  • These fighter jets are a relic of a darker time.

    Bitola, North Macedonia

    Abandoned Yugoslavian F-86E Fighter Jets

    These dilapidated planes are now a canvas for graffiti artists.

  • Ammunition storage

    Auckland, New Zealand

    Abandoned WWII Structures of Motutapu Island

    A network of fortifications that never saw conflict.

  • Tunnel from Officer’s House.

    Zossen, Germany

    Wünsdorf Officer's House

    A statue of Vladimir Illyich Lenin guards this abandoned building in the "Forbidden City."

  • Abandoned Eriksdal Train Tunnel.

    Södermalm, Sweden

    Abandoned Eriksdal Train Tunnel

    It was meant to help transport wounded soldiers to a secret underground hospital.

  • Ussana, Italy

    Abandoned Ussana Brick Factory

    An eerie gravel road full of shards of red bricks leads to the ruins of a deserted factory.

  • View of Silo City and Elevator Alley from the Ohio Street Lift Bridge.

    Buffalo, New York

    Silo City

    Buffalo's abandoned concrete grain elevators are getting a second life.

  • Bluie East Two.

    Ikateq, Greenland

    Bluie East Two

    A surprisingly beautiful abandoned World War II military base in East Greenland.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.