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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
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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
Tank 6   dac / Atlas Obscura User
Inchindown Tank One   dac / Atlas Obscura User
Tank 1 at Inchindown   dac / Atlas Obscura User
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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
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Added By

eyeballinanarmchair

Edited By

dac, Meg, Ike Allen

  • dac
  • Meg
  • Ike Allen

Published

August 8, 2017

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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

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