Today is the 50th anniversary of the explosion caused to remove a troublesome sub-surface rock formation in the straight between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland that had taken many lives since Canada was discovered. Only 2.7 meters (9 feet) underwater at low tide, it was a marine hazard, described by the explorer George Vancouver as "one of vilest stretches of water in the world." It was destroyed by a planned explosion on April 5, 1958. This is a National Historic Event in Canada.
Over two years, tunnels were bored under the sea bed and up into the rock through which 1,270 metric tons of explosives were packed. The blast displaced 635,000 metric tons of rock and water during . Some of the debris reached over 1,000 feet and the shock wave dispersed cloud formations overhead.
The explosion was recorded as one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever initiated. Japan and Russia have both had bigger to make mines, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVQOvKh3IWY
NICE!!
