I have a house on 2 acres. I know the length and width of my property, but what about depth? If I dig 1ft down am I still on my property? 5ft? 1000ft? A 2 acre rectangle all the way to the Earths core? How deep would I have to go to no longer be on my own land?
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In many places, the depth of your property will be stated on the title or the disclosures. If memory serves, mine is good to a depth of 200’ or so, explicitly designed to exclude rights to groundwater or deeply buried minerals.
It’s yours until the earth’s core…kinda. Sometimes what’s called ‘mineral rights’ to a property have been stipulated where you’re sold the property but aren’t allowed to say, turn it into a pit mine. In cities, you may own a house but below your house there may be infrastructure that definitely isn’t yours.
If you go near a telephone/electric pole, you may see a sign that says “call 811 before you dig.” You’re likely to need a permit for any sort of extensive landscaping that requires digging. Why? There’s probably infrastructure under your home: sewage, water, electricity, cable/internet, etc. These can all be owned/operated by your government or a private entity. And *you* don’t know exactly where said infrastructure is, hence needing a permit and some surveyors to check out your property before spades hit dirt. If you happen to hit anything, you’re at risk of damaging that infrastructure or harming yourself. There’s also structural codes for subterranean structures, even just a random hole you’re digging (the authorities would like some retaining walls, thank you). But aside from that, if you remain within the bounds of your lot, you can make your own Mines of Moria – if it’s up to code.
In short: Call 811 before you dig
For answers like “down to the core” I’d argue that maps aren’t drawn with the center of the earth in mind. So you’d have lots of crossing lines between properties because the earth is not a perfect sphere. Think of 1 person who lives on the top of the volcano and owns straight down but people all around this person own property that directly points towards his property underground. In answer to your question, as far as you can physically and legally defend it.
it varies country to country. in Australia, like me, if the property was made available to buy after 1891, then you only own about ~16m under the surface. and any gold, oil etc doesn’t belong to me. it belongs to the gov’t.
The thing you are asking is often referred to as “mineral rights”. The legal ownership of what is under the surface of the property you have the legal deed for. Because this is a legal concept (ownership and mineral rights) it will depend on your country, state, municipal laws.
In rural areas people often drill a well for water. AFAIK, there are few restrictions on water rights.
If you were to dig a foundation for a home, or a pool with a deep end, or a bomb shelter you would be digging 8 feet or more below the surface. This is generally allowed as long as you pay attention to buried pipes and cables.
“My property” and “own” are not useful terms in modern society. You rent your land from the government, so best to check your rental agreement.
A property I owned in Nevada was for the surface only. The owner of the mineral rights (a silver mining company) could mine the dirt under my house to the top of the ground as long as they did not cause a collapse. No one in town owned anything but the surface.
Likewise there is also probably a limit to how high your property goes.
I seem to remember reading about when flying was a new thing, you had to seek permission to fly across properties. Eventually it led to a limit on how high your property goes, so now as long as it’s above a certain height, anyone is free to cross your land.
Although there’s such a thing as regional airspace, so perhaps (probably) it belongs to the government, above a certain height.
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