The Most Secure Vaults and Safes in the World
We all have items we want to keep safe, whether it’s a valuable heirloom, our passport, or sentimental items such as photographs and children’s drawings. Some people choose a small safe for their home or business, or protect their property with secure locks, CCTV cameras or other state of the art security systems, but what happens when you have highly valuable assets or sensitive information to protect?
There are several huge vaults and safes across the world that are protected by the most extreme security measures; from a vault 200 feet below the ground in the Iron Mountain, to the UK’s largest gold vault or a global seed vault in the frozen north. If you want to know more about some of these extraordinary safes and vaults, see below for our handy guide to some of the most secure safes in the world.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
This enormous vault on the island of Spitsbergen is home to over 500,000 samples of the world’s plant species. Buried 390 feet under a Nordic mountain, the vault can withstand a nuclear blast and is further protected by hundreds of miles of ocean and four heavy steel doors. The vault may be buried deep, but it still sits 430 feet above sea level, making it safe from any potential future sea level rise.
Cheyenne Mountain
This mountain complex is a military installation and defensive bunker, and employees work behind 25 ton doors capable of withstanding a 30-megaton blast. Offices are located 2000 feet below the mountain; a location so deep that specially processed air has to be pumped inside. Cheyenne Mountain is so secure that it played host to the US Missile Warning Centre and the North American Aerospace Defense Command during the Cold War.
Bank of England Gold Vault
The UK’s largest gold vault (and second largest gold vault in the world, after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York), stores a whopping 4,600,5152 tons of gold. The site is protected by a bomb proof door, and can only be unlocked via sophisticated voice recognition system, as well as a series of three foot long keys. The depth and size of the vault is not common knowledge, but the bank will say that it’s bigger than London’s Tower 42 – a 47 story building.
Iron Mountain
Located in Boston, Massachusetts, this retired limestone mine is buried 200 feet below ground, and contains an impressive 1.7 million square feet of vaults. The vaults include thousands of items from companies including Warner Brothers, and there are many historic recordings, photos, original film footage, patents, and many more items held within. The mountain is also home to Room 48, a data centre which backs up some of America’s biggest companies.
You might not need as much security as the sites above, but if you’re looking for a sturdy and secure safe for your home or business, get in touch with Campbell & McGovern. We offer safes for every need, including fireproof safes, underground safes, digilock or key mechanisms, and safes of various sizes. For more information or to discuss your requirements, visit or website today or call to speak to a friendly member of the team.
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