The formation of diamonds requires very high temperatures and pressures that only occur on Earth at depths of 100 miles below the surface and at locations in the mantle where temperatures are at least 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. The diamonds are delivered to the surface in pieces of rock, known as xenoliths, which are torn from the mantle by deep-source volcanic eruptions. When the mantle material approaches the surface, an explosive eruption occurs that forms a pipe-shaped structure that might be several hundred yards to over a mile in diameter. These “pipes,” the rocks that are blasted from them, and the sediments and soils produced by their weathering are the source for most of Earth’s natural diamonds.