Top 3 largest caves with stalagmites. Cave Wars Kentucky. Lubang Nasib Bagus. Malaysia

Our planet is a place of amazing wonders and unusual mysteries. It would seem that a person has mastered even the most remote corners of the Earth, but at the same time has not discovered all its secrets. In addition to those known to everyone, there is a huge number of man-made and natural objects that amaze the imagination and minds of all mankind. Among them is the largest in a unique formation with its own ecosystem. Let's talk about where it is, when it was opened and how distinctive features possesses.

Shondong: size statistics

Son Doong is the largest cave in the world. A similar statement by local residents was supported by facts obtained by a research expedition from England in 2009. According to dry statistics, the formation has a volume of about 38.5 million cubic meters, a height of about 200 meters, and a width of about 150 meters. Once in such an underground kingdom, willy-nilly, any person can be confused by the grandeur, size and scope.

Discovery history

The unofficial history of the cave begins in 1991, it was from this period of time that the local population mentioned its presence, until that date no information was provided. At the same time, one should not forget that the underground grotto of colossal dimensions was formed by the water element for at least two million years in a row. Evidence of the significant age of the cave are huge stalagmites, as well as other bizarre stone formations.

How to get to the cave?

Where is the largest cave in the world located? Vietnam, Quang Binh Province is the address you will have to follow to visit it. Not far from the border with Laos, in these places there is a national natural Park called Phongnya - Kebang, it is here that a unique natural formation is located. Finding the entrance to the cave is quite difficult, this is due to the fact that it is located in a rather wild area, in the realm of mountains and jungles. Perhaps this fact explains the fact that for a long time the underground formation was not discovered and was not explored even after the discovery at the end of the 20th century. The descent into the ground is carried out by ropes, which is also a rather serious obstacle and test.

Beauty and features of Shondong

What is the largest cave in the world famous for? Photos of education are amazing amazing beauty and scale. First of all, most travelers are in awe of which flows in the bowels of the earth and in the hard rocks of several kilometers. On its shores, the most desperate daredevils even pitch tents, but you won’t be able to enjoy the silence far from civilization either. The splashing of water and the howling of the wind in the bowels of the cave create a frightening atmosphere worthy of any horror movie.

In addition to the river, Son Doong also has its own green spaces, the jungle, in which indigenous inhabitants may also be present. So, here there are various insects and snakes, a little less often birds and even monkeys. Unique feature The local ecosystem is considered to have a unique underground climate. Habitual fogs and clouds are found even underground, which in itself is very unusual and intriguing. In fact, it is explained quite simply, a significant temperature difference between the surface and the underground leads to the formation of clouds and other similar phenomena.

You can visit Son Doong at any time, except for the rainy season. During this period, the caves are filled with water to a dangerous level, which means that visiting them can be extremely dangerous for the life of researchers.

Other contenders for the main title

IN different time The title of the largest cave in the world was claimed by:

Unique world dungeons

Now that you know the name of the largest cave in the world, you can talk about other unique underground kingdoms that are popular with lovers of extreme recreation and unity with nature. So, the list of the most interesting formations can include:

Kingdom of ice

The world's largest ice cave is located in New Zealand and is compound name Isriesennvelt, its area is approximately 300 square kilometers, which allows it to be the absolute champion in its category in terms of dimensions. Beautiful and cold ice formations are found in Iceland (Vatnaekul is forbidden to visit during the warm season due to high risks of melting and collapse), in Russia (grotto in Austria.

film about the cave

Delight and inspiration - this is what causes the largest cave in the world in people. Sanctum, a 2011 science fiction film about a cave, tells the story of a group of explorers descending into the depths of unexplored dungeons. A fierce struggle with a dangerous and unknown element leads to very deplorable consequences, reminding viewers not only of the beauty of the caves, but also of the threat to life lurking in their unknown.

The largest cave in the world is currently located in Vietnam, however, research in order to understand our world is carried out regularly and systematically, which means that unique finds will not keep you waiting. It is likely that very soon we will get acquainted with new natural phenomena, no less fantastic and beautiful than those already known to mankind.

Caves - this mysterious and Magic world dark kingdom, silence and silence. And the caves can rightly be called the cradle of mankind. Indeed, in prehistoric times, primitive people used caves as a refuge from wind and cold. They were the "discoverers" of natural dungeons. The tools and wall paintings of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons found in caves are proof of this. In ancient times, some caves were considered the dwellings of the gods, others were used to shelter herds and, especially often, for burial. Yes, and in the recent past, there are cases when people who were at odds with society tried to hide in caves.

But even though the cave "cradle" has long been abandoned by man, nevertheless, interest in the dungeons has been preserved for many centuries. From the 18th century, the first expeditions began to explore hard-to-reach caves.

Some historical facts:

In May 1748, the mathematician I. Nagel led an unprecedented descent into the sinkhole of Macocha (Moravia), which was unprecedented for those times. He overcame the steep part of the entrance shaft (50 m) and reached a depth of 138 m. The theoretical ideas of this time were summarized in the book by Cite de la Font "Wonders of Nature" (1788). He believed that the underground voids arose "for the most part through fire-breathing mountains", and the streaks in the caves represent "a kind of underground garden." Much closer to the truth were the views of Russian scientists, which unfortunately remained unknown in Western Europe. Back in 1720, VN Tatishchev visited the vicinity of the city of Kungur and pointed out that the caves were the result of "breeding" (dissolution) and collapse of rocks. In 1732, I. G. Gmelin visited Kungur cave and made her plan. He also made the first measurements of air temperature underground.

Great contribution to the formation of knowledge about underworld introduced by M. V. Lomonosov. He proved that the caves have a physical and chemical nature, explained the formation of "scales" on the walls of the caves by the precipitation of calcite from an aqueous solution, proposed Russian equivalents of the Latin terms "stalactite" and "stalagmite" ("upper drip" and "lower drip"), substantiated causes of air movement underground and the formation of cave ice.

No cave in the world is like another. Huge halls with grottoes, wells, lakes, waterfalls and glaciers.

For millennia, water diligently eroded the stone and created underground labyrinths of the silent world of beauty and mysteries. Seeping into the limestone cracks, rainwater from year to year destroys the stone, increasing the cracks. For centuries, water saturated with minerals, dripping from the ceiling of the caves, forms stalactites and stalagmites, sometimes of such a bizarre shape that they are given their own names.

Calcite in caves can be of the most unusual forms: in the form of flowers, pearls, twigs, sometimes so fragile and thin that they crumble when touched.

To this day, the deep labyrinths of the caves beckon people to plunge into their darkness and uncover underground secrets.

Let us, at least for a while, also plunge into this mysterious world of the underworld and get acquainted with its amazing beauties.

Han Son Dung Cave. Vietnam.

Hang Son Dung Cave (Cave mountain river) is located in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, was discovered in April 2009 by British cavers. The cave system was huge. British researchers suggest that this cave is the largest in terms of volume in the world!

In the underground hall of the Hang Son Dung cave, there is enough space even for a 40-story skyscraper. The largest hall of the cave has a total length of more than 5000 meters. The total length of the cave is 9000 meters. The halls and corridors are 100 meters wide and 200 meters high. At the same time, the Deer Cave, located in Malaysia, is one of the most large caves world, has a height of halls not exceeding 100 meters, and a width of 90.

Hang Son Dong Cave - Jungle Cave! There are gaps in the vaults of the cave through which light penetrates, and as a result, plants grow in the cave - limestone ledges are covered with a carpet of delicate greenery. Following the plants, not only insects and snakes descend into the cave, but even monkeys and birds. The Rao Tuong River has carved tunnels through the hard rock over the centuries. During the dry months, the river becomes a small stream, but during the rainy season, the underground river becomes full again, so that in some places it comes to the surface of the earth.

The largest cave in the world. National Geographic film.

Cave of the Swallows (Sotano de las Golondrinas). Mexico.

Sotano de las Golondrinas or the Cave of the Swallows is located in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. The entrance to the cave is a huge hole in the mountain with a diameter of 55 meters. When descending into the mouth of the cave, after a few meters, it expands up to 160 meters, which creates difficulties during the descent and ascent. This is what attracts fans of extreme sports here. The cave is one of the deepest caves in Mexico, its depth reaches 376 meters, which is comparable to the height of a 120-story building. The floor in the Swallow Cave is sloping and has many narrow tunnels and passages that lead to more deep levels. To date, they are not particularly well researched.

The name of the cave was due to the huge colony of swallows that live here. And in order not to disturb the quiet life of birds, descents into the cave are allowed only at a certain time: from 12 to 16 hours, when the birds leave it. In addition, it saves not only the lives of swallows, but also lovers of extreme skydiving. After all, a collision with a flock of birds during a free flight is very dangerous.

Recently, the Swallow Cave has become a real Mecca for cavers and base jumpers.

Cave of giant crystals (Cueva de los Cristales). Mexico.

Crystal Cave (Cueva de los Cristales) is located in the Naica mine complex, in the Mexican desert of Chihuahua (Chihuahua) at a depth of 300 meters. The cave is unique in that it contains giant crystals selenite (mineral, a type of gypsum). These are the largest natural crystals ever found on the planet - transparent gypsum rays reach sizes of 11 meters in length and weigh about 55 tons.

The cave was discovered in 2000 when a tunnel was being dug in a mine complex. The climate in the cave is unusual - it is very hot in the cave! Temperatures reach 50-60°C with a humidity of more than 90%, a person can stay in such conditions without a special suit for no more than ten minutes. Access to the cave is open only to scientists who explore it in special equipment.

In the cave of crystals. National Geographic film.

The Singing Cave of Fingal. Scotland.

Fingal's Cave is located on the southwestern coast of the Isle of Staffa (one of the Hybrid Islands). The island is only 1 kilometer long and half a kilometer wide. Over many millennia, the surf and rains have carved out a whole system of caves, the largest of which is the singing cave of Fingal, which received its name in honor of the hero of the Irish and Gaelic epic giant Fingal.

The walls of Fingal's cave are made up of vertical hexagonal basalt columns. The cave is 75 meters long, 20 meters high and 14 meters wide. In the Gaelic language, the cave is called Uamh-Binn, which can be translated as "cave of melody". Indeed, thanks to the domed vault, this place has a unique acoustics. In calm weather, the waves of the sea produce peculiar melodious sounds in the cave, in storms and during sea tides - a strong noise that can be heard for several miles.

The cave has a large arched entrance; you can get into it along a narrow path lined with fragments of basalt columns.

Gouffre Berger cave is located on the Sornin plateau in the French Alps. The name of the cave comes from the Latin word "gufr", which means "abyss", and the name of the scientist Joseph Berger, who discovered it in 1953. This is the first cave that was explored to a depth of more than one kilometer and until 1963 was considered the most deep cave in the world. Its depth is 1271 meters, which is comparable to the height of two Ostankino towers stacked on top of each other, and the length of the passages is over 30 kilometers. To date, the cave is the 23rd deepest in the world and the 4th deepest in France. However, to this day it is a popular place for cavers who want to test their skills at a depth of several hundred meters. This cave is technically very difficult. For example, it may take 15 to 30 hours to rise from the very bottom to the surface. In addition, floods often occur here. During the past few years, 6 people have died in Berg, five of whom drowned.

The abyss of the Three Bridges (Three Bridge Chasm) is a limestone cave of the Jurassic period. Into its abyss, from a height of 255 meters, the Baatara waterfall will fall. This unusual place located in Lebanon. It was discovered by the French bio-speleologist Henri Coiffait in 1952. The cave owes its name to the fact that when falling into the valley, the stream passes through three natural bridges, each of which hangs over the other. The age of the cave reaches 160 million years! For thousands of years, the water from the stream slowly washed the limestone and gradually destroyed the vaults of the cave. After the appearance of the upper bridge, it was destroyed for a long time by vertical and ring erosion, which, in combination with a series of collapses, created the middle and lower bridges.

Even today, the formation of the cave is not complete - and it will not be completed as long as the water flows.

Volcanic cave Cueva de los Verdes. Canary Islands (Spain).

Cueva de los Verdes cave was formed about five thousand years ago as a result of the eruption of the Corona volcano. When the lava rushed to the ocean, forming the so-called "lava tube" - a tunnel with a length of more than 6 kilometers, one of the longest on the planet.

The lava flow outside was cooled by the air and solidified, creating the walls and roof of the tunnel, while molten magma continued to flow inside. So it turned out volcanic Cueva de los Verdes cave. The hot gases released from the lava, mixing with air, ignited; under the influence of high temperature, melting the vault, furrows and influxes similar to stalactites appeared on the ceiling of the cave. The remains of the lava, solidifying, formed many folds and wrinkles, decorating the floor of the cave with intricate patterns.

The cave stretched in the form of a tunnel for 6.1 kilometers from the crater of the volcano to the seashore; the difference is 230 meters. The width of the cave reaches 24 meters, the height - up to 15 meters. The air temperature in the cave during the year is kept constant: 19°C.

The cave has two tiers - the upper, more spacious, which has concert hall with excellent natural acoustics, periodically used for its intended purpose.

At the bottom of the cave, called Jameos del Agua, there is an underground lake.

Ice cave Skaftafell. Iceland.

Ice caves are temporary structures that appear at the edge of glaciers. Such caves live for a relatively short time and can be destroyed at any time. Ice caves are only tens of years old. But they look amazing from the inside. One of these caves is located in natural park Skaftafell in Iceland.

Skaftafell Cave was formed in a glacier by melting ice. Melt water, together with rain, collected on the surface of the glacier, rushed into the cracks in streams, penetrating inside and forming peculiar tunnels. Sunlight, penetrating through the thickness of the ice, gives the cave an unusual blue color.

A seven-meter entrance leads to the Skaftafell cave through an ice tunnel, which gradually narrows to 1 meter.

Ice caves are in a state of constant transformation and can be destroyed at any moment. It is safe to visit them only in winter, when strong sub-zero temperatures harden the ice. And even in this case, while inside the cave, you can hear a very frequent crackling sound. This sound does not arise from the fact that the cave is ready to collapse, but because the cave moves along with the glacier itself at a certain speed, sometimes reaching 1 meter per day. Every time the glacier moves in contact with solid rock, you can hear this loud, frightening rattle.

Marble caves. Chile.

marble caves(Marble Caves) - one of the most beautiful places in Patagonia. They are bright blue grottoes filled with water from Lake Carrera (lago Carrera). The lake is

Partially flooded by the turquoise water of the lake, the caves can be explored by small boat or kayak. Three main grottoes can be distinguished in the caves: the Chapel (La capillaries), the Cathedral (El Catedral) and the Cave (Cueva).

Today, this rare and amazing natural wonder is under threat due to plans to build five major dams in the region.

Video. Marble Caves, Patagonia, Chile.

Vardzia is a cave monastery complex of the XII-XIII centuries, located in the south of Georgia, on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Vardzia is a real underground city with many tunnels, stairs and lanes. It is located in the valley of the Kura River (Mtkvari) in the sheer tuff wall of Mount Erusheti (Bear). Inside the rock, there was a place not only for the monastery, but also for several libraries, baths and many residential buildings. A total of 13 levels were built, with natural caves expanded to accommodate 6,000 monks and refugees. There are over 600 different rooms that stretched along the mountain for a distance of more than a kilometer, and the entire underground complex goes into the depth of the rock by 50 meters. Preserved secret passages, connecting the premises, the remains of the water supply and irrigation system.

A bit of history:

The ensemble of the Vardzia monastery was created mainly in 1156-1205, during the reign of George III and his daughter Queen Tamara. Located on the southwestern border of Georgia, the monastery-fortress blocked the gorge of the Kura River for the invasion of Iranians and Turks from the south. At that time, all the premises of the monastery were hidden by a rock, only three underground passages connected them to the surface, through which large detachments of soldiers could appear quite unexpectedly for the enemy. In 1193-1195, during the war with the Seljuk Turks, Queen Tamara was with her court in Vardzia.

The cave city did not last long - a year after construction, an earthquake in 1283 almost completely destroyed it. It was so powerful that it damaged the cave system, causing it to collapse and cascade down Mount Erusheli. Two-thirds secret city were destroyed, revealing a secret world within the mountain. However, the monastery did not give up. It functioned until 1551, but then it was attacked by the Persian Khan Sash Tahmasp, who killed all the monks. It was then that Vardzia became empty.

For a long time cave city was in disrepair, but at the end of the last century Vardzia was restored again, and monastic life resumed in it. On this moment in the monastery ancient city about 10-15 monks live.

When compiling the review, photographs from the Internet were used, descriptions were translated from local sites where the photographs were found.

Caves are called natural voids under the surface of the earth or in the depths of mountains, the study of which is the science of speleology. Many caves look incredibly beautiful, others attract with bizarre formations, and still others with colossal sizes.

1. Son Doong (Vietnam)

The largest cave in the world is located in the Vietnamese province of Quang Binh, within national park Phong Nha Kebang. In 1991, the peasant Ho Han first found the entrance to the cave lost in the jungle, however, he was afraid to go down there because of the too steep descent and the roar of water from there. Only in 2009, British speleologists from the group of G. Limbert were able to descend into the cave and begin to study it. Later they announced official opening Son Doong Caves, and that it is the largest cave in the world in terms of size.
The width of this cave turned out to be equal to 150 meters, and the height is even more - about 200 meters. A fast underground river flows through the cave, which completely floods some of its sections during the monsoon season. The cave has its own climate, undersized jungles grow, and due to the temperature difference, a semblance of clouds forms at the top. Above the giant cavity in the ground, gaps formed in two places through which sunlight can penetrate inside, which makes it possible for trees up to 3 meters high to grow here.
The fauna and flora of Shondong is an interesting subject for research by scientists. Many species of plants grow in the cave, unusual for such an unexpected place as a cave, animal species were seen: monkeys, flying foxes, hornbills.

2. Lubang Nasib Bagus (Malaysia)

This cave contains the largest grotto on the planet, Sarawak, which is 600 m long, 100 m high, and 415 m wide. The volume of the entire Lubang Nasib Bagus cave system reaches 25 million cubic meters. The cave was discovered by a trinity of British cavers in 1981 while exploring a karst massif in the Gunung Mulu National Park. The researchers entered the cave by moving up the river flowing out of it. There they found themselves in a grotto, the vaults of which could not be reached by the light of the powerful lanterns they had. It immediately became clear that the size of the cave is colossal. The cave could fit 50 large airliners.

3. Miao (China)

The next huge cave is located in China. Above it is hilly area. You can get into the Miao Cave by also moving along the channel underground river. This cave was discovered in 1989 by a joint expedition, in which the Chinese and Europeans participated. Miao belongs to a vast network of caves located in the Ziyun Getu He Chuandong National Park. To determine the boundaries of the vaults of the cave, laser scanning had to be used. Studies have shown the volume of this cave - 10.78 million cubic meters. m.

The first traces of human presence on the Abkhazian land are more than 300,000 years old. Abkhazia boasts a unique combination mountainous terrain and close...

4. Eisriesenwelt (Austria)

The Eisriesenwelt is the world's largest ice cave, where the temperature is below zero all year round. The cave stretches for 42 kilometers, descending to a depth of 407 meters. People have long guessed about its existence, but naturalist Anton von Posselt-Kzorich discovered it in 1879. It was carefully examined by the local speleologist Alexander von Mörk, who died in the First World War and was buried in one of the niches of this cave. Now the Eisriesenwelt Cave has become a prominent tourist attraction. The very first excursion here was held in 1920, and today it is visited by about 150,000 people from May to October, but in winter the entrance is closed due to the danger of avalanches.

5. Red Cave (Crimea)

Approximately a third of the territory of Crimea is dotted with caves, so it is not surprising that there was also a place for a huge cave system which stretches for 25 kilometers. On the Crimean peninsula there is a chain of underground grottoes of different sizes and looking different, and they are connected by an impenetrable and intricate labyrinth. The area of ​​the Red Cave is 52,000 sq. m. True, tourists are allowed here no further than 500 m deep into the cave, and even then it is necessary in the presence of a guide.
This cave invariably attracts the attention of speleologists who explore the bizarre incrustations on the walls of the cave and huge stalagmites. A river flows through the cave clean water- so transparent that its presence can sometimes be guessed only by the glare of light.

6. Mammoth Cave (USA)

This is the longest cave in the world, located in the state of Kentucky, in the national park of the same name. Its total length is over 587 km. But the actual length of the cave is even longer, just what scientists have been able to explore so far. So far, 20 huge halls and 225 underground manholes have been discovered in the cave system. The name of the cave was given for its grandiose size, and there is no connection with prehistoric extinct animals here. On one of the branches of the cave flows big river Echo having a width of 60 m and a depth in some places up to 10 m.
Scientists have suggested that this cave arose over 10 million years ago. The Indians knew about its existence, and the proof of this was the discovery of Indian burials with mummies in the depths of the cave. Pale-faced Americans discovered the cave at the end of the 18th century.

7. Sac Actun (Mexico)

This grandiose cave, located on the Yucatan Peninsula, differs from others in that it is almost completely flooded. A large river of the same name flows through it. By the way, the name translates as "white cave". The length of this cave system exceeds 317 km, of which only 5 km are not flooded with water. These are large caves, stretched out in a chain and interconnected by passages. Speleologists began to study it only in 1987, but since then they have succeeded in researching no more than one percent of its components. It is impossible to know how many secrets this cave, formed 65 million years ago and which has seen dinosaurs, hides.

8. Krubera-Voronya (Abkhazia)

If this is not the largest cave in the world in terms of volume or length, then it is certainly the deepest cave explored by speleologists. It is located on the territory of Abkhazia, in the Arabica mountain range. For the first time this cave was discovered by an expedition of speleologists from the Institute of Geography. V. Bagrationi at the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR in 1960. The entrance to the cave is located high in the mountains - at a level of 2250 meters. This is the so-called sub-vertical type cave, that is, it consists of a series of wells connected to each other by galleries and manholes. In 2014, at about the same height (2253 meters), another entrance to the Krubera-Voronya cave was discovered. Having descended 200 meters below the entrance, the cave is divided into two main branches: the Main and Nekuibyshevskaya. Those even lower are divided into many smaller branches. Thanks to the higher second entrance, the world record for the depth of the cave system has also risen slightly, reaching a value of 2199 meters.

9. Sarma (Abkhazia)

Another cave, also located in Abkhazia, and next to Krubera-Voronya - in the Arabica mountain range, is also one of the deepest in the world. Sergey Shipitsyn discovered it, and it was relatively recently - in 1990. The entrance to this cave is located a little lower - at an altitude of 2150 meters above sea level. At the moment, it was possible to establish its depth at the level of 1830 meters. Both caves are formed by soft gypsum and limestone rocks. Many Russian speleologists were engaged in the study of this cave: Anatoly Bezverkhy, Rafail Safin, Alexander Verbitsky, Vasily Sukhachev, Artyom Kalachev, Alexander Osintsev, Andrey Zakrepa, Vladimir Plotnikov, Pavel Rudko, Evgeny Koreshnikov and many others.

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10. Optimistic cave (Ukraine)

This huge cave got its optimistic name because other speleologists, who were skeptical about the possibility of exploring it, began to call their Lvov colleagues who advocated for it optimists. But the latter turned out to be right - since the discovery of the cave in 1966 by Lviv speleologists, more than 200 expeditions have been equipped to it. Initially, it was thought that this was just a crack no more than 3 meters long, but when they were able to penetrate deeper into it, it became clear that this was one of the largest caves in the world.
This cave is located on the territory of the Ternopil region. Optimistic Cave became the longest gypsum cave in the world. So far, 230 kilometers have been explored, but the actual length of the cave is much larger, and many more secrets hidden underground await researchers.