The largest stalactite in the world. Marble cave. Crimea. Ice caves near Mutnovsky volcano, Russia
The Cave of Crystals was discovered in 2000 by the Sanchez miner brothers, who were digging a new tunnel in the mine complex. It is located at a depth of 300 meters under the city of Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. The cave is unique in the presence of giant crystals of selenite. The largest of the found crystals has a size of 11 m in length and 4 m in width, with a mass of 55 tons. This is one of the largest known crystals. It is very hot in the cave, temperatures reach 58 ° C with a humidity of 90-100%. These factors make it very difficult for people to explore the cave, making it necessary to use special equipment. Even with equipment, being in a cave usually does not exceed 20 minutes.
Waitomo Glowworm Cave, New Zealand:
The Waitomo Caves are truly a masterpiece of nature, over which she has worked for many millions of years. For many centuries, the ocean has ruled here, creating bizarre limestone outgrowths and mysterious intricacies of passages. And then the water receded, forming a system of about 150 caves. The most famous of them is Glowworm Cave. It is inhabited by amazing creatures - Arachnocampa Luminosa. These are fireflies that can only be found in New Zealand. Their green-blue glow makes the roof of the cave look like starry sky on a frosty night.
Blue Grotto (Grotto Azzurra), Italy:
This beautiful cave is only accessible from the sea. The name "Blue Grotto" comes from the bright blue color of its waters. The entrance to the cave is very small and lets in a small amount of light, which gives the water its bright color.
Vatnajokull Glacier Cave, Iceland:
Sunlight, scattered over the surface of the Svínafellsjökull glacier, draws amazing pictures on the vaults of the ice cave, creating the illusion of being on sea depth. The depth of the underground passage does not exceed 50 meters, and the width of the cave is only 10 meters. During the winter months, a crackling sound is heard inside, caused by the movement of the glacier.
Such pure azure and blue hues are the result of the absence of air bubbles in the ice. You can see colored ice at certain weather conditions; one of them is the absence or minimum amount of snow on the surface. Intense sky blue ice is best seen in January and February; it is during this period that shades of azure, framed by snow cover, look fantastic.
You can get into the cave only in the winter months: narrow ice passages are accessible to tourists only with the onset of frost. At other times, being here can be dangerous; melting ice vaults often collapse under a mass of snow.
Phraya Nakhon, Thailand
It's not actually a cave, but a huge valley that is 65 meters deep and 50 meters wide, with overhanging walls covered in plants and stalactites. At certain hours of the day, light enters the interior, illuminating the small temple.
Marble Caves of Patagonia, Chile:
Despite their name, they are made of ordinary limestone, but there is an opinion that in the depths of the caves there are the purest deposits of marble. The walls of the Chilean landmark have a surprisingly beautiful bright blue color, and blue water lake doubles the impression of what he saw. It is also worth mentioning that the caves consist of many labyrinths and tunnels, over the creation of which the coastal waves worked hard.
Ice caves near Mutnovsky volcano, Russia:
A small and very beautiful snow cave on the slope of the Mutnovsky volcano.
Dongzhong Cave, China:
Dongzhong Cave (whose name is simply translated as "cave") is located in the village of Mao in Chinese province Guizhou. Since 1984, the cave has been equipped as an elementary school.
Fingal's Cave, Scotland
illustrious sea cave washed in the rock sea water, on the island of Staffa, which is part of the Inland Hebrides. The walls are made up of vertical hexagonal basalt columns 69 meters deep and 20 meters high. For three centuries it was a place of artistic pilgrimage and inspired the work of many famous artists, musicians and writers.
Reed Flute Cave, China:
Cave reed flute(Ludi Yan)- amazing creation nature, located in the city of Guilin (China). A special type of reed grows around the cave, from which the best flutes in all of China were made in the old days, this fact served as the basis for such beautiful name. Ludi Yan Cave, like Waitomo Cave, has illumination, but not natural, but "artificial" - artificial. With its help, the Chinese successfully emphasize the beauty of the flawless creation of nature. Multi-colored lights playfully paint stalactites, stalactites and other bizarre rock formations, making the cave even brighter and more fabulous.
Fantastic Pit at Ellison's Cave, Georgia, USA:
If you are an extreme, and besides, an amateur speleologist, then Allison Cave is ideal for you, namely its Fancy Mine, 179 meters deep.
Kyaut Sae cave in Myanmar:
Few people know about this cave, but nevertheless it impresses both with its size and the fact that a Buddhist temple is located in it.
Son Doong Cave, Vietnam:
The largest cave in the world. She is in Central Vietnam, in Quang Binh Province, in national park Phong Nha Kebang, 500 kilometers south of Hanoi and 40 kilometers from the provincial center - Dong Hoi. This cave has been known to locals since 1991, in April 2009 it was discovered by a group of British speleologists. The cave has an underground river that floods some parts of the cave during the rainy season.
Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave, Austria:
The Eisriesenwelt caves are the largest system of ice caves on our planet available for viewing. Eisriesenwelt means "giant ice world". The caves are located in the Alps in Austria at an altitude of 1641 meters and consist of 30 thousand cubic meters. meters of ice. These caves were formed by the waters of the Salzach River, which eroded limestone rocks over thousands of years. Currently, the riverbed is below the entrance to the caves.
The Eisriesenwelt caves were discovered by accident as early as 1849. For a long time only hunters and poachers knew about them. Date official opening Eisriesenwelt caves are considered to be 1879, when the Austrian naturalist from Salzburg, Anton von Posselt (Anton von Posselt-Czorich) first penetrated 200 meters deep into the caves. A year later, he published a detailed account of his discovery in a mountaineering magazine, but this information did not arouse due interest.
Orda Cave, Russia:
Orda Cave is the longest underwater gypsum cave in Russia and one of the longest in the world. This place - real paradise for divers. The cave begins with the Crystal Grotto. In the northwestern corner of this grotto is Lake Ledyanoe. The move on the left will lead to the next grotto - the Ice Palace. Lake Main is located here, and a little further - Lake Teploe. Through these lakes, divers enter the mysterious underwater part of the cave. The water here is extremely clean, transparent, bluish in color and very cold (+ 4 degrees).
Carlsbad Caverns, USA
Under the arches of the mountains of Guadalupe in the state of New Mexico, endless labyrinths of halls, tunnels and corridors are hidden, the main inhabitants of which are bats. The charm of Carlsbad caves becomes more charming and mysterious with the advent of twilight. The park and the caves got their name in honor of the nearby city of Carlsbad.
Barton Creek Cave, Belize:
This cave has not only extraordinary natural beauty, but is also a living witness to the household items of the ancient Maya, who inhabited this territory more than 2000 years ago. In it you can see many grandiose stalactites and stalagmites, ancient jugs and religious bowls of the May Indians, traces of religious human sacrifices.
Jeita Grotto Caves, Lebanon:
a complex of two caves in Lebanon, 20 kilometers north of Beirut. In 1836, the upper cave was discovered by William Thomson, and the lower cave was discovered by Lebanese speleologists in 1958. The length of the Upper Cave is 2200 meters, but only part of it, which is 750 meters long, is open to tourists. There are three halls in the Upper Cave, each of which is 100 meters or more in height. There are unique underground reservoirs, very beautiful crevices, various stalagmites and stalactites. Length lower cave much larger than the Upper and equal to 6900 meters.
Kango Caves, South Africa:
Caves Cango (Cango Caves), tacitly called the wonder of the world. The caves are famous for their "Organ Hall" - stalactites descending along the walls form something reminiscent of big organ, which, combined with music and lighting effects, makes an indelible impression on visitors.
Aven Armand Cave, France:
A special funicular lowers visitors 50 meters deep into the tunnel, which is 200 meters long. There suddenly turns out to be a huge hall in which Notre Dame Cathedral could easily fit.
Caves served as a refuge for man at the dawn of civilization. And today these underground voids attract brave speleologists who seek to penetrate as deep as possible to the heart of the Earth.
Today's top ten contains largest caves in the world. Two of them are located on the territory of Abkhazia, which allows you to visit these natural monuments hundreds of Russian tourists.
Optimisticheskaya is the largest gypsum cave in the world. It is located on the territory of Ukraine in the Ternopil region. The cave has not been explored to the end, but the length of the corridors known to speleologists is 230 km.
9. Ox Bel Ha
The name of this system of underwater caves, translated from one of the Indian dialects, means "three ways of water." The system is located in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula, the total length of the corridors is 256 km.
8 Jewel Cave System
located in South Dakota the cave system has a total length of more than 257 km. In the galleries of the cave there are strong drafts, the gusts of which reach 15 m/s. The maximum depth of the cave is 192 meters.
7. Lamprechtsofen
This cave system is located in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Its length is 38 km, and maximum depth- 1,632 meters. It is noteworthy that the practical Austrians built a mini-power plant in the cave, which produces energy from the flow of an underground river.
6. Mammoth Cave
Located in Kentucky (USA) karst cave considered the longest in the world. The length of the studied part of the crossings exceeds 587 km. The cave was discovered in 1797. Its maximum depth is 115 meters.
5. Snowy
One of the deepest caves in the world is located in Abkhazia. Its depth is 1,753 meters, and the length of all corridors, sometimes quite low, is more than 24 km. "Snezhnaya" is a system of three caves, which are interconnected without siphons - underwater tunnels filled with water.
4. Skocjan Caves
The cave system, located in the mountains of Slovenia, has a length of 6 km. The height of the arches reaches 50 meters. There are more than 30 underground waterfalls in the cave system, there is also a 15-meter stalagmite, nicknamed the Giant.
3. Sarawak Grotto
located on Borneo island the grotto is 400 meters wide, 700 meters long and up to 70 meters high. The grotto is part of the huge Gua-Nasib-Bagus cave. Only trained tourists are allowed on an excursion to Sarawak; a visit to the grotto lasts all day.
2. Krubera Cave
It is also called the Crow Cave, and it is located in the Gagra Range in the territory of Abkhazia. The cave has two branches and is the deepest in the world. The depth of the first branch is 2,196 meters, the second - 1,300 meters.
1. Son Doong Cave
The world's largest cave located in Vietnam, 500 km from Hanoi. The height of the arches of the cave is up to 240 meters, the width is 100 meters, and the length of passages and corridors has been studied so far for only 6.5 km. Speleologists discovered the grotto in 2005, although locals knew about Sondong since 1991.
In 1991, in Vietnam (near the border with Laos), a unique cave Shondong, recognized as the largest and beautiful cave in the world. Its length reaches nine kilometers, its height is 150 meters, and its age is several million years. Some halls, which will take more than one month to inspect, 150 pieces were found in the cave.
In 2009 and 2010, speleologists from the UK worked in Son Doong Cave. They spent two weeks underground and described in detail unusual phenomenon nature. Scientists were amazed by the deep chasms and the magnificent stone columns that they met on their way. They are sure that modern skyscrapers will fit in the halls of the cave.
Path to Son Doong Cave
In 2015, the cave was officially visited by the first small group of tourists, each of whom did not spare three thousand dollars, for the sake of dangerous trip in the dungeon. They had to go down the 80-meter rope and use climbing equipment in dark labyrinths to see 70-meter stalagmites and unusual pearls, underground clouds, jungles and amazing animals, as well as hear the roar of a turbulent river, the waters of which formed in rocks large rooms and carved rock paintings.
How to get to Son Doong Cave?
To get to the entrance to the cave, you need to move through the impenetrable jungle for more than a day, which not everyone can do. Only the most hardy tourists descend into the cave. Each group of eight people is accompanied by experienced guides and speleologists. Below, a fire is made and food is prepared, and tent city. Tourists are waiting for many kilometers walking route with crossing water obstacles.
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The largest caves on the planet amaze with their grandeur, which can bewitch anyone. It is terrible to look into the trap of a huge cave. It seems that it is impossible to get out of this place back. This mysterious separate world of silence and silence is able to suck any careless tourist into its expanses.
Expeditions to explore the most difficult caves began in the 18th century. A well-known scientist at that time, I. Nagel, led the largest expedition to the caves of Moravia. During the expedition, the group reached a depth of 138 m.
A large amount of knowledge about underground depths was introduced by M. Lomonosov. Explanation of the chemical nature of caves - Lomonosov's theory. The movement of air at the depth of caves and the formation of stalactites and stalagmites, as well as the formation of ice in caves - this knowledge is the merit of our scientist.
Absolutely all caves are different from each other, but they can be safely attributed to the list on Earth. The presence of wells, lakes, grottoes, waterfalls and glaciers are the elements of the caves that create the overall picture and make certain differences.
For centuries, water erodes rocks and creates huge labyrinths of mysterious and powerful caves. What are the largest caves on earth?
We bring to your attention the 7 most huge caves Earth.
Krubera cave.
Kruber's Cave is also called Crow's Cave. She is one of the most deep caves on the planet. Voronya is the only cave that has a depth of more than 2 km. It is located in Georgia. The entrance to its open spaces is located at an altitude of 2249 m. The vertical cave has many wells that are connected big amount stiles. At a depth of about 200 meters, the cave is divided into 2 branches. The main branch - has a depth of 2197 m. Nekuibyshevskaya - 1698 m. 
The Krubera Cave was discovered in 1960 by the expedition of the Research Institute named after. Bagrationi. Crow Cave has seen a huge number of different expeditions and scientific research.
Jeita caves.
The Lebanese great caves are among the most magical caves on the ground. The upper cave was discovered in 1836, the lower one much later - in 1958. The length of the cave is 2250 m. 
Jeita is very popular among tourists, who have the opportunity to visit only part of the cave 700 m deep, the rest of the path is blocked. The upper cave has 3 halls and special underground reservoirs. Stalagmites and stalactites also adorn the view of the Lebanese cave.
Mammoth Cave.
The Mammoth karst cave system is located in Kentucky (United States).
Built there national park, and the cave is its landmark and pride. Mammoth Cave is considered the longest cave in the world (588 km). Mammoth Cave has 226 underground passages, as well as more than 20 halls and 25 deep mines. 
By the way, the name "Mammoth" is not associated with any surname or with mammoths. "Mammoth" means "huge".
It is known that Mammoth Cave was formed more than 10 million years ago. The Indians knew about its existence. This fact was confirmed by scientists after Indians with mummies were found in the cave.
Caves of Crystals.
The Crystal Cave is the most unusual and amazing cave all over the world. It is located in Mexico and is unique because it is filled with giant gypsum crystals. The largest crystal was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. It is 11 meters long and weighs 54 tons. The temperature inside the cave exceeds +50°C at 100% humidity. 
The cave was discovered in 1910 by Mexican miners. " Ice Palace"- the most famous hall of the Crystal Caves complex. It was discovered during drilling operations in 2009. Oddly enough, with its depth of 150 m, the hall is not filled with water.
Dragon Caves.
The Dragon Caves have amazing beauty and are the main mystery of Mallorca. Exploration of these caves began in 1886. 
The caves are 1250 m long, equipped with special lighting equipment and a huge auditorium, which was built for various shows and concerts. Musical performances take place on boats on Lake Martel.
Sondong cave.
The largest cave in the world is located in Vietnam. They learned about it in 1991, and in 2009 a group of British scientists began a deep study of Shondong. The cave with the highest and widest passages has a total volume of 38 million m³. 
In Shondong sprouting their own jungle (the height of the trees reaches 3 meters) and the river flows with a fairly fast current.
Optimistic cave.
The cave is located on the territory of Ukraine and reaches a length of more than 200 km. The cave, discovered in 1966, has not been fully explored. In the cave, in addition to stalactites, there are formations resembling the crystals of the Crystal Cave in Mexico. However, the crystals of the Optimistic Cave are much smaller. 
The name "Optimistic" cave was due to the fact that, contrary to the forecasts of other scientists, Lviv speleologists considered the cave one of the largest in the USSR. As a result, their assumptions were confirmed.
Caves are a natural underground cavity accessible to human penetration. They are the object of study of the science of speleology. It is speleologists who make the greatest contribution to the study of caves. Some of the creations of nature amaze with their beauty, others with bizarre shapes, and others with their size.
Top 10 included largest caves in the world by length, volume or area occupied.
(Ukraine) opens the top ten largest caves. It is also the longest gypsum cave in the world. The explored area is 230 kilometers, but the cave itself is much longer. The rest of it has not yet been studied by researchers. The optimistic cave was discovered in 1966 by Lviv speleologists. Initially, it was assumed that its length was not more than 3 meters, but further persistent research showed that the cave is one of the longest in the world. It got its name due to the fact that skeptical speleologists to explore the cave called Lviv residents optimists. Since then, more than 200 expeditions have been made here.
(Abkhazia) is included in the list of the deepest caves in the world, which is located in the Arabica mountain range. It was discovered in 1990 by Sergei Shipitsin. The entrance to it is located at an altitude of 2150 meters above sea level. Maximum known depth Sarma is 1830 meters. The cave is formed by limestone and gypsum rocks. Many speleologists took part in her research. Among them are Rudko Pavel, Koreshnikov Evgeny, Plotnikov Vladimir, Osintsev Alexander, Sukhachev Vasily, Zakrepa Andrey, Safin Rafail, Bezverchiy Anatoly, Verbitsky Alexander, Kalachev Artem and many others.
(Abkhazia) - the deepest cave in the world, known to speleology. Its depth is 2.2 kilometers, and it is located in the Arabica mountain range in Georgia. The entrance to it is located at an altitude of 2250 meters above sea level. It is a sub-vertical type cave, consisting of a series of wells, which are interconnected by stiles and galleries. Another entrance to Krubera Voronja was opened in 2014 and is located at an altitude of 2253 meters above sea level. At a depth of two hundred meters, the cave branches into the Main and Nekuibyshev branches, which are the main ones. Then there are many not so big branches. Krubera-Voronya was first discovered in 1960 by a speleological expedition of the Institute of Geography. Vakhushti Bagrationi AN GSSR. In 2014, a team of speleologists opened a new entrance, located above the main one, which made it possible to set a new world record for the depth of the cave system, which became equal to 2199 meters.
(Mexico) is one of the most large caves in the world, almost completely flooded with water. Also included in the list of the longest caves in the world. Its total length is more than 317 kilometers, of which only 5 kilometers are not flooded. Speleologists began to study it in the second half of the 20th century.
(USA) recognized as the longest in the world. It is located in the US state of Kentucky, in the national park of the same name. Its length is more than 587 kilometers. In fact, the cave is much longer, but researchers have only studied this part so far. Now in this cave system 225 underground passages and about 20 huge halls are known. It got its name because of its impressive size. Pretty flows in one of the passages major river Echo, whose width is 60 meters and the depth is 10 meters. Mammoth Cave was formed approximately 10 million years ago. The Indians have known about its existence since ancient times. Subsequently, scientists discovered Indian burials in the cave. Its discovery by the Americans took place at the end of the 18th century.
(Russia, Crimea) is one of the longest caves, the length of which is 16 kilometers. Its area is 52 thousand square meters. m., and the volume - 200 thousand cubic meters. m. The Red Cave is located on about 30% of the territory of Crimea, and in terms of length it occupies about 19%.
(Austria) - the largest in the world ice cave where permafrost persists throughout the year. Its length is 42 kilometers and the depth is 407 meters. People have known about its existence for a long time, but in fact it was discovered in 1879 by the naturalist Anton von Posselt-Kzorich. The Salzburg speleologist Alexander von Mörk, who died during the World War (1914) and was buried in one of the Eisreisenwelt niches, took up the most thorough study of it. Currently, this cave is one of the most popular places for relax. The first excursion here was made in 1920. About 150,000 tourists visit the Eisreisenwelt every year. Tours are held from May to October, but in winter time For a year, visiting the cave is prohibited due to the danger of avalanches.
(China) is one of the largest caves in the world in terms of volume. It was discovered in 1989 by a Sino-European expedition. Miao is located in the largest Gebihe cave system in China's Ziyun Getu He Chuandong National Park. You can get to Miao only through an underground stream. To determine the boundaries of the cave, the researchers used laser scanning. According to the data obtained during the study, the volume of Miao amounted to 10.78 million cubic meters. m.
(Malaysia) - a cave with the world's largest grotto Sarawak. The grotto is 600 meters long and 415 meters wide. It reaches a height of one hundred meters, and its area is 163 thousand cubic meters. m. The total volume of the grotto is 25 million cubic meters. m. It was discovered in 1981 by three English cavers who explored the karst massif in Gunung Mulu National Park. The British climbed up the river flowing out of the cave and ended up in a grotto, which could not be illuminated by the lanterns available to the researchers. The area of the hall was so huge. Sarawak can accommodate 50 huge aircraft.
(Vietnam) - the most big cave in the world. It is located in the Vietnamese Phong Nha Kebang National Park, Quang Binh Province. Local residents learned about its existence back in 1991, and in 2009 it was discovered by a British group of speleologists. In some places Sondong reaches two hundred meters in height and one hundred and fifty meters in width. It is recognized as the cave with the highest and widest passages. Its volume is approximately equal to 38.5 million cubic meters. m. In places where light penetrates, grass and even trees grow.
