The Biggest Cave in World
- heliya erfani
- 7 months ago
The biggest cave in the world, The largest natural cave
If you love exploring and traveling and find visiting new places interesting and exciting, and you want to know where the biggest cave in the world is, we suggest you stay with the Sepahran blog until the end of the article.
Hang Son Doong, the largest cave in Vietnam and also the largest cave in the world, was discovered by Ho Khanh, a local jungle man, in 1990. The length of Son Doong Cave is nearly 9 kilometers, and its volume reaches up to 38.5 million cubic meters, making it the largest natural cave on Earth. However, what makes Hang Son Doong unique and well-known worldwide is its hidden and unique underground world. The cave features complex and gigantic stalactites (over 80 meters high) and extensive forests that grow inside. Inside the cave, there is a mysterious underground river that no explorer has yet discovered the end of.
It is worth mentioning that after the largest cave in the world, located in Vietnam, the Samaesan Hole in the Samaesan Bay of Thailand is undoubtedly recognized as the most dangerous and terrifying area in the world.
In 2009, Hang Son Doong was officially surveyed and measured by the British-Vietnam Cave Expedition Team led by Howard Limbert. The expedition team then announced it as the world’s largest natural cave with a volume of 38.5 million cubic meters.
The measurements were accepted by several of the world’s senior karst geologists, including Dr. Tony Waltham. This team, along with National Geographic magazine, announced Son Doong Cave as the largest natural limestone cave on the planet in the same year. In 2013, the Guinness World Records Organisation recorded it as the world’s largest natural cave.
Cave experts estimate that a 40-story skyscraper can easily fit in this passage and it is large enough for a Boeing 747 to fly through. Moreover, the world’s tallest stalagmite, about 80 meters tall, is also located in this passage.
The collapsed ceiling of Son Doong formed a big opening to the outside, called Doline 1 (or skylight), approximately 450 meters high from the top to the bottom. This is also where the underground river disappears. On sunny days, there will be giant sunbeams coming in (from about 11 am to 1 pm), especially from January to March every year. Due to the solar orbit, the sunbeams shine deep inside the cave, illuminating the large passages. The beam from above the sky and the mist from the underground river create a majestic scene that cannot be found elsewhere.
Alisadr, one of the biggest attractions of Hamadan province and the world’s largest water cave, ranks among the most popular sites in Iran with thousands of visitors year-round, especially in spring and summer.
The cave is located in Kabudarahang, a city 60 km from Hamadan. The distance from Kabudarahang to Alisadr Village is 50 km. This cave is situated in the elevated lands of Sari Qieh, which means ‘yellow rock’.
Son Doong is located in the oldest and largest limestone massif in Southeast Asia, with an age of more than 400 million years. Limestone is primarily composed of shells, snails, and most corals. These sedimentary layers rose due to movements in the earth’s crust, forming the limestone mountains seen today. Scientists believe Son Doong was formed approximately 2-3 million years ago along a fault line of the Truong Son Range. Today, the modern-day Thuong River flows through Son Doong Cave.
Additionally, the deepest vertical cave, with a depth of 603 meters (1,978 feet), is Vrtoglavica Cave in Slovenia.
With this volume, Hang Son Doong is 5 times larger than Deer Cave in Malaysia, which was said to be the largest natural cave (before Hang Son Doong was discovered) with a volume of 9.5 million cubic meters.
The biggest cave in world Hang Son Doong
An underground river flows through the cave, which is home to many species of fish adapted to the eternal darkness of the cave. So far, biologists have discovered more than 7 new species of animals in Son Doong Cave, including fish, millipedes, spiders, and scorpions, all of which share the characteristic of being eyeless with transparent bodies.
Given its enormous size, Son Doong has its weather system, with temperatures around 22 to 25 degrees Celsius in summer and 15 to 20 degrees Celsius in winter. These temperatures are consistently lower than outside by 8 to 12 degrees Celsius in summer due to the lack of sunlight and the damp atmosphere, influenced by the difference in air pressure, which causes airflow.
Son Doong Cave is located in the core zone of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, near the Laos–Vietnam border. The park has been recognized twice by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site, in 2003 and 2015.
Thanks to Son Doong, other tours and services in the region have opened and developed. Many homestays and hotels have been built for tourists, providing stable jobs for locals. The Son Doong tour alone has created jobs for 125 people in Phong Nha directly and hundreds more indirectly through food supply, accommodations, transfers, and other services.
In conclusion,
at the end of this article about the world’s largest cave, if you ever decide to travel to Vietnam, it’s worth knowing that this country boasts several other exciting caves and tourist destinations. Stay connected with Sepehran Blog to explore more of the world’s best articles.
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