The cave is the largest. Ten most unusual caves in the world (10 photos)

On December 27, 1966, the Swallow Cave in Mexico was discovered, the most big cave well in the world. In terms of depth, the Swallow Cave ranks 2nd in Mexico and 11th on Earth. We decided to talk about the ten most unusual caves in the world.

Cave of karst origin, located in Mexico, in the state of San Lui Potosi. It looks smaller than it really is. The shape of the cave resembles a bottle: the entrance to the cave is 55 meters, and in depth it expands to 130-160 meters. The depth reaches 376 meters, which is commensurate with the height of the Empire State Building (381 meters without a spire). The famous New York skyscraper Chrysler Building, whose height reaches 319 meters, could easily be placed in the cave. Black swifts live in the cave, but the name is derived from the Spanish word Golondrinas (“swallow”).

In the morning, flocks of birds fly in a spiral, gaining height until they reach the exit of the cave. In order not to disturb the calm life of swifts, descents into the cave are allowed only at certain times: from 12:00 to 16:00. In addition, a collision with a flock of birds during a free flight is very dangerous: the cave, which has become a Mecca for fans of extreme sports, is a serious test even for very experienced and physically prepared base jumpers. The descent into the cave takes about 20 minutes with climbing equipment and about 10 seconds with a long parachute jump, while the parachute can only be opened at a strictly defined time: at 6-7 seconds of falling. Climbing up takes about two hours and requires good climbing and physical fitness.

carlsbad cave

The 250-million-year-old Carlsbad Cave is part of a chain of 80 karst caves in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico, USA. The depth of the cave is 339 meters, the total length of all passages and halls is about 12 kilometers.

The largest hall has the shape of the letter T with dimensions in two directions of 610 and 335 meters, a height of up to 87 meters and an area of ​​5.7 hectares. The cave is a system of huge halls and galleries and is famous for the special beauty and grace of mineral formations. Carlsbad Cave was formed during the deposition of thick layers of limestone in the rock. Small cracks formed in this limestone, into which water seeped through, dissolving softer minerals and forming caves and tunnels.

In all the caves of the Carlsbad chain, stalactites formed fantastic figures: Bashful Elephant (Shameful Elephant) looks like an elephant turned back to the passage, Rock of Edges (Century Rock) is a lone giant stalagmite. The caves became a refuge for the colony bats: at dusk, the entrance to the caves turns black due to the nocturnal inhabitants flying away to hunt.

crystal cave

It is located in the Mexican desert of the state of Chiahua at a depth of 300 meters and was found while drilling a local mine. The cave is famous for giant crystals of selenite, a mineral, a structural variety of gypsum. The largest of the found crystals has a size of 11 meters in length and 4 meters in width, with a mass of 55 tons. These are the largest natural crystals ever found on the planet. The cave is also known for its unusual climate: it is very hot here. Temperatures reach 58 °C with 90–100% humidity, which makes it very difficult to explore the cave. Even with equipment, being in a cave usually does not exceed 20 minutes. Access to the cave is open only to scientists.

Han Son Dung Cave

The largest cave on planet Earth, Han Son Dung, which means "Mountain River Cave", is located in Vietnam. It was discovered only in 2009 by a group of British researchers. The largest hall of the cave has a total length of more than 5 thousand meters, the total length of the cave is presumably 9 thousand meters. The halls and corridors are 100 meters wide and 200 meters high.

The cave is unusual in that many years ago, gaps formed in the roof of the cave, through which light and plant seeds entered the underground halls. Now you can find real jungle in the cave. In addition, another interesting rare phenomenon attracts speleologists: cave pearls form in the cave. This rare view pearl grows itself in puddles of lime water. Its composition differs little from traditional shellfish pearls, but it does not have a beautiful mother-of-pearl luster.

Photo: travel times.ru

Abyss of Three Bridges

limestone cave jurassic, a karst sinkhole in Lebanon with a depth of 255 meters, whose age is 160 million years. The cave owes its name to the fact that the opposite walls of the abyss are connected by three bridges, each of which hangs over the other. Passes through them powerful waterfall. For thousands of years, the water from the stream slowly washed away 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.

Fingal's Cave

The famous sea cave is located on the tiny island of Staffa in Scotland. rain and sea ​​water they drilled a whole system of caves on it, the largest of which is named after the giant Fingal, the hero of the Irish epic, who built a dam connecting Scotland and Ireland.

The main hall of Fingal's Cave is 75 meters long, 20 meters wide and 14 meters high, and the entrance to it is so narrow that it is impossible to get there by boat. In the Gaelic language, the cave was called Uam Bin, "Cave of Melodies": the huge hall of the cave repeatedly repeats the sounds of the surf, and the whole cave literally sings. An interesting fact is that when the famous author of the "Wedding March" composer Felix Mendelssohn visited the cave in 1829, he was so amazed by the amazing play of sounds and echoes that it inspired him to create an overture called "The Hebrides, or Fingal's Cave".

The cave is also famous for its impressive basalt colonnade of surprisingly regular shape. Most columns are 6-sided, but there are also 3-sided and 8-sided ones. They acquired such an unusual shape due to the long process of crystallization. volcanic lava. According to legend, these are the remains of piles driven into the bottom of the Irish Sea by the giant Fingal.

Marble Caves of Chile

Marble Caves - the main attraction of Lake Lago General Carrera in Chile and one of the most beautiful places in Patagonia. They are also called the marble cathedral (Marble Cathedral or Las Cavernas de Marmol), which is a maze of beautiful geological formations. In fact, the walls of the cave labyrinth are not made of marble, but of limestone. Numerous tunnels and columns have been formed due to the impact of waves over the past 6200 years.

Most famous caves- Marble Cathedral, Marble Cave and Marble Chapel. All three grottoes are part of the peninsula and used to be completely flooded with water. The glacier that filled the lake melted over time, the water level dropped significantly, revealing marble labyrinths to the world, partially filled with turquoise water. Tourists can explore the caves in a small boat or kayak, but only if the weather is good and calm.

Reed Flute Cave

Reed Flute Cave is an amazingly beautiful cave near the Chinese city of Guilin. One of the largest karst caves in the region, reaching a length of 240 meters. The cave got its name from a special type of reed growing around it, from which some of the best flutes in all of China have been made since ancient times. The age of the cave is at least 180 million years, it was formed due to the destruction of quartz rocks by water. The cave is famous for stalactites, stalagmites and other bizarre mountain formations, and thanks to the illumination and reflection in the underground lake, it gives the impression of frozen actions, which the Chinese gave poetic names: “Crystal Palace”, “Dragon Tower”, “Pine in the Snow”, “Dawn in the Lion’s Grove", "Red Threshold" and so on.

Dragon Cave

The Dragon Cave is located in Kastoria, in northwestern Greece. The cave is considered unique and is the only cave in Greece with 7 fresh underground lakes and 10 halls of various sizes (the largest is 45x17 meters) and 5 tunnels. The depth of the cave reaches 600 meters, but cavers have not yet advanced further than 300 meters. The cave got its name thanks to the legend of the dragon, which zealously guarded the gold mine. Anyone who mustered the courage to sneak into his domain, he incinerated with his gaze and killed with flames from his mouth. In addition, the entrance to the cave resembles the mouth of a dragon. The cave is also famous for its special air circulation system and special microclimate.

Jeita Grotto

Jeita Grotto is a complex of two separate but interconnected karst limestone caves with a total length of almost 9 kilometers. The caves are located in the Nahr al-Kalb valley in the Jeita settlement, 18 kilometers north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Caves and grottoes have been known since Paleolithic times. The lower cave was discovered in 1836 by priest William Thomson, an American missionary. You can only get here by boat, as the cave is filled with an underground river that provides drinking water to more than one million Lebanese. The upper galleries were discovered in 1958 by Lebanese speleologists. They consist of a series of separate chambers, the largest of which reaches a height of 120 meters.

Here is one of the largest stalactites in the world with a height of 8.2 meters. In one of the caves, the remains of an ancient foundry were found, where swords were supposedly made. The giant stalactites of the caves create beautiful compositions, thanks to which the Jeita Caves were among the 28 finalists of the Seven New Wonders of Nature competition.

The largest caves are complex systems of passages and halls, often with a total length of up to several tens of kilometers. Caves are an object of study for speleology. Speleotourists make a significant contribution to the study of caves.

Caves according to their origin can be divided into five groups: tectonic, erosional, ice, volcanic and, finally, the largest group - karst. Caves in the entrance part, with suitable morphology (horizontal spacious entrance) and location (close to water), were used by ancient people as comfortable dwellings.

Caves by origin

Karst caves

Most of these caves. It is karst caves that have the greatest length and depth. Karst caves are formed due to the dissolution of rocks with water, so they are found only where soluble rocks occur: limestone, marble, dolomite, chalk, as well as gypsum and salt. Limestone, and even more so marble, dissolves very poorly with pure distilled water. Solubility increases several times if dissolved carbon dioxide is present in water (and it is always present in natural water), but limestone still dissolves weakly compared to, say, gypsum or, moreover, salt. But it turns out that this has a positive effect on the formation of extended caves, since gypsum and salt caves not only quickly form, but also quickly collapse.

A huge role in the formation of caves is played by tectonic cracks and faults. According to the maps of the explored caves, one can very often see that the passages are confined to tectonic disturbances that can be traced on the surface. Also, for the formation of a cave, a sufficient amount of water precipitation is necessary, a successful form of relief: precipitation from a large area should fall into the cave, the entrance to the cave should be located noticeably higher than the place where groundwater is discharged, etc.

Many karst caves are relic systems: the water flow that formed the cave left it due to a change in relief or to deeper levels (due to a decrease in the local basis of erosion - the bottom of neighboring river valleys), or stopped entering the cave due to a change in the surface catchment, after which the cave goes through various phases of aging. Very often, the studied caves are small fragments of an ancient cave system, opened up by the destruction of the enclosing mountain ranges.

The evolution of karst processes and their chemistry are such that often water, having dissolved mineral substances of rocks (carbonates, sulfates), after some time deposits them on the vaults and walls of caves in the form of massive crusts up to a meter or more thick (cave marble onyx) or special for each cave of ensembles of mineral aggregates of caves, forming stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, draperies and other specific karst mineral forms - sinter formations.

Recently, more and more caves have been opened in rocks traditionally considered non-karst. For example, in the sandstones and quartzites of the mesas of the tepui mountains of South America, the caves of Abismo Guy Collet with a depth of −671 m (2006), Cueva Ojos de Cristal with a length of 16 km (2009) were discovered. Apparently, these caves are also of karst origin. In a hot tropical climate, under certain conditions, quartzite can be dissolved in water.

Another exotic example of the formation of karst caves is the very long and deepest cave in the US mainland, Lechugia Cave (and other caves in Carlsbad National Park). According to the modern hypothesis, it was formed by the dissolution of limestones by rising thermal waters saturated with sulfuric acid.

Tectonic caves

Such caves can arise in any rocks as a result of the formation of tectonic faults. As a rule, such caves are found in the sides of river valleys deeply cut into the plateau, when huge rock masses break off from the sides, forming sagging cracks ( sherlops). Seizure cracks usually converge with depth in a wedge. Most often they are covered with loose deposits from the surface of the massif, but sometimes they form rather deep vertical caves up to 100 m deep. Sherlops are widespread in Eastern Siberia. They are relatively poorly studied and probably occur quite often.

erosion caves

Caves formed in insoluble rocks due to mechanical erosion, that is, worked out by water containing grains of solid material. Often such caves are formed on the seashore under the action of the surf, but they are small. However, the formation of caves, worked out along the primary tectonic cracks by streams going underground, is also possible. Quite large (hundreds of meters long) erosional caves are known, formed in sandstones and even granites. Examples of large erosion caves can be T.S.O.D. (Touchy Sword of Damocles) Cave in gabbro (4 km/−51 m, New York), Bat Cave in gneisses (1.7 km, North Carolina), Upper Millerton Lake Cave in granites (California).

Glacial caves

Another type of glacial caves are caves formed in a glacier at the point where intraglacial and subglacial waters exit at the edge of glaciers. Meltwater in such caves can flow both along the glacier bed and over glacial ice.

A special type of glacial caves are caves formed in glaciers at the exit point of underground thermal waters located under the glacier. Hot water is capable of making voluminous galleries, however, such caves do not lie in the glacier itself, but under it, since the ice melts from below. Thermal ice caves are found in Iceland, Greenland and reach considerable sizes.

Volcanic caves

These caves are formed during volcanic eruptions. The lava flow, cooling down, is covered with a solid crust, forming a lava tube, inside of which molten rock is still flowing. After the eruption has already, in fact, ended, the lava flows out of the tube from the lower end, and a cavity remains inside the tube. It is clear that lava caves lie on the very surface, and often the roof collapses. However, as it turned out, lava caves can reach very large sizes, up to 65.6 km long and 1100 m deep (Kazumura cave, Hawaiian Islands).

In addition to lava tubes, there are vertical volcanic caves - volcanic vents.

Caves by type of host rocks

archaeological finds

Primitive people used caves all over the world as a dwelling. Even more often, animals settled in the caves. Many animals died in the cave-traps, starting from steep wells. The extremely slow evolution of caves, their constant climate, and protection from the outside world have been preserved to us great amount archaeological finds. These are the pollen of fossil plants, the bones of long-extinct animals (cave bear, cave hyena, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros), rock paintings of ancient people (Kapova caves in the Southern Urals, Divya in the Northern Urals, Tuzuksu in the Kuznetsk Alatau, Niah Caves in Malaysia), tools of their labor (villages Strashnaya, Okladnikova, Kaminnaya in Altai), human remains of different cultures, including Neanderthals, up to 50-200 thousand years old (Teshik-Tash cave in Uzbekistan, Denisova cave in Altai, Cro-Magnon in France and many others).

The caves may have played the role of modern cinemas.

Water in the caves

Water, as a rule, is found in many caves, and karst caves owe their origin to it. In the caves you can find condensate films, drops, streams and rivers, lakes and waterfalls. Siphons in caves significantly complicate the passage, require special equipment and special training. Often there are underwater caves. In the entrance areas of the caves, water is often present in a frozen state, in the form of ice deposits, often very significant and perennial.

Air in the caves

In most caves, the air is bad for breathing due to natural circulation, although there are caves in which you can only be in gas masks. For example, guano deposits can poison the air. However, in the vast majority of natural caves, air exchange with the surface is quite intense. The reasons for the movement of air are most often the temperature difference in the cave and on the surface, so the direction and intensity of circulation depend on the season and weather conditions. In large cavities, the movement of air is so intense that it turns into wind. For this reason, air draft is one of the important features when looking for new caves.

cave deposits

Holy ascetics who lived in caves:

  • “And Lot went out of Segor and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Segor. And he dwelt in a cave, and his two daughters with him” (Genesis 19:30)
  • “And the Prophet Elijah went into the cave there and spent the night in it” (1 Kings 19.9)

cave houses

Many peoples made dwellings in caves, as they were easy to keep clean and maintain a constant temperature throughout the year.

  • Sassi Di Matera

Healing caves

In many medical institutions there are rooms called "salt caves". The walls are lined with potash salt bricks, and patients spend some time in them, listening to music and getting a healing effect.

Entertaining caves

Horror caves are known as a part of amusement parks, cafes and bars, finished under a cave.

underground cavities

In addition to caves that have access to the surface and are accessible for direct study by humans, there are closed underground cavities in the earth's crust. The deepest underground cavity (2952 meters) was discovered by drilling on the coast of Cuba. In the Rhodope Mountains, an underground cavity was discovered at a depth of 2400 meters while drilling. On the Black Sea coast in Gagra, underground voids were discovered by drilling at a depth of up to 2300 meters.

Notes

  1. Maruashvili, 1969; TSB; Schukin, 1980; Monkhouse, 1970.
  2. Mineral aggregates of karst caves
  3. "About silicate bradykarst tropical zone”, Maksimovich G. A. // Hydrogeology and karst science. Issue. 7. Perm, 1975: 5-14.
  4. History of the Sylphuric Acid Theory of Speleogenesis in the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, 2000.
  5. OTHER CAVES , Compiled by: Bob Gulden.
  6. Save Millerton Lake Cave
  7. Images from the Millerton Lakes Cave System
  8. Reynaud L., Moreau L. Moulins Glaciaires des Temperes et Froids de 1986 a 1994 (Mer de Glace et Groenland). Actes du 3e Symposium International Cavites Glaciaires et Cryokarst en Regions Polaires et de Haute Montagne, Chamonix-France, 1er-6.XI.1994. Annales Litteraires de l'universite de Besancon, N 561, serie Geographie, N 34, Besancon, 1995, p. 109-113.
  9. Krubera Cave: Profile. Ukrainian Speleological Association (1999-2010) // speleogenesis.info. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  10. Worlds deepest caves, Compiled by: Bob Gulden
  11. I. Kudryavtseva, D. Lury Geography / S.T. Ismailova. - Moscow: Avanta +, 1994. - T. 3. - S. 472. - 638 p. - ISBN 5-86529-015-0
  12. Message to the caving mailing list CML#13657 , Yu.Kasyan, 09/10/2012.
  13. Message to the caving mailing list CML#13648 , P. Rudko, 08/28/2012.
  14. Message to the caving mailing list CML#10132 , A. Shelepin, 09/18/2007.
  15. Worlds longest caves, Compiled by: Bob Gulden
  16. Paleolithic of Altai
  17. Prehistoric caves named as first cinema halls
  18. Wind in the Caves, A.L. Shelepin, 1995, KSK Library

Always associated with caves a large number of secrets and mysteries, because this is a whole world of magic, silence and silence. Even in ancient times, caves were used to shelter humans and animals, and some were even considered the abode of the gods. In nature, there are no two identical caves, because some have lakes, others have halls with grottoes, wells, glaciers and waterfalls. For many thousands of years, rainwater has destroyed the stone, forming stalactites and stalagmites of bizarre shape. In some caves, calcite is formed in the form of pearls, flowers, thin twigs, crumbling at the slightest touch. We present to your attention the rating of the most amazing and beautiful caves peace.

1Giant Crystal Cave, Mexico

A cave of giant crystals in Mexico was discovered by ordinary miners who were working in the south of the country. At the depth of a three-hundred-meter mine, they discovered a cave, literally strewn with huge crystals from the inside. The crystals in the caves are translucent, and their color varies from bright white to golden. The crystals are rectangular or cylindrical in shape, and their length reaches several meters. The base of the cave is stone, which indicates its ancient origin. The huge crystals in it were formed by nature over several million years. Apparently, the room of the Crystal Cave was previously filled with rock, which was gradually washed away by underground waters, after which such unusual formations remained.

2. Na Pali Coast Cave in Kauai, Hawaii


The Hawaiian island of Kauai arose more than 5 million years ago as a result of volcanic activity in this district. One of the most spectacular sights of the island is the coast of Na Pali. Here, the rocks practically hang over the sea, and exotic plants grow on their surface and various birds nest. In addition to picturesque volcanic mountains and evergreen beaches, tourists are attracted here by mysterious caves. For many centuries, sea waves methodically carved volcanic rocks, thus forming the caves of Hawaii. In the caves you can enjoy virgin nature and sea views.

3. Melissani Cave, Greece


The Melissani cave, located on the Greek island of Kefalonia, was forgotten for several centuries and was remembered only in 1951, when the Greek Giannis Petrohelios again found and opened it. Indeed, even in Greek mythology, this cave was mentioned as the dwelling of the nymphs. The reason for such a violent fantasy of the ancient Greeks is quite understandable - the cave with its turquoise lake surrounded by dense forest looks truly fabulous. Melissani Cave has a stone base, on which there are shallow azure waters, at the top there is a huge stone dome with a huge hole through which sunlight enters deep into the cave, creating amazing reflections on its walls. The entrance to the Melissani cave is also very picturesque - it is overgrown with greenery, and the "door" is decorated with natural brownish stone "plaster".

4. Skocjan Caves, Slovenia


One of the most famous karst cave systems on our planet is the Škocjan Caves. On the beautiful Kras Plateau, located in the southwest of Slovenia, these wonderful caves are officially recognized as a nature reserve and a World Heritage Site. Shkocyansky caves owe their appearance to the local river with the name "River" flowing through it, which for centuries "cut down" the caves in karst deposits. However, as a result of water erosion, several arches of the cave collapsed, forming karst failures "Mala Dolina" and "Velika Dolina", separated by a natural bridge. On the territory of Velika Dolina, the River goes underground, appearing on the surface after 34 kilometers already in Italy. In addition, there are many dangerous funnels, dips and small waterfalls on the territory of the Shkocyan Caves. The largest European grotto, the Martel Hall, is also located in the caves.

5. Marble Caves in Chile Chico, Chile


High in the Andes is one of the deepest lakes in the world - Lago General Carrera (Chilean name) or Lago Buenos Aires (Argentinean name), since the lake is located on the border of Chile and Argentina. Not far from the Chilean city of Chile Chico are the famous Marble Caves. Although the walls of the caves are not made of marble at all, but of limestone, but against the background of turquoise water, its vaults, which have white and blue tones of color, look very impressive. Thanks to this natural beauty, thousands of tourists come to see the Marble Caves every year. Small pleasure boats bring tourists here, allowing you to see all the splendor of the shades of the cave, as well as look into the natural windows, as if melted in the walls of the labyrinth of the Marble Caves - boats can no longer drive there. In addition to the amazing Marble Caves, fishing lovers also come to the lake, because its waters are rich in trout and salmon, as well as some other types of fish.

6. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, USA


Mammoth Cave is located in the US state of Kentucky. This unique karst cave has a unique microclimate. The cave was discovered about 4,000 years ago; the remains of ancient torches are still found in it. The cave was used by local tribes for various purposes. American scientists have discovered the mummy of a man who died in this cave more than 2,000 years ago. After numerous studies, scientists came to the conclusion that a person was engaged in gypsum mining here. A rare species of shrimp, crayfish and blind fish have been found in an underground river. In addition, flocks of bats live in the cave. Since the end of the 19th century, Mammoth Cave has become a tourist attraction, for which electric lighting was installed throughout its entire length. However, if you wish, you can walk through the cave as in ancient times - with a paraffin lamp.

7. Cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico


Cenotes are peculiar formations in caves that appear in the rocks under the influence of water. South of the Mexican resort of Cancun, located on the Yucatan Peninsula, is one of the most beautiful cenotes. According to some reports, in ancient times Yucatan was an underwater reef. After the water left, huge caves remained. The caves and grottoes of the Yucatan are completely underground. There are no land rivers on the peninsula - they all flow underground. Once upon a time, the Mayan peoples considered cenotes sacred and drank water from them during religious ceremonies. Tourists from all over the world come to the Yucatan to swim, dive and admire the underground scenery. And ancient stalactites and stalagmites make undersea world truly fabulous. Through the cracks of the caves, sunlight penetrates into the cenotes, giving them a special beauty.

8. Blue Caves, Greece, Zakynthos Island


On Zakynthos, one of the largest Greek islands, there are amazing Blue Caves. Among tourists, the island has gained popularity due to its scenic area, including beaches and villages. In the village of Volimes is located the Blue Cave, which can only be reached through the sea, however, as well as to most of the island. If you visit the Blue Cave at sunset or sunrise, you can enjoy the blue color of the sky and ocean reflected in it. For many years of water erosion, the rocks have taken on the appearance of amazing natural arches. Due to the unusual light effects of the Blue Caves, this place is one of the most visited in Greece. Apart from beautiful caves, on Zakynthos there is a famous beach, considered one of the best in the world.

9. Fingal's Singing Cave, Scotland


For many centuries on the island of Staffa (the island belongs to the group of the Inner Hebrides) in Scotland, the rains and the sea have formed one of the largest caves in the world - Fingal's Singing Cave. The cave owes its name to the famous Scottish poet James MacPherson. According to legend, the giant Fingal, in order to connect Scotland and Ireland, built a dam, along which a huge giant passed into his dwelling, while Fingal lay down to rest before the fight with him. However, his wife was resourceful and said that it was the baby, the son of Fingal, who was sleeping. The huge giant imagined the size of the father of this "baby" and fled in fear, destroying the dam behind him. According to legend, Staff Island is part of this dam. The second reason for this name of the cave is the Geltian meaning of the phrase "Cave of Melodies". The name was given to the cave due to the fact that during the surf, the cave hall repeatedly repeats the sounds of the sea, as if singing!

10 Skaftafell Ice Cave, Iceland


On the edge of glaciers, amazingly beautiful structures are often formed - ice caves. In Iceland, on the lagoon of the Svinafellsjokull glacier, there is the famous Skaftafell Cave. Over the past centuries, the glacier has compressed so much that it has almost no air bubbles, due to which almost all sunlight is absorbed, except for the blue fraction visible inside the cave with the naked eye. Although such blue ice is possible only when the upper layer of the glacier is washed away, for example, in winter. However, such light is found in floating icebergs and other ice caves. Skaftafell cave has a seven meter entrance on the shore. At the end of the cave narrows to one meter. However, it is not safe to visit ice caves, as they are constantly transforming and can collapse at any moment. Only in winter visiting such caves is relatively safe. As ice caves move with the glacier, crackles can often be heard inside them.

We recommend reading