Hang Son Doong in Vietnam – Photos of The Largest Cave in the World
Friday, January 7th, 2011
We humans have been occupying planet Earth for thousands of years, yet we continue finding new spots that just blow you away. Hang Son Doong is the largest cave in the world, yet it was only discovered some 20 years ago. If the world’s largest cave was only discovered 20 years ago, imagine how much there still is to be discovered. And that’s after thousands of years of being on this planet (more than 6 Billion of us).
When translated from Vietnamese, Hang Son Doong roughly means Mountain River Cave. Hang Son Doong is so large, you could build a full sized skyscraper inside. The cave even has its own jungle, enclosed within cave’s caverns.
The credit for the discovery of Hang Son Doong goes to a Vietnamese man by the name of Ho-Khanh. After he shared what he found with local villagers back in 1991, the people went to check the cave out, but were too afraid of frightening noises made by the underground river so no proper mapping of the caverns was done. Fast forward to 2009 and you have a team of pros from the British Cave Research Association who were prepared for the unexpected and stepped inside in full gear.
Howard Limbert, who’s a lead researcher said that Hang Son Doong is about five times larger than Phong Nha, a cave that previously held the title for the largest cave in Vietnam. According to Howard Limbert and his team, the largest chamber of Hang Son Doong is 5 kilometers long and 200 meters tall. How’s that for a huge space.
The roof over one of the caverns collapsed, the researchers found, allowing enough light in, which resulted in vegetation growth, hence the discovery of the jungle within the cave.
Hang Son Doong is located near the border of Vietnam with Laos. We have yet to learn more about this prime in the world of caves on Earth. BTW, the end of the cave has not been reached yet. There is no knowing as of yet just how far Hang Son Doong goes.
- Light Beams Uncover Huge Stalagmites on the Floor of Hang Lo
- Photo of Limestone Wall Partially Covered with Algae, Hang Son Doong Cave
- Hang En – a Cave Tunneled Out by the Rao Thuong River
- Garden of Edam – Jungle Inside the Hang Son Doong Cave in Vietnam
- Cave Explorers Swimming in a Hang Ken Underground River, Part of Hang Son Doong Maze
- Who Would Have Thought That Vietnam Was Hiding Such Secret
- And The Cavern Just Goes On and On and On
- Hang Son Doong – The Largest Cave System in the World
- Large Stone Formations Inside the Hang Son Doong Cave
- Hang Son Doong – Possibly the Biggest Subterranean Passage in the World
All photos of Hang Son Doong Cave and adjacent caverns in Vietnam by Carsten Peter, via National Geographics