World's Largest Cave

[n2doc]

British explorers discover the light at the end of the tunnel... in the world's largest cave
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 6:09 PM on 01st May 2009


A British caving team believe they have discovered the world's largest cave passage in the heart of the Vietnamese jungle.
The rocky passage is 150metres long and measures a towering 200metres in height - seven times as high as the vaulted ceiling of York Cathedral.



Called Hang Son Doong (Mountain River Cave) it is believed to be almost twice the size of the current record holder.
'It is a truly amazing sized cave and one of the most significant discoveries by a British caving team,' said Adam Spillane, a member of the 13-man expedition team.
Using a laser measuring device known as the LaserRace 300, which measures height and width, the team are now back in the UK analysing their readings.

[dipsydoodle]

1. Awesome

n/t

[rock]

2. Wow!

Just wow!

[gblady]

3. wow, impressive pictures....

such great beauty and wonder, this planet Earth.

[Ripley]

4. Third pic down

Stalagmites look like a giant hand making a peace sign.

Interesting find and great pics, thanks.

[Lisa0825]

36. That was my first thought too!:-)

:hippie:

[pleah]

5. That is awesome!

:wow: And, beautiful!

[Joanne98]

6. BEAUTIFUL!

[n2doc]

7. forgot the link...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1175430/British-explorers-discover-worlds-largest-cave-deep-Vietnamese-jungle.html

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. Over 6km long with a LAKE inside, depth of lake is over 600 feet

.
.
.

Humans or some other mammal musta lived in there at some time or other

Imagine, a "house" 5 miles long with an indoor swimming pool(lake)!!

wow

another link with info

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/reports/2009/04/843724/

[kristopher]

12. I think we are closing in on the secret lair of Cheney. nt

[Myrina]

45. ... he'd be the pale bald one squealing over losing the 'Precioussss' ....

:rofl:

[liquid diamond]

27. That's amazing

[BrklynLiberal]

9. HOLEY MOLEY!!!!

[RedCloud]

10. So impressive it looks like a Hollywood fake cave.

Just big enough for King Kong.

[Seldona]

11. Thanks for posting.

What an amazing place that must be. The photos are awesome, but I bet they don't do it justice.

Otherworldly.

[feslen]

13. re: totally cool

....what else is there to say?....

[progressoid]

14. OMG, it's Brandon Frasier in Journey to the Center of the Earth

[wroberts189]

15. Wow ...what an exciting job to have. Must be quite an adventure. nt

[pitchforksandtorches]

16. Nice new home for the Republicans and their new image!

[Blue Belle]

17. Awsome photos.

Thanks for posting.

[yodermon]

18. watch out for the balrog

fly you foolz

[Baby Snooks]

19. Amazing...

We assume we have discovered everything when in fact we haven't - so any mysteries and marvels still waiting to be discovered.

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. What is this thing the british have for caves?

[rug]

21. When is the last time the Science Forum was on the front page?

[rtassi]

22. Thank you so much for posting these ... n/t

[spindrifter]

23. What a phenomenal place!

I wonder how they found it. I also wonder what life is in the cave.

[happygoluckytoyou]

24. We have found THE UNDISCLOSED LOCATION ! ! !

[Lasher]

25. Every spelunker's dream

Finding an enormous new cave that has never been seen before. Looks like these guys hit the jackpot.

[pam4water]

26. "Charlie didn't get much USO. He was dug in too deep or moving too fast. His idea of great R&R

was cold rice and a little rat meat. He had only two ways home: death, or victory." Got to live it when I can quote Apocalypse Now.

[onestepforward]

28. Totally beautiful!

[myrna minx]

29. Absolutely beautiful.

[Vickers]

30. You just know there are giant spiders living in there.

A whole colony of 'em.

:P

[Rebel Scum]

40. They found Shelob's Lair!

[Orrex]

31. From the subject line, I guessed this was about Ben Nelson giving into Insurance Companies

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=5582880

[HughBeaumont]

32. Epic.

Like traveling inside a colossus.

[OwnedByFerrets]

33. Hell, I thought this was a story about the place where

repug souls used to abide.

[Vektor]

34. Here I was expecting nude pics of Sarah Palin. This is WAY cooler.

All joking aside, this is awesome! What stunning, amazing pictures.

[Lena inRI]

35. Two curiosity questions. . .

1--Was this cave part of the underground network devised by Vietcong to supply their forces successfully during the Vietnam conflict, which would then contain much valuable historical evidence?

2--Does the enormous size change the geological phenomenon that caves have a constant temperature of 54 degrees Fahrenheit?

Just curious. . .

:think: :think: :think: :think: :think:

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. I'm sure the Vietnamese people know about the existance of this cave, will the

British be naming the cave after themselves or other such nonsense? Nice pics.

[Chiquitita]

46. What do the Vietnamese say about the story?

Anyone know?
I'd love to hear a Vietnamese perspective on this. How could the British possibly "discover" this?

[Liberal_in_LA]

49. Yeah, kinda like Columbus 'discovering' America.

[DFW]

38. I hope I get to visit this in time

Before it has scheduled guided tours, signs in 20 different languages, cigarette butts, beer cans,
and discarded plastic wrappers of cheeze-its strewn all over the place.

[Undercurrent]

39. K&R

Stunning! I LOVE this amazing planet!

[Joey Liberal]

41. Reminds me of an old girl friend *wink*................

[moggie]

42. It wasn't "discovered" by "British explorers"

It was first entered in 1991 by a Vietnamese man, Ho Khanh. Seems it would be more accurate to say that this new joint British-Vietnamese team are the first to extensively document it. It's no surprise if the xenophobic Daily Mail chooses to downplay the Vietnamese involvement.

[islandmkl]

43. amazing pics and story...

again, i am amused by Western 'explorers' being defined as 'discoverers'...

as opposed to 'those who find things that THEY did not know existed PREVIOUSLY'...'discovery' based on lack of knowledge...

ahh, the old British Explorers, daring and adventurous as they were...where would we be without them?

on edit: i DO appreciate the revelations of these findings, and i DO appreciate the effort involved...

[blackbart99]

44. A long walk of 6km.???

How does this stay a secret for so long? Its not that far out in the wilderness. The locals are
probably going to kick this guys ass for telling the world about this place. paradise lost once again.
But I'm with lib-in-LA....watch these brits try to take all the credit and name it for themselves.

I would like to camp out near the entrance...but for those GIANT SPIDERS...ayyyyyyyyy!! :scared:

[rpannier]

47. Way too impressive for words nt

[Tab]

48. That's a beautiful cave.

I wonder if there are any previously unrecorded species in there?

[ZombieHorde]

50. I did not give you permission to post pictures of my belly button. nt