This Is the Town Where People Live Underground – Coober Pedy | World's Most Extreme
Summary
TLDRKuberpedi, known as the opal mining capital of the world, is home to unique underground living. With temperatures ranging from 1 to 45 degrees, residents prefer the constant 22-degree underground climate. The town features over a hundred subterranean homes, churches, and even solar and wind-powered energy. Despite the risk of collapsing mines and accidental encounters with neighbors, the town's history of opal mining has shaped its distinctive way of life, offering both comfort and the unexpected discovery of precious opals.
Takeaways
- 🌍 Kuberpedi is known as the opal mining capital of the world, with a unique underground living culture.
- 🏘️ Approximately half of Kuberpedi's 2,500 residents live in subterranean homes carved into the sandstone bedrock.
- 🏠 These underground homes provide a constant temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius, offering respite from extreme weather conditions.
- 🧱 The town's underground dwellings are not only comfortable but also low impact, with many powered by solar and wind energy sources.
- 🏡 Residents have the freedom to design and expand their homes without many regulations, sometimes leading to accidental connections with neighbors.
- 💸 The potential for discovering opals while expanding homes is a unique benefit, as exemplified by a hotel's extension that uncovered a valuable opal deposit.
- 🔨 The tradition of underground living began over a century ago with miners who slept in their mine shafts.
- 🏞️ Despite the decline of the opal mining industry, the legacy of digging and underground living persists in Kuberpedi's landscape.
- ⚠️ The town is characterized by millions of holes in the ground, some of which are deep and pose risks of collapse.
- 🏡 The underground lifestyle has become an integral part of Kuberpedi's identity, even as the town evolves with the times.
Q & A
What is the significance of Kuberpedi in the world of opal mining?
-Kuberpedi is known as the opal mining capital of the world, indicating its importance in the global opal mining industry.
Why do half of Kuberpedi's residents live underground?
-Residents live underground to escape the outback's brutal climate, which includes extreme temperatures ranging from 1 degree in winter to 45 degrees in summer.
How many subterranean homes are there in Kuberpedi?
-There are over a hundred subterranean homes dug into the sandstone bedrock in Kuberpedi.
What is the constant temperature maintained in the underground homes?
-The underground homes maintain a comfortable constant temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius throughout the year.
How do ventilation shafts contribute to the underground living conditions in Kuberpedi?
-Ventilation shafts allow air to circulate through the dugouts, preventing them from becoming stuffy and ensuring a comfortable living environment.
What is a unique aspect of building homes in Kuberpedi?
-There are no rules and regulations on how homes are designed in Kuberpedi, allowing residents to build and extend their homes as they like.
What unexpected benefit can come from building an extension to an underground home?
-Building an extension can lead to the discovery of opal deposits, as seen with a hotel that found a valuable pocket of shells during an extension, increasing their assets by nearly 1.5 million.
How did the idea of living underground in Kuberpedi start?
-The idea started over a hundred years ago with miners who slept in their mine shafts while searching for opals.
What is the estimated number of holes dug for opal mining in Kuberpedi?
-It is estimated that there are over two million holes dug for opal mining in Kuberpedi.
What is the potential danger associated with the numerous holes in Kuberpedi?
-There is a risk of falling into the holes, which can be 80 to 100 feet deep, and there have been rumors of people falling into them.
How has the opal mining industry changed in Kuberpedi over the years?
-The opal mining industry has dwindled in recent years, being surpassed by tourism, but it has left a significant mark on the landscape with numerous holes and the unique underground living style.
Outlines
🏰 Underground Living in Kuberpedi
Kuberpedi, known as the opal mining capital of the world, is a unique town where half of its 2,500 inhabitants live underground in over a hundred subterranean homes carved into the sandstone bedrock. This unusual living arrangement began over a century ago with miners who slept in their mine shafts. Today, residents enjoy a constant temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius year-round, thanks to the natural insulation of the earth. Despite the comfortable living conditions, the town's history with opal mining has left a legacy of millions of holes that pose potential dangers, with some reaching depths of 80 to 100 feet. The town's underground lifestyle is not only a response to the extreme climate, which can range from 1 degree Celsius in winter to 45 degrees Celsius in summer, but also a testament to the resourcefulness of its residents who have adapted to their environment, even incorporating solar power and wind energy to minimize their ecological footprint.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Kuberpedi
💡Subterranean Homes
💡Opal Mining
💡Climate
💡Ventilation Shafts
💡Sustainable Living
💡Regulations
💡Opal Field
💡Mine Shafts
💡Tourism
💡Holes
Highlights
Kuberpedi is the opal mining capital of the world.
Half of Kuberpedi's 2,500 inhabitants live underground.
There are over a hundred subterranean homes dug into the sandstone bedrock.
Churches in Kuberpedi are also underground.
Underground living is a way to escape the outback's extreme climate.
Temperatures in underground homes remain a constant 22 degrees.
Ventilation shafts are used for air circulation in the dugouts.
Underground living is low impact, with power coming from solar and wind energy.
There are no rules and regulations on designing underground homes.
Building extensions can sometimes uncover opal deposits.
A hotel extension led to the discovery of opal worth nearly 1.5 million.
Kuberpedi's history revolves around digging holes for opal mining.
The idea of living underground started over a hundred years ago with miners.
Opal mining industry has declined, but its impact on the landscape remains.
There are over two million holes in the area, some up to 100 feet deep.
There have been rumors of people falling into holes.
Despite the decline in mining, Kuberpedi's underground lifestyle persists.
Transcripts
this is kuberpedi
the opel mining capital of the world
[Music]
parts of cuba seem like an ordinary town
but there's more to this place than
meets the eye
because of kuberpg's 2 500 inhabitants
[Music]
half live underground
there are over a hundred of these
subterranean homes
dug into the sandstone bedrock
even the churches are on the down low
why to escape the outback's brutal
climate
if you like to live in extremes this is
a place to be
nice and cold in winter like down to one
degree and
in summer where it gets up to around the
45 mark
it's one extreme to the other that's why
we like to live in an underground home
because it's always a constant
temperature around 22 degrees
here an upside down life is normal
we come home from school do our homework
do our chores and then dad would press a
jackhammer in your hand and say
get cracking we're making another
bedroom
we grew up literally with a pick and
shovel
we were born with it just about
whilst the subterranean temperature
remains a comfy 22 degrees all year
round
[Music]
ventilation shafts allow air to breeze
through the dugouts
so they don't get too stuffy
and it's not just comfy it's low impact
living
because much of what little power the
dugouts need comes from a solar array
and wind farms outside of town
oh and it's also pretty stress-free
you can build anything you like because
you can design anything you like there's
no rules and regulations on
how you design your home there has been
incidences
where they did break through into the
neighbor's place
more than once that was back in the days
when the
measuring tape must have been written in
in some other language or something
building your new extension can bring
unexpected benefits
building your houses it's still opal
field so you always got a chance to find
a bit of opal
i know a hotel in town which they
decided to extend a few more rooms
and there was a nice pocket of shells
which gave them of nearly 1.5 million in
in assets so they're pretty happy with
their new extension
kuberpedi's entire history has been
about digging holes
the idea of living underground started
over a hundred years ago
with the miners who slept in their mine
shafts
whilst they searched for their fortune
surpassed by tourism the opal mining
industry has dwindled in recent years
but it's left its mark on the land
every one of those little piles of sand
has got a hole next to it
they estimate there's over two million
of them and someone's been down those
holes
looking for opal they build out
underneath
so any of this ground could collapse
when you lose your footing
you just slide straight into it and they
go down some can go down 80 to 100 feet
you can usually tell how deep it is by
dropping a little rock down it
[Music]
and that one's about 60 feet over the
years there's been
some rumors that people have been
dropped down holes
there's millions of holes out there who
knows who's down
any of them even if mining has moved on
this town's underground way of life has
stuck
you
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