The World's Largest Cave: It Has a Forest, a River, and Clouds Inside

Summary

Explore the awe-inspiring Son Doong, the world's largest cave, hidden deep within Vietnam. This subterranean wonder spans 9 km and houses a self-sustaining ecosystem with unique species, from transparent fish to colorful monkeys. The journey takes you through vast underground rivers, ancient limestone formations, and a prehistoric rainforest. Along the way, explorers face stunning geological formations and discover rare wildlife in the darkness. Son Doong, a living testament to the power of nature, has remained largely unexplored until 2009, and still holds many secrets waiting to be unveiled.

Takeaways

• 😀 Son Doong Cave, located in Vietnam, is the largest cave on Earth, featuring a completely self-sustaining ecosystem and its own climate conditions.
• 😀 The cave has a prehistoric rainforest, an underground river, and hosts over 250 unique plant and animal species, with seven newly discovered animal species.
• 😀 The cave stretches 9 kilometers in length and contains 38.5 million cubic meters of space, with passages so large that a 40-story skyscraper could fit inside.
• 😀 Some of the cave's rock formations, like phytocarst rocks, move toward the sun, and the cave also contains rare cave pearls.
• 😀 Son Doong Cave was completely unexplored until 2009 when it was fully mapped in Vietnam.
• 😀 The exploration journey to Son Doong includes a long trek through the jungle and passing through N Cave, the third-largest cave in the world.
• 😀 Inside the cave, explorers encounter formations like stalagmites, stalactites, and travertine, and they need to avoid bat guano and falling debris.
• 😀 The cave is a complex natural wonder, with massive river systems and water levels that can rise dramatically during the flooding season.
• 😀 At the Hope and Vision Passage, the cave's largest section, the tallest stalagmite in the world stands 80 meters tall, formed over 800,000 years.
• 😀 The cave contains a unique underground rainforest where sunlight filters through collapsed ceilings, allowing rare plants and animals, including monkeys, to thrive.
• 😀 Inside the cave, various rare and blind species such as transparent fish and crickets live in total darkness, adapting to the cave's extreme conditions.

Q & A

What makes Sandon Cave unique?

Sandon Cave is unique because it is the largest cave on Earth, with a self-sustaining ecosystem, its own climate conditions, an underground river, and a prehistoric rainforest. Over 250 species of plants and animals live there, some of which are newly discovered and unique to this cave.

What is the significance of the phytocarst formations found in Sandon Cave?

Phytocarst formations in Sandon Cave are rare limestone structures shaped by the growth of algae, mosses, and microorganisms combined with calcium carbonate. These formations are unique in that they are partially living and partially non-living, moving towards the sun like semi-living organisms.

Why is the Song Dong Cave difficult to access?

Access to Song Dong Cave is restricted to protect its fragile environment and ensure the safety of visitors. Only the Oxalus agency is authorized to operate expeditions, and the cave's remoteness and size make it difficult to explore.

What is the size and scale of Song Dong Cave?

Song Dong Cave stretches 9 kilometers in length and has a volume of 38.5 million cubic meters of space. Its passages are so large that a 40-story skyscraper could fit inside, and the giant stalagmites resemble towers of ancient cities.

What types of animals are found in Sandon Cave?

Sandon Cave is home to a variety of species, including transparent fish, colorful monkeys, crickets, blind fish, cave pearls, and unique species of centipedes and snakes. Over 200 species of plants and almost 60 species of animals have been recorded.

What is the 'Hope and Vision Passage' in Song Dong Cave?

The Hope and Vision Passage is the largest part of Song Dong Cave. It features massive stalagmites, including the tallest in the world at 80 meters high. This section is about the size of a 40-story skyscraper and holds remarkable geological formations.

How did the largest cave in the world form?

The largest cave formed over millions of years due to the erosion of calcium-rich limestone by rainwater. This process, combined with tectonic movements, created pathways for water to flow deeper into the cave, gradually forming its expansive size.

Why are the cave pearls in Song Dong Cave so rare?

Cave pearls are rare because they take hundreds of years to form, growing around a tiny nucleus such as a grain of sand. In Song Dong Cave, these pearls can grow as large as a tennis ball due to the cave's age and unique environmental conditions.

What role does bat guano play in the ecosystem of Song Dong Cave?

Bat guano, accumulated over millions of years, serves as a highly fertile soil in parts of Song Dong Cave. This soil supports the growth of plants and trees in the cave's underground rainforest, allowing it to thrive in a unique ecosystem.

What challenges did the explorers face during their journey through Song Dong Cave?

Explorers faced several challenges, including navigating through narrow passages, crossing water-filled areas, and dealing with difficult terrain. They also encountered the risks posed by fast rivers, steep climbs, and the physical toll of traveling for days in a dark, humid environment.