You’re Going To Dig The World’s Most Incredible Caves
There are a ton mysteries on this Earth of ours. We still haven't explored all of the ocean, so there's no telling what's going on down there. New animal species come around every so often. We even find new diseases! But some of the most complex discoveries come from the caves on this planet. There's no telling what explorers will discover when they enter a cave. Get ready to experience some of the wildest discoveries from the world's deepest caverns. You might want to brace yourself...
The Crystals In Naica, Mexico
When scientists began searching in this Mexican cave, they didn't expect to find any form of life. The exact opposite ended up happening when they discovered something around 50,000 years old. How's that for ironic?
The cavern, located in Naica, Mexico, was a breeding ground for bacteria. They thrived by digesting minerals such as magnesium and iron from the massive crystals that existed in the cave. Discovering these bacteria might've changed the way we think life can endure.
Descend At Your Own Risk
Many caves have an end in sight. You walk in for a few meters, and then there is nowhere left to turn. That isn't the case when you enter Krubera cave. The light at the end of the tunnel doesn't appear for hundreds of feet.
The Krubera cave is the deepest you'll find on Earth. It extends a total of 2,197 meters! You can find it in the Arabika Massif in Abkhazia, Georgia. The decline is pitch black and full of twists and turns and is the 12th deepest cave in North America.
A Beautiful Sight To See
Let's just start by saying this is one of the most lovely looking caves we've ever seen. Chama ice cave is near the village of Sheikh Ali Khan, outside the city of Koohrang. This is one of the rarest caves in the area with tons of beautiful scenery.
The snow remains year-round, so you can go there any time of the year to experience what you see in the picture. Not all caves look this nice, so if you're an enthusiast, be thankful.
The Walls Are Watching
Sometimes, caves can be too creepy to enter. For the West Wycombe Caves in southeast England, that might be the case. These caverns home carvings on the wall that are daunting, to say the least.
What you see when you enter are faces of the "devil", or at least that's what people say. Due to these odd-looking carvings, the caves earned the nickname of Hellfire Caves. While the caves are humanmade, the scary faces make this a place people want to avoid.
New Zealand's Glowing Cave
Like we've said already, caves are very mysterious. You never know what's going on inside. If you've ever seen phosphorescent ocean tides, New Zealand has the cave version of this phenomenon. In Glowworm cave, the walls emit a beautiful glow.
These worms dangle from the ceiling, hoping to catch their next meal which would be flying insects. The Glowworm cave formed 30 million years ago and is now host to frequent kayak tours.
Surrounded By YUCK
Originally discovered in Tabasco, Mexico, inside this cave hangs a stringy, gooey substance that's earned a fitting name. You can call the material in question snottite. It hangs as it waits to capture insects that fly by.
The snottite is a bunch of bacterial mats. It carries the same consistency of mucus (gross). Due to the harsh condition the bacteria have to survive in, they are extremophilic. Humans wouldn't be able to thrive in the same circumstances.
The Real Life Batcave
Maybe Batman and Dracula do exist. Perhaps they dwell in this cave that houses hundreds of bats. Located in the Barangay Tambo, Samal Island, you can find an abundance of the nocturnal flying creatures. The Monfort Bat Sanctuary has enough bats to make Dracula tremble.
The depth is also something to marvel at since it extends 245 feet deep. Since bats have adapted well to cave life, the massive size of this cavern doesn't bother them. That could be why they all flocked there.
Caves Of Death?
Northern Scotland is home to a cave where weird things went down. The Smoo Cave earned the nickname of Caves of Death thanks to what scientists found inside of them: bones that point towards human sacrifice. Yikes, that seems horrifying.
How did the scientists figure out that sacrifices happened in there? Well, they found bodies in pits, heads on spikes, and different degrees of awful things. Do you need any more convincing of human sacrifices?
One Of The Creepiest Statues
Not so long ago, a few hikers were minding their own business while exploring the Catskill Mountains. During their trek, they stumbled upon a small cavern, which didn't extend too deep, but what they uncovered was petrifying. It was something out of a nightmare.
When you first look at it, the ornament looks like a voodoo doll with nails piercing through the eyes. They found the "Crone Statue" in 2016 and said it brought about a robust supernatural feeling inside of them.
A Very Interesting Salamander
Scientists always find strange things in caves and sometimes they can also turn out to be beautiful. In this instance, we're referencing the aquatic salamander. In all of its blind beauty, you can find this little guy in the caves of Slovenia and Croatia.
The fascinating thing about this salamander is that it breeds and swims in the water while using electro-sensation to comprehend the environment. Oh, it can also live past 100 years. It also keeps its original gills until it passes away, which is irregular for an amphibian.
Cave Of The Hands
When you think about it, it's pretty awesome to know that caves have a mysterious cloud surrounding them. You never know what scientists or even regular folk are going to uncover. Take this cave in Argentina, for example, the Cave of the Hands.
The Cave of the Hands taught us how this past civilization created art. What you see in this picture is dozens of handprints made with red chalk powder. The handprints are around 9,500 to 13,000 years old.
Neanderthal Lifestyle
Uncovered in the Zengpiyan cave were Neanderthal structures. They were very resourceful people. The Neanderthal figured how to manipulate the cave's natural stalactites and stalagmites to make structures for whatever they were into doing at the time.
In this specific cave, there were over 400 of the stalactites and stalagmites, helping them build their effigy chambers. No one really knows what they did with these things, but it's an exciting insight into their culture when it comes down to it.
Stay Away From Northern Brazil Caves
Giant caves are one thing, creepy insects that can kill you is another, but the world's largest snake is an entirely different story. Previously, the biggest snake ever found was around 20 feet, and they found it in Kansas City, Missouri.
But uncovered in Altamira, Para, Brazil was a snake that stretched out to be 33 feet! Construction workers were on a job site with Brazilian caves when they found this insane beast. If you don't want to test your luck, don't explore the caves in Para!
Would You Care For Some Ancient Jewelry?
The cave called Cueva de Santa Ana had some interesting artifacts inside of it. Here, scientists found jewelry made by the Neanderthals. If you ask us, it seems like the Neanderthals were always busy and not as primitive as one might think.
There was also art inside which dated back 64,000 years ago. The jewelry, however, dates back even further to around 115,000 years. Imagine the worth of those pieces!
Hobbits Are Real?
Did you ever think that we would uncover a new species of human here on Earth? Well whether you did or not, it happened, and these humans were incredibly small. Researchers discovered their remains in a cave called Liang Bua, found in Indonesia.
This species measured out to be three feet tall. Sounds like a hobbit. Many believed they lived until around 12,000 years ago, but new research begs to differ. The new results indicate that these humans were more than 50,000 years ahead of the Neanderthals.
Cannibalism In Ancient Times
If you take a walk up North West Highlands Geopark in Scotland, you'll follow a path that leads you to the famous Bone Caves. Inside these caves are bones of wolves, bears, and other creatures that used to roam that land.
At least 30 of the bones discovered in there were dented, broken or crushed in ways that suggest cannibalism occurred here. Some of the bones were even worked on with tools and were cooked as well, showing large teeth marks. Scientists think all of this was leverage as an intimidation factor.
The Unsettling Underwater Find
While exploring an underwater cave in Madagascar, divers uncovered bones of giant lemurs. Those creatures aren't supposed to be large in any way. They claimed they were the size of gorillas. How the bones got there is still a mystery, but scientists think the currents could've pushed them.
The Earth was a scary place before humans took over. There were all types of giant creatures roaming around. Not only were there huge lemurs, but giant dragonflies, ostriches, and deer existed as well.
Homo Naledi
Indonesia was home to the cave that had bones of a new type of human and Africa has them as well. It's the single largest discovery of skeletal bones ever. This new species received the name of Homo Naledi, but they haven't figured out the exact age of these bones.
Scientists suspect that they lived around three million years ago. One of their distinguishable features is the shape of their skulls. This species had a smaller brain cavity but a more-defined brow ridge.
An Oddity Of Romania
Sure, other places have caves filled with bats and glowing worms, but that isn't as frightening as this. You wouldn't think of Romania as being a place that houses extremely threatening insects, but that's the case.
For 5.5 million years, no one has even touched this cave, and for a good reason. The Movile Cave hosts spiders, centipedes, and scorpions for the most part. There is also a lake that smells like rotten eggs and emits hydrogen sulfide when disturbed.
An Oddity Of Romania Part Two
Did you know this cave carries a similar environment to Mars? To explore this retched place, scientists need to go deep into the waters. The oxygen in there is half of the normal level as well. That translates to death if you don't have an oxygen tank.
All of these conditions combined make it so that you can only stay down there for a few hours. The human body isn't adapted to live in such a hostile manner.
An Oddity Of Romania Part Three
No sunlight makes it into the cave at all. Due to that, the ecosystem depends on its rays. For instance, the bacteria in the Movile Cave get carbon dioxide from places other than sunlight. This dungeon is the only place on Earth where that happens.
How do they do that? When they break down the chemicals in the air, that's how. For instance, certain bacteria break down the sulfur and turn it into sulfur dioxide.
