Son Doong Cave
Encyclopedia
Son Doong cave is a cave
in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province
, Vietnam
. The cave is located near the Laos
-Vietnam
border ( 17°27'25.88"N 106°17'15.36"E). It has a large fast-flowing underground river inside.
The cave was found by a local man named Hồ-Khanh in 1991. The local jungle men were afraid of the cave for the whistling sound it makes from the underground river. However, not until 2009 was it made known to the public when a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association
, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang from April 10-14, 2009. Their progress was stopped by a large calcite
wall. According to Limbert, this cave is five times larger than the Phong Nha cave
, previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Son Doong is over five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide. With these dimensions, Son Doong overtakes Deer Cave
in Malaysia to take the title of the world's largest cave.
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province
Quang Binh Province
Quảng Bình , formerly Tiên Bình under the reign of Le Trung Hung of the Lê Dynasty, this province was renamed Quảng Bình in 1604) is a province in the North Central Coast of Vietnam....
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The cave is located near the Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
-Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
border ( 17°27'25.88"N 106°17'15.36"E). It has a large fast-flowing underground river inside.
The cave was found by a local man named Hồ-Khanh in 1991. The local jungle men were afraid of the cave for the whistling sound it makes from the underground river. However, not until 2009 was it made known to the public when a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association
British Cave Research Association
The British Cave Research Association is a speleological organisation in the United Kingdom. Its object is to promote the study of caves and associated phenomena, and it attains this by supporting cave & karst research, encouraging original exploration , collecting and publishing speleological...
, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang from April 10-14, 2009. Their progress was stopped by a large calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
wall. According to Limbert, this cave is five times larger than the Phong Nha cave
Phong Nha cave
Phong Nha Cave is a cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. It is 7729 meters long and contains 14 grottos, as well as a 13,969 meter underground river. While scientists have surveyed it to a depth of 44.5 kilometers, tourists are only...
, previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Son Doong is over five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide. With these dimensions, Son Doong overtakes Deer Cave
Deer Cave
Deer Cave is located near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo and is a show cave attraction of Gunung Mulu National Park. It was surveyed in 1961 by G.E. Wilford, of the Malaysian Geological Survey, who predicted that Mulu would yield many more caves in the future...
in Malaysia to take the title of the world's largest cave.