By SARAH GRIFFITHS
PUBLISHED: 11:08 GMT, 2 October
2013 | UPDATED: 13:44 GMT, 2 October
2013
Adventurers have stumbled across a cave so enormous that it
has its own weather system, complete with wispy clouds and
lingering fog inside vast caverns.
A team of expert cavers and photographers have been exploring
the vast cave system in the
Chongquing province of China and have taken the first-ever
photographs of the natural wonder.
They were amazed to discover the entrance to the hidden Er
Wang Dong cave system and were stunned when they managed to climb
inside to see a space so large that it can contain a
cloud.
Scroll down for video
The view from a small
window in the wall of the vast Niubizi Tian Keng in the Er Wang
Dong cave system, where clouds form inside the huge spaces. Three
tiny explorers can be seen negotiating the heavily vegetated
floor
An intrepid cave explorer
ascends a rope hanging from the Niubizi Tian Keng. This photograph
is one of the first-ever images taken of one of a cave so large it
has its own weather system
Photographer and caver Robbie Shone, from Manchester, was
part of a team of 15 explorers on a month-long expedition that
discovered the hidden system.
'A few of the caves had previously been used by nitrate
miners, at the areas close to the entrance, but had never been
properly explored before,' he said.
'All the major passageways were deep underground and had
never seen light before.
Explorer Duncan Collis
(pictured) climbs a thin rope up to a small ledge overlooking the
vast floor surface of Niubizi Tian Keng in the Er Wang Dong cave
system. A team of expert cavers have been exploring the caves in
the Chongquing province of China
The tranquil rural village
of Ranjiagou falls nearby the hidden natural wonder is pictured
left, while an intrepid caver stands on the central ridge
overlooking the cathedral-like Cloud Ladder Hall, where fog
conceals the roof hundreds of metres above (right)
American speleologist Erin
Lynch struggles to pull her way across a raging torrent of white
water, which is the main river in Quankou Dong. One of the
explorers said they had to be aware of high water levels inside the
caves, especially when it rained heavily on the surface
'It is always very special, knowing that you are the first to
step foot into a cave or somewhere where nobody had previously
seen, not knowing what you might find and discover.
'Where else on Earth can still hold secrets and mysteries of
discovery? That's what I love so much about exploring.
Mr Shones was particularly excited about the cave network's
interior weather system.
The spectacular beddings in
the roof of Quankou. Photographer and caver Robbie Shone, from
Manchester, was part of a team of 15 explorers on a month-long
expedition who stumbled across the natural wonder
The underground camp in
Sang Wang Dong is cosy and warm, according to the cavers. Hot food
and drink recharge weary and tired explorers who sleep in either
suspended hammocks or on roll mats on the floor, before venturing
out into the vast surroundings
American speleologist Erin
Lynch peers down over her shoulder into a giant void of cloud.The
floor is over 240m below and although it cant be seen due to the
thick cloud that lingers around her, the echo that reverberates
several seconds later reminds her of the volume of empty space and
her lofty location
'I had never seen anything quite like the inside cloud ladder
before,' he said.
'Thick cloud and fogs hangs in the upper half of the cave,
where it gets trapped and unable to escape through the small
passage in the roof, 250m above the ground.
'It reminded me of being in an abandoned slate quarrying
North Wales in bad weather.
The cave system discovered is not the only one with clouds
inside, as humidity rises inside the caverns into colder air to
form clouds inside the giant, enclosed spaces.
Large stalagmites at the
foot of a giant ascending ramp to another level of development in
San Wang Dong create a spectacle mid-way through a section of cave
called Crusty Duvets
A giant calcite stalactite
boss, dwarfs team member Matt Ryan as he looks up at the giant
geological feature
The network, includes 'Cloud Ladder Hall' which itself
measures around 51,000 metres squared, while there
are rivers and vegetation on the floor of some of
its huge caverns.
'Most caves are either accessed by large walking entrance,
some require a long deep swim, other may be very vertical in nature
where you need ropes to abseil down the walls deep into the
caves.
'We had to be aware of high water levels inside the caves,
especially when it rained heavily on the
surface.
'The drainage catchment to these caves is massive and soon
the caves can be extremely dangerous and impassable,' he
added.
Duncan Collis and Erin
Lynch walk through a section of cave in San Wang Dong called The
Sea of Tranquility. Here remains of old Nitrate mining cover the
floor in forms of harths - pits and unwanted spoil. One team member
said it reminded him of being in an abandoned slate quarrying North
Wales in bad weather
An explorer scales the rope
up a vertical section of cave known as a pit in Xinu Attic
Crystal clear pools and
slow moving streams make it easier to explore Quankou Dongs main
river passage in the huge network of caves that have not welcomed
visitors in years
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2441450/Er-Wang-Dong-cave-China-huge-weather-system.html
