Massive Caves In Vietnam, Some Large Enough To Fit Skycrapers, Explored By National Geographic (PHOTOS)

From National Geographic:

This month's National Geographic features an in depth look at a mammoth series of caves discovered in Vietnam. Inside one of the caves, there's enough room to park a 747. An excerpt from the article reveals more about the massive cavern:

"An enormous shaft of sunlight plunges into the cave like a waterfall. The hole in the ceiling through which the light cascades is unbelievably large, at least 300 feet across. The light, penetrating deep into the cave, reveals for the first time the mind-blowing proportions of Hang Son Doong. The passage is perhaps 300 feet wide, the ceiling nearly 800 feet tall: room enough for an entire New York City block of 40-story buildings. There are actually wispy clouds up near the ceiling."

Read the full article by Mark Jenkins in the January issue of National Geographic, available on newsstands now.

See the amazing full gallery by National Geographic's Carsten Peter.

See more incredible caves at National Geographic's website.

View a small sample of images from Peter's gallery below. All photos and captions are shown courtesy of National Geographic.

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In the dry season, from November to April, a caver can safely explore Hang Ken, with its shallow pools. Come the monsoon, the underground river swells and floods the passages, making the cave impassable. See the amazing full gallery by National Geographic's Carsten Peter.

In the dry season, from November to April, a caver can safely explore Hang Ken, with its shallow pools. Come the monsoon, the underground river swells and floods the passages, making the cave impassable.

See the amazing full gallery by National Geographic's Carsten Peter.

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Comments

[Lori Silverman]

03:08 AM on 01/17/2011

oooh cool

[Tommygun264]

05:56 AM on 01/05/2011

Bruce Wayne eat your heart out.

[PoliSci2008]

05:25 PM on 01/04/2011

Wow! IF only man would concern himself with the exploration of the wonderful world, instead of making war, no telling what else we can discover right here on Earth.

[Erzsebet Gilbert]

06:59 AM on 01/05/2011

I am so on the same page with you here - people whine that too much $$$ is given to scientific research, esp. NASA, forgetting that it's less than 1/20 of what goes into war...

[PoliSci2008]

01:25 PM on 01/05/2011

F & F

[Nel Pineda]

05:07 PM on 01/04/2011

Wow! I want to go there !

[AlexandriaHeather]

02:19 PM on 01/04/2011

Home Sweet Home.

[tjconkster]

01:50 PM on 01/04/2011

So...they've finally found Cheney's undisclosed location.....

[MMMMarilyn]

09:13 PM on 01/04/2011

But not a heart, tinman.

[Erzsebet Gilbert]

06:57 AM on 01/05/2011

It has to be damp.

[maslin]

11:37 AM on 01/04/2011

Wow.

New travel plans.

[sufi66]

11:10 AM on 01/04/2011

Caves give me the creeps. I wouldn't go into one for all the money in the world.

[whatsthatsound]

06:13 AM on 01/04/2011

These pictures are awesome and amazing. And they have nothing whatsoever to do with Republican s/libs/or the war that was fought in that part of the world forty years ago, so wassup with the comments?

[ASHTON CRUZ]

12:18 AM on 01/04/2011

Oh lord! yet another Kim Kardashian post.

[Jean Mexiguera]

11:34 PM on 01/03/2011

I shall move here if Palin becomes Prez...

[Tulka2]

11:57 PM on 01/03/2011

....so far Social Security will send you your check.  Good luck.  I hear Hanoi is wonderful. 

[quovadiszero]

03:15 PM on 01/04/2011

Wont be enough room for all of us

[Tulka2]

11:20 PM on 01/03/2011

You cannot hide a place like this from any child who lives near it.  What do you mean "discovered"?  If it means National Geographic recently tuned into these caves, well, then okay, but don't tell me the locals didn't know about them.

[Marilyn Terrell]

08:35 AM on 01/04/2011

You're right, and National Geographic doesn't claim to have discovered it. From the story:
"Two decades ago, the leaders of this expedition, Howard Limbert and his wife, Deb, became the first cavers to visit Vietnam since the 1970s. Back then, the country’s caves were legendary but unexplored. In 1941 Ho Chi Minh had planned his revolution against the Japanese and French in Pac Bo Cave north of Hanoi, and during the Vietnam War thousands of Vietnamese hid from American bombing raids inside caves. The Limberts, experienced cavers from the Yorkshire dales of northern England, made contact with the University of Science in Hanoi and, after obtaining sheaves of permits, mounted an expedition in 1990. They’ve made 13 trips since, not only discovering one of the longest river caves in the world—12-mile Hang Khe Ry, not far from Son Doong—but also helping the Vietnamese create 330-square-mile Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, which now attracts a quarter million Vietnamese and foreign visitors a year. Tourists, who dramatically increase the income of local villagers, come to see the park’s namesake show cave, Hang Phong Nha, which workers light up like a psychedelic rock concert."
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/largest-cave/jenkins-text/3

[Mark Harker]

03:21 PM on 01/04/2011

well yeah - do you you think National Geographic just has teams blindly stumbling around the countryside. actually I've watched the one hour special on TV about this and prior to national geographics measurments it was suspected but not confirmed that this was the largest cave in the world.

[dead WASP]

11:09 PM on 01/03/2011

Way cool!

[StacySpace]

10:58 PM on 01/03/2011

Middle Earth has been located. Where is the Lord of the Rings?

[zelduh]

11:48 PM on 01/03/2011

In the apartment building behind the McDonald's near the cave's exit.

[onlyaquarterdelusional]

10:42 PM on 01/03/2011

There truly is no artwork as beautiful as what nature has created. It is beyond the realm of human thought.

[dead WASP]

11:09 PM on 01/03/2011

I agree with you completely!

[zelduh]

11:49 PM on 01/03/2011

I so agree. (I wish I could explore it right now.)