Caves

Neanderthals Had Houses With Hot Water

Not bad for a caveman

This inscription in Dayu Cave dates to 1894. The writing on the wall says that a scholar and several local leaders brought more than 120 people to the cave to get water during a drought.

Chinese Cave Graffiti Records Centuries of Drought

And chemical clues in a stalagmite inside the cave confirm the chronicles on the walls

The hydrophobic bacteria that coat the ceilings of some dark lava caves produce a gorgeous golden sparkle.

How Bacteria Make This Underground, Awe-Inspiring Cave Shine Gold

These underground tubes at Lava Beds National Monument include sparkling gold ceilings that even NASA wants to study

Photographer Joseph Michael explored the 30-million-year old limestone caves of New Zealand's North Island, a favored spot for glowworms, to create these dazzling long-exposure shots.

Captivating Long-Exposure Photos of New Zealand’s Glowworm Caves

These new shots show the otherworldly magic created by a carnivorous fungus gnat

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Discussion

Letters from our readers

Only a Handful of People Can Enter the Chauvet Cave Each Year. Our Reporter Was One of Them.

A rare trip inside the home of the world’s most breathtaking cave painting leaves lasting memories

Cavers stand amongst large gour pool walls and unique raft cone formations inside Hang Va.

These Breathtaking Photos of Vietnam’s Caves Bring Out the Armchair Spelunker in Everyone

Photographer Ryan Deboodt discovers beauty in this subterranean realm

Why the ESA’s Astronauts Train Underground

The European Space Agency is applying protocols from the International Space Station in caves

The details of the replica (under construction last year), its area nearly the size of a football field, are based on 700 hours of laser scanning in the actual cave.

Finally, the Beauty of France's Chauvet Cave Makes its Grand Public Debut

A high-tech recreation of the immortal artworks shines a new light on the dawn of human imagination

Watch a Drone Explore the World’s Largest Cave

Vietnam’s Son Doong cave is a magnificent not-so-microcosm

To enter Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, visitors must descend over 260 feet.

From the Biggest to the Longest, Five Amazing Caves To Visit

New measurements revealed the world's largest cave, which is unfortunately off-limits. But what are some other impressive underworlds open for visitors?

Blood-sucking kissing bugs carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, a malady that plagues some 9 million people in Latin America.

A Blood-Sucking Foe Lurks in Central American Caves

Kissing bugs, which can spread Chagas disease, turned up positive for human blood meals in caves in Guatemala and Belize

Neanderthal Carvings in a Gibraltar Cave Reveal Some of Europe's Oldest Known Artwork

Some argue, however, that Homo sapiens are responsible for the etchings

Lehman Cave

Even Caves Need a Spring Cleaning

Volunteers removed two tons of detritus from Lehman Cave in Great Basin National Park

Bison Cave Painting From Altamira

Spain's Prehistoric Cave Paintings Open to the Public for the First Time in Twelve Years

Today, five people were selected at random to visit the cave at Altamira for the first time in 12 years

Depth of the canyon.

Slovenia's Ancient Skocjan Caves are Mesmerizing

These formations are some of the largest subterranean chambers in the entire world

Viewed from Lake Superior, ice caves on Apostle Islands.

Deep Freeze Reveals Lake Superior's Secluded Ice Caves

For five years, the winter wonder of Lake Superior's Apostle Islands sea caves have been hiding—but recent freezing temperatures have revealed their beauty

Matera’s paleolithic past has made it a thriving tourist destination: It is competing with cities like Siena and Ravenna to be the European Capital of Culture 2019.

How Matera Went From Ancient Civilization to Slum to a Hidden Gem

Once the “shame of Italy,” the ancient warren of natural caves in Matera may be Europe’s most dramatic story of rebirth

Will extraterrestrial caves house unusual life forms, as the Katafiki Cave in Greece does?

What Will We Find in Extraterrestrial Caves?

Scientists hope to look for extraterrestrial life in a new place: recently discovered caves in places like the moon, Mars and Titan

Light shining through the ice turns a cave's roof (above, Amy Rarig, age 17) an eerie blue.

The "Girls on Ice" Share Their Experiences in the Field

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