Would you be able to live underground? What if it was the only way to survive high temperatures? This is precisely what the inhabitants of Coober Pedy do , a city in Australia where most of the residents live in old mines to protect themselves from the heat. And why don’t they move somewhere else? Well, very simple! The opal mining industry here employs most of the inhabitants.
Do you want to discover more details about this curious underground city? Well, we recommend that you be very attentive to what we tell you below, especially our gallery, where we offer you a lot of images of Coober Pedy.
Temperatures reaching 48 degrees
Today we move to the north of South Australia, 846 kilometers north of Adelaide, to discover one of the most amazing cities in the world. And is that most of the population of Coober Pedy, about 3,500 inhabitants of 45 different nationalities, lives underground. The reason is very simple: temperatures reach 48 degrees in summer. In addition, residents have to cope with low rainfall and sand storms . If you had to live in this place, wouldn’t you do it underground too?
The opal mines
Coober Pedy is known for being the world capital of opal, as numerous mines of this mineral can be found here, which was first found there in 1915 by Willie Hutchsion. Only a year later the first excavations took place and immigrants from different parts of the planet soon arrived in the area, especially from Serbia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia, since working for a few years in this place could provide great wealth . And it is necessary to bear in mind that opal is one of the most valued semi-precious stones in the world. In 1999 there were more than 250,000 manholes. And although today the mines are in the hands of large companies, explorers continue to arrive there.
The white man’s hole
How could it be otherwise, today the economy of Coober Pedy is not only based on the mining industry, but also on tourism. And it is that there are many travelers who come to the place to know the mines and the living conditions of the residents of this city whose name derives from the aboriginal term "kupa-piti", which means "white man’s hole". Tourists can stay at the hotel and do different activities: extract opal, live underground, visit the city underground, play golf by day and night, go on excursions through the desert… As for the hotel, the Desert Cave Hotel, offers rooms both inside and outside.
The city underground
While explorers from different corners of the planet were arriving in the area, the miners were building makeshift houses in the mines to escape the heat from outside. Today most of the city is underground, being able to find underground bars, bookstores, churches and, of course, houses, which have three bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and living room. In addition, the houses have running water, electricity, air conditioning and even Internet. As you can see, the only thing they lack is natural light. Also, it is important to note that water is highly valued due to frequent droughts. Then we leave you with our gallery , where you will find more images of this curious Australian town. Do not miss it!
