Real-World Underground Cities | Former Opal Quarry Converted into a City (Coober Pedy)
Australia is the continent with the oldest layer of soil, desert or land that is rather arid and commonly known as the outback is the largest part of this continent, while Coober Pedy is one of the cities in Australia where residents live, shop and worship, uniquely, all activities of people living in this city are carried out underground because it can be said that Coober Pedy is an underground city.
Initially, Coober Pedy was the largest opal mining operation in the world which began in 1916 where 70% of opal in the world came from this region, the mining activity then developed into an underground community until then formed a cemetery town located in the northern part of South Australia, precisely approximately 1000 miles from Canberra, the capital of the country.
The reason for local residents to make houses underground is to avoid the scorching heat when entering summer, the temperature in this region can reach 48 degrees Celsius, therefore about 80% of local residents choose to build houses underground, whereas basically the Coober Pedy area is a difficult place to live because the area has arid soil, hot temperatures, many flies and full of holes former opal mines where until now All over the city there are still many signs warning about the dangers of potholes even today there are still many traces of mining equipment and abandoned vehicles throughout the city.
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| Real-World Underground Cities | Former Opal Quarry Converted into a City (Coober Pedy) |
Actually, not all parts of the city are underground, because almost the other half of the city remains on land, it's just that the majority of the rest of the population decided to live underground in vast caves and tunnels they called dugots, and although it has become home to about 2,500 residents, this city looks like a scary place because being in this city seems to be in another world like a city in general.
This underground city is also equipped with public facilities such as libraries, places of worship, hotels, restaurants and sports venues In addition, Coober Pedy is also equipped with internet access, clean water and electricity, the only difference between other normal houses and those in Coober Pedy is that these houses do not have direct access to sunlight Nevertheless, all rooms are ventilated to keep the temperature regular, because of this uniqueness, Coober Pedyh often Coober Pedy is also one of the popular tourist destinations for tourists, there are housekeepers who provide guided tours every day, foreigners who visit houses in this city must pay an entrance fee, guests can also attend church services where the church is located 55 feet below the surface of the earth.