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Don't look down! Climbers explore the murky abyss of 3,100ft deep underground shaft in China
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 1:53 PM on 30th October 2008
Hold on to your specs while peering down here. You'd have a long climb to the bottom if they fell off.
This rocky chasm in China is one of the world's deepest underground shafts. It stretches down for an astonishing 3,100ft, or 1,026 metres.
An international team of cave explorers who discovered the cave, near the village of Tian Xing, are seen descending into the abyss.
The 3,100ft underground shaft near the village of Tian Xing in China where climbers spent two months exploring for four to five days at a time
The abyss: The cave is said to be one kilometre deep
The picture was taken by photographer Robert Shone, 28, of Manchester, who spent two months with the climbers documenting-their explorations.
Mind the gap: An explorer watches a waterfall from a slippery perch
Photographer Robert Shone spent two months documenting the team's underground discoveries
Though unimaginably deep, the Chinese caves are actually dwarfed by others across the globe.
The world's deepest cave is Krubera in Georgia, which is 6,822ft deep (2,080 metres), followed by Lamprechtsofen in Austria (5,354ft or 1,631 metres) and Gouffre Mirolda in France (5,335ft or 1,626 metres).
As an interesting comparison, the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest, is 29,029ft (8,848 metres) high.
Between a rock and a hard place: Explorers crawl through the cave network
Enlarge
Breathtaking: The team, below, were able to explore the network of cave and tunnels in the underground shaft
Enlarge
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 1:53 PM on 30th October 2008
Hold on to your specs while peering down here. You'd have a long climb to the bottom if they fell off.
This rocky chasm in China is one of the world's deepest underground shafts. It stretches down for an astonishing 3,100ft, or 1,026 metres.
An international team of cave explorers who discovered the cave, near the village of Tian Xing, are seen descending into the abyss.
The 3,100ft underground shaft near the village of Tian Xing in China where climbers spent two months exploring for four to five days at a time
The abyss: The cave is said to be one kilometre deep
The picture was taken by photographer Robert Shone, 28, of Manchester, who spent two months with the climbers documenting-their explorations.
Mind the gap: An explorer watches a waterfall from a slippery perch
Photographer Robert Shone spent two months documenting the team's underground discoveries
Though unimaginably deep, the Chinese caves are actually dwarfed by others across the globe.
The world's deepest cave is Krubera in Georgia, which is 6,822ft deep (2,080 metres), followed by Lamprechtsofen in Austria (5,354ft or 1,631 metres) and Gouffre Mirolda in France (5,335ft or 1,626 metres).
As an interesting comparison, the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest, is 29,029ft (8,848 metres) high.
Between a rock and a hard place: Explorers crawl through the cave network
Enlarge
Breathtaking: The team, below, were able to explore the network of cave and tunnels in the underground shaft
Enlarge
