Walk through the underground city opal Coober Pedy

Most likely the name of the city is due to its unusual houses underground. Aboriginal languages ​​Kupa Piti, from which there was a name Coober Pedy, means "hole of the white man." In the city live about 1,700 people, who are mainly engaged in mining opals and their homes - is nothing more than an underground "holes", made in sandstone at a depth of 2, 5 to 6 meters.



Due to the lack of underground sewers, toilets and kitchens in homes located directly at the entrance, ie at ground level. Bedrooms, other rooms and corridors dig usually deeper. Ceilings in large rooms supported by columns with a diameter up to 1 meter



Building a house in Coober Pedy can even make it to the owner of the rich, because there are large deposits of precious opals. On mestorozhedniya in Australia, mostly in Coober Pedy, accounting for 97 percent of world production of this mineral. A few years ago, during the drilling of underground hotel were found stones worth about 360 thousand dollars



Roofs of Coober Pedy. A common sight and a distinctive feature of the underground city - it vents sticking out of the ground.



Opal field in Coober Pedy was discovered in 1915. A year later, there began to arrive early miners. It is believed that about 60 per cent of Coober Pedy - they were immigrants from southern and eastern Europe who arrived there after World War II to work in the mines. For nearly a hundred years this city is the world's largest manufacturer of high quality opals.



The underground church in Coober Pedy.



Since the 80s, when in Coober Pedy was built underground hotel, it is visited by thousands of tourists every year. One of the most visited places in the city was the home of opals his recently deceased famous resident, nicknamed Crocodile Harry - eccentric lover of alcohol and adventurer who became famous for his numerous love affairs.



Both the city and its suburbs, for various reasons, very photogenic, so there attract filmmakers. Coober Pedy has become a place of filming in 2006 Australian drama «Opal Dream». Also in underground houses of the city were taken of the scene for the movie "Mad Max. Beyond Thunderdome ».



Srenegodovoe rainfall in Coober Pedy is only 175 mm (in the middle lane in Europe, for example, about 600 mm). This is one of the most arid parts of Australia. Rains are almost never happens, so the vegetation is very sparse. The city did not find tall trees grow only sparse shrubs and cacti.



Residents, however, did not complain about the lack of outdoor activities. Their free time they spend on the game of golf, it is true because of the heat they have to play at night.
In Coober Pedy underground are also two churches, souvenir shops, jewelry shop, museum and bar.



Coober Pedy is located in 846 kilometers north of Adelaide - the capital of South Australia.



In Coober Pedy desert climate. In the summer, from December to February, the average temperature is 30 ° C, and sometimes reaches up to 40 ° C. At night the temperature is greatly reduced, to about 20 ° C. It is also possible sandstorms.



Underground souvenir shop in Coober Pedy.



Escape from the heat townspeople digging yourself at home under the ground.



Underground bar in Coober Pedy.



Such a beautiful precious minerals mined in Coober Pedy - a city that is called "the world capital of opal».