Environment

Region’s longest lava cave found in Dong Nai

Explorers of Vietnam and Germany have discovered a lava cave in the southern province of Dong Nai, which they said is the longest of its kind in Southeast Asia.
Explorers of Vietnam and Germany have discovered a lava cave in thesouthern province of Dong Nai, which they said is the longest of itskind in Southeast Asia.

Scientists of the VietnamInstitute of Tropical Biology and the Berlin Speleoclub of Germany madethe finding during a two-month survey of 11 lava caves in Dong Nai’s TanPhu and Dinh Quan districts.

Locally known as HangDoi ( Bat Cave ), the arch-shaped cave, located in Phu Loc commune,Tan Phu district, comprises of two parts called Bat Cave No 1 and BatCave No 2.

According to the exploring team, thebigger part of the cave measures about 426 metres long, while the totallength of both parts is 534m. The region’s longest lave cave discoveredearlier was the 400m-long Gua Lawah in Indonesia .

The largest section of Bat cave is 4 metres high and 10 metres wide. Thecave got the name from the large number of bats which make thearc-shaped cave their home.

German scientists saythey plan to make a full report of these findings, completed with mapsand descriptions of the cave complex, which will be published in theclub’s publication - Speleological Berlin Speleoclub.

Local authorities have called on people to protect the complex and stopcatching bats in the cave to preserve biological diversity of the site.-VNA
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