Today’s Google Doodle (April 14) celebrates Sơn Đoòng Cave in Vietnam.
According to Google Doodle, the massive Sơn Đoòng Cave, hidden within the forests of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is “an unparalleled natural phenomenon on Earth.”
Google Doodle honors Sơn Đoòng Cave in Vietnam. (Photo: Google)
Google states that the Doodle on April 14, 2022, commemorates the official discovery of Sơn Đoòng Cave on this day in 2009.
Professional geologists estimate that Sơn Đoòng Cave was formed approximately 2 to 5 million years ago. Local farmer Hồ Khanh accidentally discovered the entrance to Sơn Đoòng in 1990. However, it wasn’t until 2009 that experts Howard and Deb Limbert from the British Cave Research Association conducted the first official survey and concluded that Sơn Đoòng is the largest cave in the world.
The chambers inside Sơn Đoòng are large enough to accommodate an entire 40-story building. Scientists have uncovered remarkable geological formations within the cave, including the world’s highest stalagmites…
Massive sinkholes deep within the cave allow sunlight and rain to nourish two ecosystems of pristine forests, home to flying foxes, the only species of monkey that lives underground, and blind white fish, according to Google.
In 2019, three British divers demonstrated that there is still much to explore after discovering an underwater tunnel connecting Sơn Đoòng to another cave.
Google concludes its introduction to the Doodle honoring Sơn Đoòng by stating that it is a natural wonder.
The Google Doodle celebrating Sơn Đoòng on April 14 has reached users in Vietnam, Thailand, and several countries in Europe and the Americas, including the UK, Sweden, Greece, Romania, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina…
