Dragon's Breath Cave Explained

Dragon's Breath Cave is located in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia on private land, not accessible to the general public. The cave was discovered by Roger Ellis during a caving expedition to the area in 1986. It is named for the moist air rising from its entrance which resembled the breath of a dragon.^[1]

The cave contains the world's largest non-subglacial underground lake,^[1] with an area of almost 2ha.^[2] The lake is located around 100m (300feet) below the surface.^[3] Its total depth is 205m (673feet).^[4] Although it has been reported that the rare fish species, Clarias cavernicola, lives in the lake in the Dragon's Breath Cave, this is an error. It is only known from the nearby Aigamas Cave.^[5]

Martyn Farr records in his book "The Darkness Beckons" the exploration of the cave by a team of divers and cavers led by Roger Ellis and Charles Maxwell of the South African Spelaeological Association a year after the cave was identified in 1986 by cavers as being of significant size.^[6]

See also

• • , a project based on another fossil water store in an arid area in Africa

External links

• Discovery Channel: Video: Dragon's Breath Cave
• (af) Nuwe duikrekord opgestel ("New dive record set", Republikein, 13 June 2012. URL accessed on 20 October 2015.
• (af) Dieper die aarde se maag in ("Deeper into the bowels of the earth"), Republikein, 13 July 2012. URL accessed on 20 October 2015.

-19.4681°N 17.7856°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dragon's Breath Cave Holds the World's Largest Underground Lake . Kelly . Daniel . 24 January 2014 . Lake Scientist . https://web.archive.org/web/20150301130831/http://www.lakescientist.com/dragons-breath-cave-holds-worlds-largest-underground-lake/ . 1 March 2015 . live . 31 May 2016 .
2. Web site: Africa . Wanted in . 2020-06-12 . Dragon's Breath Cave: Namibia has the worlds largest underground lake . 2022-09-28 . Wanted in Africa . en.
3. Web site: Namibia's hidden depths. Travel Namibia Magazine . 2012-08-28.
4. Web site: Namibian ground water systems . Speleo Diversity . 2012 . 2013-01-07 . Alessio . Fileccia . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121018085848/http://www.speleodiversity.ch/download/Kongressakten/081FilecciaNamgrows.pdf . 2012-10-18 .
5. Web site: Proudlove, G.H. . 2018–2019 . Clarias cavernicola . cavefishes.org.uk . 28 October 2019 .
6. Book: Farr, Martyn. The Darkness Beckons : The History and development of cave diving. Diadem Books. 1991. 0-906371-87-2. London. 264.