Finally, I got to the photos of the city of Coober Pedy (Coober Pedy). We passed it earlier when we were still traveling through the state of South Australia.

To virtually walk around the city, click on the green "View Larger Map" in the lower left corner. When the map opens, drag the little yellow man to the streets of the city.

This is an amazing city. We have very fond memories of him.

Coober Pedy is called the "opal capital of the world", and in the language of the aborigines means "white man in the pit."

Up to 90% of the world's precious opal production comes from Australia, and about three quarters of this amount comes from the state of South Australia.

At first glance, Coober Pedy is not much different from other mining towns. Dirt roads cross the entire territory and waste rock dumps are visible. But there are no towers, no lifts over the mines, and no buildings.

Strange round mounds with a hole in the middle give the impression of a volcanic area dotted with small ash cones.

Each of these small mounds is connected by a shaft to the whole underground world.

The soft, sandstone rocks of the desert are not difficult to dig with a pick and shovel, although explosives are also used here. Most opals are found at depths of up to 24 m, but many workings are much shallower. Each prospector is allocated a small area on which he works. The technique is mostly traditional. A prospector is digging up his piece of land, hoping to find a large vein that will bring him a fortune.

In addition to this, the most beautiful mineral, the houses of local residents, dugouts, underground dwellings in which natural temperature control is carried out, are also very popular.

Even the first prospectors realized that it was possible to settle down relatively comfortably underground, in dwellings that cost almost nothing. As for their successors, they live as families in modern underground comfort. Many of their houses are very large and simply luxurious, and some even have underground pools.

These sites are underground dwellings. Such sites are located on the outskirts of the city. You can buy and dig your house or motel. During the season, here all the motels and hotels are busy. As elsewhere, you need to book a room in advance.

It should be noted that there is absolutely no water in Coober Pedy - no matter how much they drilled, they have not yet reached the water. If we take into account that this is one of the least rainy regions of Australia, it becomes clear that initially water was very expensive, since it was delivered for many kilometers by pack animals, mainly camels. Currently, there is running water, but water is still relatively expensive ($5 per 1000 liters).

Coober Pedy is one of the hottest places on the planet. And in the underground house, the temperature stays at the level of 22-26 degrees all year round. We were invited to visit one of these houses. 60% of the city's population live underground.

The owner of the house is George Russell (George). He is the owner of the Oasis tourist park.

Good person, very sociable. Gave a decent discount when we stayed at his motel the first night.

The next morning, George showed his house.

This is the living room.

Indeed, a very pleasant coolness after the scorching sun.

This is a guest house. To the right along the stairs, there is a kitchen and 2 rooms of the owner of the house.

To the left of the stairs are 3 guest bedrooms, a toilet and a bathroom.

All underground rooms are spacious, with high ceilings and well ventilated.

Very cozy and comfortable.

I would like to have a house like this. Sometimes come to live in absolute silence, without the radio and electromagnetic waves that surround us everywhere.

The town has not only underground houses, but also numerous underground hotels, restaurants, shops and even churches.

In 1988, the world's first underground hotel was inaugurated. This hotel became so popular that many locals began to open large and small motels throughout the city, as well as guest houses with 3 and 4 bedrooms.

One of the first underground motels we saw was Radeka down under motel, located on the main street of the city.

This is a middle class motel.

At 11 am, and already +36.

We were met by the owner of the motel Martin (Martin).

Very colorful uncle.

There are rooms that are in the rock, and rooms that are underground at 6.5 meters.

We chose a room, of course, underground. It is much more interesting to sleep there.

It was an active opal mine until the 1960s.

And in the mid-80s, the mine was transformed into an underground complex - a motel.

The cost of living in a motel is from $32.

This is our number. They rented it for $70 (we got a discount for $10).

Everything is very simple. Everything you need is here. The fact that you're sleeping underground already sounds unusual. And most importantly, it's cooler here than upstairs. And that was one of the reasons why we went underground.

Overall, we slept well in this room. The only inconvenience is a strong audibility. You can hear all the neighbors. Therefore, here you need to settle for those who have iron nerves and good sleep. Gabriel, for example, slept well. And I, for half the night, listened to the snoring of a neighbor and the crying of a small child. So, if anyone needs to sleep, settle up in the rock.

In these rooms, students who do not have money for a room, or lonely tired travelers who quickly fall asleep and do not hear anything, stop.

And in this room, you can move in with a large company, and remember the pioneer camp. It would be fun.

To be continued…

To view the photos in a larger size, click on them 1-2 times.

Australia. What do we know about the "Green Continent"? Cute koalas and kangaroos, natives, boomerangs, plastic banknotes... But Australia is also a land of opals. And the small town of Coober Pedy in the state of South Australia is its opal capital. It is believed that the opal stone calms the nerves, heals the heart, warns the owner about the presence of poison in food, and even gives the gift of prophecy! ..

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: A unique boulder opal found by miners in Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is the capital of Australia's "opal rush". © Dmitry Chulov.

The man who first called Australia the "Green Continent" must have been joking. It is green only along the coast, and in the center is a barren desert, the bottom of a parched ancient inland sea. Right in the middle of it is Coober Pedy.

Center map

Traffic

By bike

Passing through

South Australia is one of the driest regions of the Fifth Continent. Most of its territory is covered with endless deserts, scrubs and salt marshes. But it is in its depths that the real underground pantry of the country is located.

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: The colorful hills of the Brayways Nature Reserve at sunset. The bowels of the earth under these hills hide great riches. © Dmitry Chulov.

The mining town is lost in the endless desert. Instead of trees, grasses and flowers, there are stones, sand and heat below plus 50. Episodes of films about life after a global catastrophe were filmed here more than once. Even the inscriptions on the fences here are appropriate: “Welcome to Hell!”, Which means “ Welcome to Hell!»

It is located 10 hours north of Adelaide. Here, in this sun-scorched, dusty city, seekers of happiness and adventurers from all over the world come together. After all, Coober Pedy is the capital of Australia's ongoing "opal fever".

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: A miners' car parked in the desert at the entrance to Australia's opal fever capital. © Dmitry Chulov.

Around Coober Pedy, like in a minefield, there are signs. " Don't go near the mines!' are the stern warnings. The area of ​​opal mines stretches for tens of kilometers around. Over the years of fever here have dug about one and a half million mines! The local landscape is called by the locals " moon valley».

Coming to Australia was his childhood dream. Two years after arriving at Green Continent» Gennady Karpenko ended up in scorched desert. He is a carver: he looks for opals and processes them in his workshop.

Australia produces 95% of all opals in the world. This stone has been familiar to locals since time immemorial. True, Australian aborigines have always bypassed opals - they believe that a spirit with a human head and a snake's body lives underground, luring people with the magical brilliance of multi-colored stones.

Opals were found here by accident in 1915. Now Coober Pedy is the richest deposit in the country. Its name comes from the distorted "Kupa Piti", which in the language of the Australian aborigines means ... "white people in a hole."

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: A sign warning that the surrounding desert has been spontaneously dug up by opal miners. © Dmitry Chulov.

On the belt - a battery, on the forehead - a flashlight, in the hands - an ultraviolet lamp - the standard equipment of the local miner. Gennady agreed to show us the places where he had recently managed to find large opals. There are no security guarantees. Any mine here can collapse at any moment. The search for opals is a dangerous business in which everyone works at their own peril and risk!

Gennady, opal carver: “Crack on this side, see? Sometimes it can be dangerous, everything can collapse here.”

Opals in Coober Pedy are sought in mines at a depth of 25-30 meters. Someone rises to the surface for years with nothing, and someone can turn into a millionaire in one day ...

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: Gennady Karpenko looking for opals in a mine. © Dmitry Chulov.

In the face, Gennady knows every turn of the adit - he spent more than one day here, underground, with a lantern and a pickaxe.

Gennady, opal carver: “I found a few opals in the rock up there, a little - here ...”

His favorite sound in the mine is the crunch of breaking glass. With this, opals are taken out of the breed. After all, opal, in fact, is glass sintered by nature, due to the presence of various elements and inclusions, it plays with bright sparks in the light. This stone is better visible in ultraviolet light. Therefore, Gennady now and then turns on a blue lamp in the darkness of the mine.

Gennady, opal carver: “Sometimes when people blast rock in a mine, then they can miss some of the opals. And you, following them, through their garbage, you can find a vein that will bring 3, 5 10 thousand dollars ... "

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: Mining equipment at work in one of the opal mines. © Dmitry Chulov.

From this one of the niches, by laying explosives, his neighbor miners recently took out opals for ... 380 thousand dollars!

Gennady, opal carver: “No one here asks anyone how much you found, how you sold - this is not accepted in Coober Pedy. There is a lot of cash in this business!”

There are not many places left in the world where you can legally get rich in just one day! Some call it "opal fever", others - fortune, others - playing roulette. In the face, you can walk a few centimeters from the most valuable stone and not find it. And you can accidentally stumble upon an opal vein!

Gennady, opal carver:“When from the wall, where there is nothing, from a small crack suddenly opens such, such a thickness of opal! When they are with color, you just stop breathing! You just forget how you breathe!”

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: Prospector Rade shows opalized shells he found in the ground. © Dmitry Chulov.

Dust, wind and an excavator devouring tens of liters of diesel fuel per day. Many opal seekers, having arrived briefly spend in Coober Pedy all life. You just need to stake out a plot - anyone can do it. Father and son Rade and Roger open pit opals. From the age of 12 (!) my son masterfully manages the excavator bucket. The father, who came here in search of happiness back in 1967, is now over 70. He carefully examines the stones below so as not to miss the cobblestone, which may contain opal, relying on experience and intuition.

Rade, the opal seeker:“I have found black, pink, green, crystal, all kinds of opals. True, I was not as lucky as other miners. I had enough to pay my bills and to live. I must be the biggest loser of all the old people that work at Coober Pedy!”

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: The famous boulder opal found in Coober Pedy. Boulder is a type of opal in the form of a layer in the rock. The world's largest boulders are found in Coober Pedy. © Dmitry Chulov.

The pride of Rade and Roger is a huge " boulder” is the opal they keep at home. There is no other like it in the world! They are in no hurry to sell it and show it only on special occasions.

In small Coober Pedy, there are several dozen shops that sell opals. The most valuable of them are pink and black. Depending on the size and quality, the price of processed opals can reach several tens of thousands of dollars!

Dubica works in one of Coober Pedy's opal shops. Prices here are lower than in big cities Australia: those who sell stones here are those who find and process them themselves.

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: A polished opal that sparkles with multi-coloured sparks in the light. © Dmitry Chulov.

Dubica, salesperson: “This stone is a crystal opal, large in size, transparent and clear. Look, you can see all the colors of the rainbow in it, and the more red there is in the opal, the more valuable it is.”

This stone glows devilishly in the light, its flickering enchants. But during processing, the opal loses up to 2/3 of its volume, and may even crack, losing its value. Opal is as fragile as glass. It is enough to drop it, and the holographic beauty can break into thousands of fragments. Therefore, only experienced craftsmen can work with opal.

COOBER PEDI, AUSTRALIA: A cut opal in the hands of a carver. © Dmitry Chulov.

Gennady, opal carver: “If the stone is very expensive, sometimes it can be up to $1,000 per carat, it is very difficult to cut it…”

Cutting is the most critical stage in the processing of opal. Sometimes the master looks at the stone for hours, not knowing how to approach it.

Gennady, opal carver:“Processing an opal is always a surprise, a lottery. You can just cut and get a colorless stone in two parts, and sometimes you see how the stone begins to play in your hands!

Carvers say that opal should be felt with hands, only then the master will be lucky in his work. And luck is just what the Australian town of Coober Pedy, gripped by the “opal fever” of our time, needs so much!

You can watch the video version of this article in the form of a report about Coober Pedy, filmed by me for the program "Their Morals" (NTV), you can here:

Write in the comments what else would you like to know more about Australia?

In the central part of Australia, there is a small mining town of Coober Pedy, one of the main attractions of which are its underground houses. The city is known as the opal capital of the world, because it is here that about 30% of the world's reserves of these stones are concentrated, more than anywhere else on the planet. I suggest you take a short photo walk around the world capital of opals.

Most likely, the name of the city of Coober Pedy is associated with its unusual houses underground. Koopa Piti, from which the name Coober Pedy is derived, means "white man's hole" in the Aboriginal language. About 1,700 people live in the city, who are mainly engaged in the extraction of opals, and their houses are nothing more than underground "holes" made in sandstone at a depth of 2.5 to 6 meters.

It is located in South Australia, on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert, in one of the most deserted and sparsely populated places on the continent. At the beginning of the 20th century, the extraction of noble opals began here, 30% of the world's reserves of which are concentrated on the territory of Coober Pedy. Due to the constant heat, drought and frequent sandstorms, miners and their families initially began to settle in dwellings carved into the mountainside - often one could get into the mine directly from the house. The temperature in such an “apartment” did not exceed 22 ° C all year round, and the level of comfort was not much inferior to traditional “ground” houses - there were bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms. But they made no more than two windows - otherwise it became too hot in the summer.

Due to the lack of underground sewerage in Coober Pedy, the toilet and kitchen in the houses are located immediately at the entrance, i.e. at ground level. Bedrooms, other rooms and corridors are usually dug deeper. The ceilings in the large rooms support columns up to 1 meter in diameter.

Building a house in Coober Pedy can even make the owner rich, as the largest deposit of precious opals is located there. Deposits in Australia, mainly in Coober Pedy, account for 97 percent of the world's production of this mineral. Several years ago, during the drilling of an underground hotel, stones worth about 360 thousand dollars were found.

Roofs of Coober Pedy. A familiar sight and distinctive feature of the underground city are the ventilation holes sticking out of the ground.

The opal deposit at Coober Pedy was discovered in 1915. A year later, the first miners began to arrive there. It is believed that about 60 percent of Coober Pedy residents were from southern and eastern Europe who came there after World War II to work in the mines. For almost a hundred years this city has been the world's largest producer of high quality opals.

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

In the photo: underground church in Coober Pedy.

Both the city and its suburbs, for various reasons, are very photogenic, which is why filmmakers are attracted there. Coober Pedy became the filming location for the 2006 Australian drama Opal Dream. Also in the underground houses of the city, scenes for the film “Mad Max. Under the dome of thunder.

The average annual rainfall in Coober Pedy is only 175 mm (in the middle lane in Europe, for example, about 600 mm). This is one of the driest areas in Australia. There is almost no rain here, and therefore the vegetation is very sparse. There are no tall trees in the city, only rare shrubs and cacti grow.

Residents, however, do not complain about the lack of outdoor entertainment. They spend their free time playing golf, although due to the heat they have to play at night.

Coober Pedy also has two underground churches, souvenir shops, a jewelry shop, a museum, and a bar.

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

Coober Pedy has a 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 drops sharply, to about 20°C. Sandstorms are also possible here.

Underground gift shop in Coober Pedy.

Citizens save themselves from the heat by digging their houses underground.

Underground bar in Coober Pedy.

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

Some descendants of miners prefer to decorate their underground houses "a la naturel" - they cover the walls and ceiling with PVA solution to get rid of dust, while maintaining the natural color and texture of natural stone. Supporters of modern solutions in the interior cover the walls and ceiling with plaster, after which the underground dwelling becomes almost indistinguishable from the usual one. Both those and others do not refuse such a pleasant trifle as an underground pool - in one of the hottest places on the planet this is a particularly pleasant "luxury".

In addition to dwellings, Coober Pedy has underground shops and museums, galleries and workshops, restaurants and a hotel, a cemetery and churches (including an Orthodox one!). But there are few trees and flowers here - only cacti and other succulents can endure the hot arid climate of these places. Despite this. the city has golf courses with mobile grass.

Coober Pedy is a constant point of many tourist routes in Australia. Interest in the underground city is fueled by the fact that films such as Mad Max 3: Under Thunderdome, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Black Hole were filmed in Coober Pedy. And on the edge of the Opal Capital of the World is the world's largest livestock farm and the well-known Dingo Fence, 8,500 kilometers long.

The city is famous for its opals, it is the capital of the opal-stone, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. The mining of opals is a little less than 100 years old, their deposits were accidentally discovered while searching for water in 1915. Noble opal is distinguished by its iridescent play of colors, which is caused by the diffraction of light on a spatial lattice and its value is determined not by its size, but by its unique play of color. The more rays, the more expensive the opal. One of the legends of the natives says that “a long time ago, spirits stole all the colors from the rainbow and put them in a stone - opal”, according to another, that the Creator descended from heaven to earth and where his foot stepped, stones appeared that shimmered with all colors rainbows. Only private entrepreneurs are engaged in the extraction of opals. Nevertheless, this industry brings the Australian economy about 30 million dollars annually.

The Coober Pedy area is the most one of the most arid, deserted and sparsely populated in Australia. On average, only about 150 mm falls per year. rainfall, and very large differences in day and night temperatures.

If you happen to fly over Coober Pedy, then you will not see the buildings familiar to our eyes, but only rock heaps with a thousand holes and mounds against the background of a rocky red desert, which creates an unearthly landscape that staggers the imagination. Each mound-cone with a hole in the middle, visible on the surface, is connected by a shaft to the underworld.

Even the first settlers realized that due to adverse weather conditions, when the earth heats up in the sun during the day and the heat reaches 40 degrees Celsius on the surface, and at night the temperature drops sharply to 20 degrees (and sand storms are also possible) - you can live underground in mine shafts after opal mining. The constant temperature of underground houses is around +22-24 degrees at any time of the year. Today, more than 45 nationalities live in the city, but the majority are Greeks. The population of the city is 1,695 people.

The water comes from a drilled 25 km. away from the city artesian well and relatively expensive. There is no common power grid in Coober Pedy. Electricity is generated by diesel generators and heating is provided by solar water heaters. At night, when the heat subsides, residents play golf with balls glowing in the dark.

Previously, the development of opals was carried out manually - with picks, shovels, and the rock was pulled out with buckets until an opal vein was found, along which they then crawled in a plastunsky way. Almost all mines are shallow and the main passages in them are laid by drilling machines that break through horizontal tunnels as high as a man and from him - branches in different directions. These are practically self-made devices - the engine and gearbox from a small truck. Then the so-called “blower” is used - a machine with a powerful compressor installed on it, which, like a vacuum cleaner, sucks rock and boulders to the surface through a pipe lowered into the mine, and when the compressor is turned off, the barrel opens - a new mini-mound is obtained - a waste heap.

At the entrance to the city there is a huge sign with a blower car.

Older people probably remember the Soviet film "Kin-Dza-Dza". There was an episode where the main characters are brought to the city. But there is no city as such. There are only small pipes sticking out in the middle of the desert landscape. The people in this film (at least some of them) lived underground, and the pipes served for ventilation. Entire settlements lived literally in the ground, only occasionally getting out to the surface.

So the movie city has a very real prototype. This is the mining town of Coober Pedy, located roughly in the center of the state of South Australia. It lies on the Stuart mountain range, 300 kilometers from national park Lake Air. The surroundings of the city are a deserted and deserted landscape. There are sparsely populated areas for hundreds of kilometers around. Adelaide (the state's largest city and the fifth largest in Australia) is 850 kilometers south along the Stewart Highway.

Coober Pedy on the map

• Geographic coordinates -29.010474, 134.757343
• Distance from the capital of Australia Canberra is about 1550 km
• Distance to the nearest airport Seduna is about 360 km

All distances are "in a straight line"

And people there really live underground, in specially dug apartments. The decision to live under a layer of earth is dictated by local natural conditions. During the day, the air warms up to 40 ° C, and by night the temperature can drop to 7 ° C. Sudden temperature changes make life on the surface not entirely comfortable. And periodic sandstorms further exacerbate the situation.

Here we could not help but deviate from the topic. It seemed to us that these "terribly harsh", downright unbearable conditions are not so terrible. Read about the Pole of Cold in Russian Oymyakon. Here the conditions are really unrealistically difficult. There, even tires on cars can crumble like chocolate, and temperatures of minus 40-50 are quite common.

What, in principle, forced people to go underground in Coober Pedy? After all, Australia is a wonderful continent, there are a lot of places much more suitable for life. Take at least Hyams Beach - a beach with perfectly white sand. Dig in the sand and watch the ocean. Or Fraser Island, where the sand has been fighting the rainforest for hundreds of years. But no, people are drawn to the desert, and even underground. The answer is really simple. There are huge reserves of precious minerals. Opal is why people still live here. It has been mined here since 1915.

This is what opal looks like

In general, for the first time a simple opal was found in these places in 1849 at the height of the gold rush. And full-scale development of deposits began in 1915, when noble opal was already found here. According to scientists, about 30% of the world's reserves of this valuable mineral are located here. Therefore, Coober Pedy is also called the Opal Capital of the World. Opal is widely used in jewelry.

The miners adapted to live in dugouts. The temperature was almost always around 22°C. Often, miners went to work directly from their homes; for this, tunnels were dug directly into the mine. The workers dug entire houses underground, and lived well in them. In addition to dwellings, there is a bar, a museum, churches, an art gallery and even a hotel for tourists who want to experience what it is like to live underground.

The development of technology and technology has allowed more than half of the inhabitants to move to the surface, but there are citizens who still live underground. And they live very well. Their house has everything you need for a comfortable stay - a kitchen, a living room, bedrooms and even bathrooms. Naturally there is electricity, running water and sewerage. They have such apartments called "Dugout" and are made in two versions. Natural and modern. In the first version, the walls of the housing are only strengthened with special impregnations or an emulsion of ordinary PVA glue. This prevents them from shedding and eliminates dust. In addition, this design creates the illusion of primitiveness. You can take pigments and spread them on the walls of mammoths, or in our case kungur. Modern design involves the creation of familiar rooms, but only underground. In this case, the floor, walls and ceiling are leveled, plastered and poured. The result is a completely modern home. Its undergroundness is betrayed only by the absence of windows. At the beginning, according to tradition, two windows were made near the front door, but then the temperature balance in the room was disturbed. However, now this problem is solved by installing an air conditioner. Everything else, as in any modern house. Sometimes both styles are combined and you can get from the trendy and modern living room to the primitive bedroom.

• translated from the language of the local tribe Coober Pedy means "white man's hole" or "underground white man"
• extraterrestrial desert landscapes have become natural backdrops for some famous films. In particular, scenes from the blockbusters Mad Max. Under Thunderdome" and "Black Hole" were filmed here. Nearby, even a whole starship from the movie "Black Hole" has been preserved.

• The city hosts a number of festivals: the Coober Pedy Race, the Queen of the Desert, and the Opal Festival. And yet all the inhabitants gather annually to celebrate the end of summer with noisy celebrations.
• as of 2011, a little less than 1,700 people lived in the town
• in 1956, the largest opal was found in the Coober Pedy area. Its dimensions are 28 x 12 x 11.5 cm. Weight 17,000 carats or 3.45 kilograms familiar to us. The find was valued at 2.5 million Australian dollars. They named this nugget the Olympic Australian Opal (in the original The Olympic Australis Opal) in honor of the then Olympic Games in Melbourne.
• there is an underground cemetery in the city
• There is no water at all in Coober Pedy. Many times people tried to drill wells, but they never managed to get to the water. The region cannot boast of heavy rainfall - they usually fall no more than 150 mm per year. Water is supplied by a 24 km long pipeline from a small settlement nearby (this settlement could not be found on the map, if you have data on this, please let us know)

Coober Pedy photo

In which city do people live underground. and got the best answer

Answer from Dark Knight[guru]
Coober Pedy (28°56′ S 134°45′ E  / 28.933333° S 134.75° E (G)-28.933333, 134.75) - a small town of 3,500 people in South Australia, 846 km north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. The city is also known as the Opal Capital of the World because it has one of the richest opal deposits, with about 30% of the world's opal reserves. Common opal was first discovered in Australia in 1849 during the gold rush, but noble opal was not found at Coober Pedy until 1915. The name Coober Pedy is translated from the Australian Aboriginal language (kupa piti), as "white man's hole" or "white man underground".
Located in a sparsely populated area of ​​Australia hundreds of kilometers from the nearest settlement, Coober Pedy is located on the Stewart Range in South Australia, on the eastern edge of the Great Victoria Desert, where the railway from to Alice Springs passes nearby. Due to the harsh temperature regime and the prevailing mining industry, people constantly live underground in caves, in the shafts of mines left after mining. The standard home cave bedrooms with lounge, kitchen and bathroom are located in caves drilled inside the mountain, similar to surface houses. Thus, a constant optimum temperature is maintained, while on the surface it reaches 40 degrees Celsius (maximum 55 degrees), at this temperature many household appliances become unusable. But relative humidity does not often reach 20% on hot days.
Much of Coober Pedy's attraction is inside the mines, the cemetery and the underground churches. The first trees that could be seen in the city were welded from pieces of iron. The city has local golf courses with moving grass and golfers line small pieces of "turf" around for the first hit.
Coober Pedy is included in many tourist routes across Australia. Movies such as Mad Max 3: Under Thunderdome, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and Pitch Black have been filmed against the backdrop of Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy hosted the second season of The Amazing Race. In the area of ​​Coober Pedy, approximately in 2012, they are going to conduct an experiment-exercise of an expedition to Mars. Also on the edge of town is the world's largest livestock farm and the world's longest "Australian" fence.
With the funds from the development of opals, about 30 million dollars a year, city residents could annually buy the world's largest Ruslan aircraft, which will fit the entire population of Coober Pedy [source?] .
An article about the city underground in 1927 and the people living in it, like rabbits, served as the appearance in 1937, the second most popular after the Bible, the literary work of J. R. R. Tolkien "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" [source?] .

Answer from 2 answers[guru]

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