This Town In Australia Looks Dead — And That’s Because Everyone Is Underground

Australia is a wild place. It hosts some of the most dangerous and beautiful creatures known to man, it has stellar surfers, and it’s home to some of the most amazing cultural sites on Earth.

Affectionately referred to as “Oz,” the land down under is also home to a little town called Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy has a population of about 1,600 people, but you wouldn’t know it at first — and that’s because everyone in the town lives underground.

People can’t live at surface level in Coober Pedy because temperatures are way too high.

These chimneys are rare signs that civilization lies below.

Coober Pedy is home to a rich mining industry, since precious stones like opals can be found in the area.

And because it’s in the middle of the desert, most of its residents stay there forever.

But that doesn’t mean that’s all there is to do there. They have restaurants…

Bookstores are a must for any town.

And they’ve even built some very impressive architectural structures, like these churches.

They have a great art museum, simple amenities like dog daycares, and various opal mines, which you can tour.

If you want to camp out underground, you can do that, too. If the woods are too boring for you, Coober Pedy is an awesome place to set up camp.

It really is one of the most fascinating and beautiful cities in the world.

It might not look like much driving by, but Coober Pedy, South Australia is quite the town — it’s just mostly underground.

Posted by Great Big Story on Tuesday, December 15, 2015

(via Facebook / Great Big Story)

I don’t know about you, but I had no idea that this place even existed. What’s even cooler is that if I visited the area without knowing about it, I’d probably leave the same way. Australia really is an awesome place.