Cave of death: Where is it located and why is it called so?
etimes.in | Feb 3, 2025, 09.09 AM IST
Can you imagine a place on the Earth, where fire burns into complete darkness and fumes and you get killed just by breathing the air as you get in? This might just look like a scene from a fiction movie but this is not a lie!
Costa Rica's Alajuela Province encapsulates a fissure known as the Cueva De La Muerte, or ‘the Cave of Death’. In the first, this small cavity which is merely six feet deep and ten feet long, appears harmless. However, as one gets near its shadowy walls, the threat increases, and is likely to claim lives with a frightening silence that isn't about predators or venomous snakes. The true danger here is the very air you breathe.
‘The Cave of Death’ poses the threat through an invisible killer that is the carbon dioxide (CO2). Youtuber ‘Explorer Guy’ van Rentergem, who investigated the cave in 2022, unveiled this in a YouTube video, stating, “This is a very small cave, but it’s unusual in that there’s a substantial seep of carbon dioxide gas coming.”
As per sources, this cave emits up to 30 kilograms of CO2 every hour. The gas, which is denser than air, accumulates at the lower levels of the cave, creating an asphyxiating environment for any living being that comes too close. The cave's upper layer contains breathable oxygen, but getting any lower can be fatal.This deadly phenomenon is related to the geological alignment near the San Miguel geological fault. The fault's specific conditions allow carbon dioxide to be continuously seeped from underground reservoirs. The design of the cave traps this gas, forming a deadly blanket that attracts and kills the wildlife and humans.
The Cave of Death is dangerous due to the very high concentrations of carbon dioxide, CO2. CO2 is denser than air, thus it will sink to the bottom of the cave, causing an asphyxiating environment. The gas is colorless and odorless; hence it can only be identified with special equipment. Upon inhaling a very high concentration of CO2, it pushes oxygen out in the blood stream causing rapid asphyxiation. It means that with its continuous emission coming from the near San Miguel geological fault, added to its entrapped cave, it's already a killer cave for any organism trying to close by.
Costa Rica's Alajuela Province encapsulates a fissure known as the Cueva De La Muerte, or ‘the Cave of Death’. In the first, this small cavity which is merely six feet deep and ten feet long, appears harmless. However, as one gets near its shadowy walls, the threat increases, and is likely to claim lives with a frightening silence that isn't about predators or venomous snakes. The true danger here is the very air you breathe.
‘The Cave of Death’ poses the threat through an invisible killer that is the carbon dioxide (CO2). Youtuber ‘Explorer Guy’ van Rentergem, who investigated the cave in 2022, unveiled this in a YouTube video, stating, “This is a very small cave, but it’s unusual in that there’s a substantial seep of carbon dioxide gas coming.”
Why does CO2 in the cave have deadly effects?
The Cave of Death is dangerous due to the very high concentrations of carbon dioxide, CO2. CO2 is denser than air, thus it will sink to the bottom of the cave, causing an asphyxiating environment. The gas is colorless and odorless; hence it can only be identified with special equipment. Upon inhaling a very high concentration of CO2, it pushes oxygen out in the blood stream causing rapid asphyxiation. It means that with its continuous emission coming from the near San Miguel geological fault, added to its entrapped cave, it's already a killer cave for any organism trying to close by.