This town in Australia has 80% of its population living underground.

Coober Pedy is a small town in the remote southern region of Australia, more than 1,000 miles from the capital Canberra. It was once considered the world's largest opal mine. Historically, Coober Pedy was inhabited by the indigenous Australian people.

By 1916, Europeans migrated and established a mining town here. After World War I, soldiers extensively mined opal in Coober Pedy. Today, mining this rare mineral is prohibited. Numerous opal mines have been abandoned and serve as temporary shelters for local residents.

The average annual temperature in Coober Pedy is extremely harsh. In the summer, temperatures often reach nearly 50 degrees Celsius. According to ABC, the area experiences very little rainfall and water is scarce. Residents have to fetch water from the Great Artesian Basin, about 24 km from the town.

Living underground truly helped the residents of Coober Pedy escape the heat. No matter how extreme the outside temperature, reaching 50 degrees Celsius, the temperature underground remained around 24 degrees Celsius. Finding a cooler place to live allowed the miners to survive in Coober Pedy. According to the Coober Pedy County Council, the town currently has approximately 2,500 residents. Today, about 80% of the town's population lives in underground homes.

Despite living underground, the homes of the Coober Pedy people are very modern, not at all as austere as some might initially imagine. These underground houses have all the amenities of normal homes, from internet access to electricity and running water. The only differences are the materials used for the walls and the lack of natural sunlight.

Since 1960, Faye Nayler, a resident of Coober Pedy, has been digging and expanding her own underground house. Later, Faye and two friends added a bar, swimming pool, living room, and a fully equipped kitchen. Today, Faye's house is one of the popular tourist attractions in Coober Pedy.

Entire houses, complete with bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms, and other essential facilities such as bookstores, churches, and bars, are built within the carved underground walls of Coober Pedy. Over time, an entire underground town has formed. Tourists can choose to stay at the Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy. Inside the hotel, there is a bar, a billiards room, a restaurant, and a souvenir shop.

Anh Thi