The discovery of an enormous cave in the Canadian wilderness recently was a moment not felt by many in a long time – the discovery of a large natural land feature on Earth, previously unknown.
It seems incredible that there are still parts of Earth’s surface unexplored and unknown, especially since we have orbiting satellites, being able to view virtually all of the Earth’s surface.
The cave, still unexplored, appears to be massive, with an enormous opening that descends into a black void as it goes deeper into the Earth.
Investigations of the inside of the cave are being planned, with a team hoping to descend into it in 2020.
While it is impossible to tell if this cave could have been viewed by Native Americans at points throughout history, there is no evidence of human presence near the cave, and no foreknowledge of the cave was known prior to its discovery.
It was discovered completely by accident, by a team conducting a census of caribou (reindeer) in the national park where the cave is located.
Geologist Catherine Hickson, who has visited the cave, believes that before the discovery earlier this year, it is likely that the cave had never been viewed before in history.
All natural wonders were, at some point in history, viewed with human eyes for the very first time. People with no forward knowledge encountering beautiful natural wonders completely unexpectedly.
Today we feel a burst of excitement hearing about the discovery of a massive cave – how must the first people to discover the most wondrous natural beauties of the world have felt? The very first people, with no rumours or vague myths to go off of, stumbling upon such beautiful natural wonders like the Grand Canyon, or the Great Barrier Reef, or the Matterhorn.
It’s no surprise that so many natural wonders have spiritual significance – the first people to have seen these places must have thought they were gifts from the heavens.
Imagine being the first group to follow the Zambezi River downstream in Africa and coming across Victoria Falls. What must you have thought?
Or imagine spotting a lone peak on the horizon, heading towards it, and being greeted with the majesty that is Mount Fuji.
Could this cave discovery be one of the last great land discoveries we ever make on Earth? There are very few remote and virtually uncharted areas left on Earth – I believe we do not have many major land discoveries left to make. Perhaps there are some unknown features left to explore in the Amazon, or in Antarctica.
I see most future Earth discoveries being made under the ocean, or beneath the ground. There could giant ocean trenches filled with undiscovered species, or vast cave systems beneath our feet, not connected to an opening on the surface.
And of course, there is a virtually infinite number of discoveries to be made out in the wider universe.
It is within humanity’s nature to explore the unknown – I hope we strive to further explore as a species, in order to better understand our place in the world and the wider universe.
Pidgeon Droppings 