The staggering 'world's largest' underground lake big enough to swallow 3 jumbo jets

Deep beneath Namibia lies something extraordinary - the world’s largest underground lake. (Image: Getty)

First discovered just 38 years ago, Dragon’s Breath Cave lies around 100 metres below the surface in Namibia and has a staggering total depth of 205 metres.

It is named for the moist air rising from its entrance which resembled the breath of a dragon.

With a total area of almost two hectares (4.9 acres), the cave contains the world’s largest non-subglacial underground lake.

The true size of this body of water went unknown for decades, as explorers could only dive so far. However, recent technological advances, including robots, have allowed us to uncover some of its ancient secrets.

It is understood to be big enough to swallow three jumbo jets, nose to tail.

The cave was discovered by Roger Ellis during a caving expedition to the area in 1986. (Image: Getty)

Reliable scientific estimates of its total area are hard to come by, but it's often cited to be larger than the "Lost Sea" under Tennessee, the largest non-subglacial underground lake in the US, IFL Science reported.

Namibia is a coastal country in southern Africa that is often called “the land that God made in anger”, owing to its breathtaking yet very arid landscapes. The name Namibia itself stems from the local Nama word “Namib,” meaning a vast and empty place.

The African country has at least 124 caves, a significant number of which are found in the Otjozondjupa Region, including Dragon's Breath Cave.

The cave was discovered by Roger Ellis during a caving expedition to the area in 1986. Light is almost completely absent from most parts of the cave beyond its narrow entrance.

The waters of the lake are said to be crystal clear and are said to harbour life. According to a clip from David Attenborough’s BBC documentary, Africa, the lake is home to the golden catfish, an oddly beautiful and critically endangered species of airbreathing catfish.

The cave is filled with fossil water - a non-renewable resource of ancient groundwater that has been trapped in aquifers for thousands, perhaps even millions of years. It is formed when water from melting ice and prehistoric lakes pools into porous rock, silt, and sand underground. Over time, sediment covers the layers, sealing off the water from the surface.

However, others say this species actually inhabits a similar cave in Namibia called Aigamas Cave.

Whatever may be the case, the full catalogue of biodiversity that dwells in this incredible ecosystem remains a secret, as biological studies of the cave are few and far between.

In 2019, a mini-submarine cruised into its depths and mapped it out using lasers and high-resolution sonar. Along with revealing a vast new chamber near the entrance, it showed the cavern is shaped like a pointy shoe that gently angles downwards before pinching off at the end. A 3D visualisation is available to view on a website.

While the non-subglacial Dragon’s Breath Lake is incredibly impressive, the world’s largest underground lake is actually found in Antarctica. Lake Vostok is a subglacial freshwater lake, located nearly 4,000 metres below the surface of the ice and covers a staggering 4,830 square miles.