Inside Coober Pedy, the Australian mining town where residents live, shop, and worship underground
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- Coober Pedy is a small town in the Outback of Southern Australia.
- Originally an opal mining town, many of Coober Pedy's residents live underground to escape the region's immense heat.
- Homes, dive bars, a church, and more can be found buried underground in what the locals call "dugouts."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
In the middle of the Australian Outback, there's a town where chimneys rise from the sand and big red signs warn people of "unmarked holes."
Welcome to Coober Pedy, the town that lives underground.
What began in 1916 as perhaps the largest opal mining operation in the world has since expanded into a subterranean community that is safely out of reach from the region's 120-degree summers.
Entire bedrooms, bookstores, churches, and bars are installed in the carved underground walls of Coober Pedy — and after 100 years of living in these "dugouts," the folks who call it home have no plans of stopping.
Here's a look inside the underground mining town of Coober Pedy.
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Mining equipment and abandoned vehicles can also be found scattered around Coober Pedy.
The town makes sure people know the dangers of the deep mine shafts.
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Holes in the ground from the old mine shafts are found throughout the town.
Other souvenir shops cater to both locals and tourists.
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There are also a number of tourist shops in the town.
People do need to come up for food, however.
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The hotel features a bar, pool room, restaurant, and gift shop.
Tourists looking for the authentic Coober Pedy experience can check out the Desert Cave Hotel.
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Inhabitants can also buy a good book at the town's bookstore to pass the time.
Guests can also attend a church service.
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It's still inhabited by the caretakers of the home, who give guided tours on a daily basis.
Today, it's billed as a tourist attraction called Faye's Underground Home.
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Faye Nayler and two friends managed to build a bar, a swimming pool in the living room, and a full eat-in kitchen.
Once visitors are down there, it's actually pretty homey.
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But some 80% of the local population have made homes inside the sandstone.
With the homes' cave-like exteriors, the process of going underground may seem like a venture into the unknown.
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As opal mining settled into a steady — but less booming — business, Coober Pedy residents began turning discarded opal mines into permanent dugouts.
Coober Pedy was once covered by an ocean, which helped create the town's opal mines.
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While Aboriginal people have long inhabited the region, miners first moved to the town in 1916.
Due to the dry climate, water can be scarce sometimes.
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The town's summer months can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coober Pedy is located in South Australia, over 1,000 miles from Canberra, the country's capital city.
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