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 The
Australian Outback is a wild place.
Although it’s a popular tourist destination, not
many people live there. This is because the weather is hot, and dry,
and there’s very little rainfall throughout the year.
However, if you ever visit the Outback, make sure you take a trip
to Coober Pedy. This small town is worth seeing for two reasons. One,
it is widely considered the “opal capital of the world.” Opal is valuable stone and the national
gemstone of Australia. Most
of the world’s opal comes from Coober Pedy. Perhaps more interesting,
though, is the fact that the residents of Coober Pedy all live underground!
 Have
you heard of the idiom, “There’s more to something than meets the
eye”? It basically means that something is more interesting than it
first appears. This idiom perfectly describes Coober Pedy. On
the outside, it looks like an abandoned ghost town. There is nothing
but barren land.
But take a peek underground, and you’ll learn that 4,000 residents
live in this town! They live in big, sophisticated homes that
are just as nice as the homes you find aboveground. They also have
modern amenities, such as walk-in
closets, kitchens, and televisions. The town also has gift shops,
which sell opal jewelry, a couple of museums, convenience stores, and even
a church!
 So why
do the residents live underground? Well, let’s take a quick look at
Coober Pedy’s history. The town was founded in 1915, following
the discovery of opal. People from across the country and the world
flocked to Coober Pedy to mine the precious stone.
But many people had a hard time living on the surface, especially
during the summer months. This is because the average temperature
in the summer is more than 40 degrees Celsius. So the residents decided
to convert old mines into homes,
thus establishing the world’s first and most likely only underground
town. Isn’t that interesting?
So if you ever take a trip to Australia, be sure to check out Coober
Pedy! |
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