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A network of caves was recently uncovered by a pair of amateur explorers underneath the Saint Leonard borough of Montreal, and members of the Canadian press were given a tour of the caves thought to have formed during the last ice age 15,000 years ago.
Only 10 metres below the streets and parks of a residential Montreal neighbourhood there lies a network of ice age… https://t.co/qPd6VozAAl— TorontoStar (@TorontoStar) 1512351302.0
Daniel Caron and Luc Le Blanc found the caves on October 12 while they were drilling through the limestone walls of an existing cave.
Two amateur cave explorers knocked down a thin limestone wall and found a huge cavern network under #Montreal https://t.co/aoFXmyY90O— Intl. Business Times (@Intl. Business Times) 1512240097.0
The existing cave, known as St. Léonard cave, under Pie-XII Park was discovered back in 1812. For years, experts had suspected that more caves were connected, but they didn't have any proof until now.
The first rooms in Montreal's St. Léonard cave system were found in 1812, but the discovery of additional caverns h… https://t.co/6tMt099XoJ— Nat Geo Adventure (@Nat Geo Adventure) 1512345610.0
To find something that no human has ever set foot in is a pretty remarkable achievement. "Normally you have to go to the moon to find that kind of thing," Caron told the National Post.
Discovery of a lifetime as vast network of ice-age caves found under Montreal's Saint-Leonard borough… https://t.co/K2bhaTcycE— National Post (@National Post) 1512334301.0
And given how much development has happened in the city, it's somewhat shocking that the caves weren't discovered long ago. "They’ve dug sewers and made basements, but no one had ever seen them," Le Blanc remarked to National Geographic.
'This is a major discovery': Explorers find massive ice-age cavern beneath Montreal https://t.co/p6Sk6TnTvO https://t.co/AjEr3UltnP— Yahoo Canada News (@Yahoo Canada News) 1512234834.0
The new cave network, lying about 32 feet below the streets, spans around 700 feet in length so far. And once the water recedes in February, Caron and his team will be able to explore even further.
Caron and Francois Gelinas, the director of Quebec’s speleological society, recently took eager members of the Canadian press on a tour. The National Post described the journey to get to the caves as "crawling on hands and knees through muddy tunnels, scaling ladders and edging along narrow passages."
Oh ya know, just hanging out in a cave no one has set foot in until last month, and was formed more than 15,000 yea… https://t.co/Gcu2htcoTn— Jaela Bernstien (@Jaela Bernstien) 1512145031.0
And while it seems hard to believe that nobody would have found the cave until now, Caron claimed that it's all too common.
"Underground excavation is the only thing on the planet where there is no scientific, technical or technological means of knowing if there are caverns, and whether they are large or small," he explained.
There's a secret chamber off the cave in Saint-Leonard that is thousands of years old. But the chamber was only di… https://t.co/bZLXGQmJNU— CBC Montreal (@CBC Montreal) 1512173114.0
Doing it the old-fashioned way is the only option, and Caron, Le Blanc, and their partners are happy to oblige.
And perhaps someday the caves will be open to the public. But for now, we'll have to settle for these photos and videos:
@andreabellemare @RemoZaccagna Right! But you can still explore the other parts— Jaela Bernstien (@Jaela Bernstien) 1512175860.0
@RemoZaccagna @andreabellemare I highly recommend a visit, unless you are claustrophobic— Jaela Bernstien (@Jaela Bernstien) 1512174700.0
Time to go exploring! #Montreal #caving #caves #underground https://t.co/zClRRFLmsU— Lu Korte (@Lu Korte) 1512392024.0
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