國家地理:加里曼丹島的地底洞天(8)

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The British team found that Deer Cave stretched for nearly two miles, and for a decade afterward it stood as the world's largest known cave passage. In 1991 a cave discovered in Vietnam, called Hang Son Doong, surpassed it, but the drop in rank did not dull Deer Cave's allure. Today it's a major attraction for tourists, who wander its length on a boardwalk and gather at dusk at its mouth, drinks in hand, clapping and sighing as millions of bats stream like smoke into the sky.

英國探險隊發(fā)現(xiàn)，鹿洞近兩英里寬，十年過后，依然是世界上已知的最大洞穴通道。1991年，在越南發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個名叫韓松洞的洞穴，比鹿洞要大，但鹿洞排名的下降并沒有削弱其吸引力。今天，鹿洞是一個主要景點，游客們在木板路上感受它的狹長，黃昏時分在入口處聚集，他們手里拿著飲料，看著數(shù)百萬只蝙蝠像煙霧一樣涌向天空，一邊拍手，一邊感嘆。

Ostentatious, obvious, oversize -- Deer Cave hinted at what more awaited underground. Over three months in Mulu, with the help of guides from the nearby Penan and Berawan tribes, the cavers came upon a score of entrances leading deeper into the region's ancient limestone.

雄偉、明顯、超大的鹿洞暗示著地下還有更美妙的景觀在等待觀賞。在姆魯考察的三個多月里，洞穴探險者在附近Penan和Berawan部落向?qū)У膸椭?，發(fā)現(xiàn)了二十個通向該地區(qū)古老石灰石深處的入口。

Some of the caves began as obscure cracks in rock faces, covered with brush and branches. These, usually at higher elevations, were older, relatively dry caves that bored through the heart of Mulu's mountains.

在一些洞穴的入口處，石壁上有模糊的裂縫，上面覆蓋著灌木叢和樹枝。這些洞穴通常位于海拔較高的地方，時間久遠、相對干燥，它們貫穿姆魯?shù)拇笊街行摹?/p>

Other caves, at lower elevations, were like giant storm drains -- massive holes in the bedrock that channeled rainfall into subterranean rivers. These river caves were younger, formed hundreds of thousands of years ago, lined with beautiful limestone formations, and home to fish, birds, snakes, ghost-white crabs, and a galaxy of insects and spiders.

另一些海拔較低的洞穴，就像巨大的雨水排水溝--把雨水引到地下河流的基巖上的大洞。這些河洞算是較為年輕的，形成于幾十萬年前，里面有漂亮的石灰?guī)r、魚、鳥、蛇、煞白的螃蟹、還有許多昆蟲和蜘蛛。