Explorers discovered an ancient forest more than 600 feet underground in a sinkhole in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region earlier this month. 

The team of scientists descended into the sinkhole and found ancient trees 131 feet tall inside the cave measuring 1,004 feet long and 492 feet wide. There were three entrances to the forest. Experts believe the forest could contain various species of trees that have not yet been discovered. 

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Speaking to Live Science, Chen Lixin, the expedition team leader,s said, “I wouldn’t be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now.”

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George Veni, executive director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) in the United States, told the outlet that China’s landscape gives access to huge sinkholes which are incredible to explore.

“Because of local differences in geology, climate and other factors, the way karst appears at the surface can be dramatically different. So in China you have this incredibly visually spectacular karst with enormous sinkholes and giant cave entrances and so forth,” he said. 

“In other parts of the world you walk out on the karst and you really don’t notice anything. Sinkholes might be quite subdued, only a meter or two in diameter. Cave entrances might be very small, so you have to squeeze your way into them.”

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Sinkholes and caves have underground water known as Karst aquifers, which provide the primary water source for 700 million people around the globe. In the United States alone, around 40% of the groundwater used for drinking comes from these underground sources.