Shooting From The Hip - 40 - Hollow Earth

Earth crust - center of earth 6,400 km (4,000 mi) beneath our feet, the deepest it has ever been possible to drill - Kola Superdeep Borehole depth of 12,262 m (40,230 ft; 7.619 mi) 1989, north-west Russia - world's deepest human made hole & remains as of 2024

Hollow Earth - concept proposing the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space- suggested by Edmond Halley in late 17th century, notion was disproven, 1st by Pierre Bouguer 1740 - then by Charles Hutton: Schiehallion experiment 1774 - concept of a hollow Earth still recurs in folklore & as a premise for subterranean fiction, a subgenre of adventure fiction - recurs in conspiracy theories & the Cryptoterrestrial hypothesis(UltraTerrestrials)

Theosophy - late 19th century, Theosophical Society co-founder Helena Blavatsky alluded to Shambhala myth - who claimed to be in contact with a Great White Lodge of Himalayan Adepts, mentions Shambhala in several places, without giving it great emphasis.

Later esoteric writers further emphasized & elaborated on the concept of a hidden land inhabited by a hidden mystic brotherhood whose members labor for the good of humanity some claim Shambhala is an extra-dimensional or spiritual reality on the astral plane, a spiritual center where the governing deity of Earth

Expeditions & location hypotheses - Nicholas & Helena Roerich led a 1924–1928 expedition to find Shambhala- they believed that Belukha Mountain in Altai Mountains was an entrance, a common belief in region

French Buddhist Alexandra David-Neel associated Shambhala with Balkh in present-day Afghanistan, also the Persian Sham-i-Bala, "elevated candle" as an etymology of its name - Hitler sent several expeditions to Tibet in 1930s "to contact the Agartha & Shambala", supposedly part of Nazi esotericism - Shambhala may have been the inspiration for Shangri-La, a paradise on Earth hidden in a Tibetan valley -in 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton

Agartha - legendary kingdom said to be located on inner surface of Earth -sometimes related to hollow Earth & popular subject in esotericism -Agartha remained mostly obscure in Europe until Gerard Encausse edited & re-published a detailed 1886 account by the 19th-century French occultist Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre 1842–1909, Mission de l'Inde en Europe, in 1910 - after World War I, German occultist groups such as the Thule Society took an interest in Agartha - Polish explorer Ferdynand Ossendowski relates a story imparted to him about a subterranean kingdom inside Earth; 1922 book, Beasts, Men & Gods

Son Doong cave (Vietnamese), in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province - is one of the world's largest natural caves - variously translated from Vietnamese "cave of the mountain river" or "cave of mountains behind Doong village"- found 1991 by local man; Ho Khanh - a solutional cave it was formed in soluble limestone & is between 2 & 5 million years old - Expedition, conducted survey 10 & 14 April 2009 of the cave & its volume 38,500,000 m3 (1.36×109 cu ft) - progress exploring cave's full length was stopped by a large, 60-metre (200 ft) high flowstone-coated wall, which the expedition named the Great Wall of Vietnam - length of cave system exceeds 9 km (5.6 mi) - so massive it contains its own jungle, underground river & localized weather system - clouds form inside cave & spew out from the exits - Subterranean wetlands include all underground areas containing water, including caves & aquifers - Subterranean cave systems are groundwater dependent ecosystems. Subterranean cave systems large voids are part of 'karst landscapes' characterized by sinkholes & springs

Mount Kailash & Shambhala - a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China -lies in Kailash Range of Transhimalaya, western part Tibetan Plateau - Mount Kailash elevation 6,638 m (21,778 ft), north of western trijunction of the border between China, India & Nepal - Buddhist texts, Mount Kailash is known also as mythological Mount Meru

Shambhala - Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala spiritual kingdom mentioned in Kalachakra Tantra -prophecy according to which Shambhala will be the birthplace of Kalki, next incarnation of Vishnu, who usher in new age (Satya Yuga) & prophesied ruling Kingdom of Maitreya, future Buddha - Shambhala said to exist somewhere between Himalaya Mountains & Gobi Desert all of the citizens have achieved enlightenment, so it is the embodiment of Tibetan Buddhist perfection

Shambhala near Mount Kailash, Himalayas; a place sacred & pilgrimage for Hindus, Buddhists & Jains - represents pinnacle of Tibetan Buddhist ideals, where all inhabitants have attained enlightenment "The Pure Land" - also known as Olmolungring, Shangri-La, Paradise & Eden - Shambhala's enigmatic presence intertwined Mount Kailash region - according to Tibetans, Siddhas-a person who has achieved spiritual realization & supernatural power