Caves of Nanumanga is an underwater cave off the northern shore of Nanumanga,

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...

in western

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

. It was discovered by two

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

in 1986.''The Age'' (Melbourne, Australia), Monday 13 April 1987

Legend

The discovery of the Caves of Nanumanga was made because of interest aroused by a local legend. According to this legend, there existed "a large house under the sea". The existence of this legend led to the scuba diving expedition in 1986, during which the caves were discovered. These are sometimes referred to as the Fire Caves of Nanumanga.

Sea level debates

The caves are currently submerged underneath the ocean, highlighting the profound change in sea level over time. Public controversies regarding sea level changes in contemporary

are thus set against this background.

Footnotes

External links and sources

History of the Tuvalu islands
* ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' (Australia), Monday 13 April 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanumanga Archaeological sites in Tuvalu Caves of Tuvalu Sea caves History of Tuvalu Nanumanga Underwater archaeological sites