A cave born in a colder time
The Chandelier Cave system is a geological relic of the last ice age. Thousands of years ago, when global sea levels were significantly lower, this was a dry cave. Rainwater, made mildly acidic by atmospheric carbon dioxide, percolated through the island's porous limestone. This process dissolved calcium carbonate, which was then redeposited as water dripped from the cave ceiling, slowly forming the immense stalactites and corresponding stalagmites seen today. These formations grew in the open air, drop by drop, over millennia.
As the Pleistocene epoch ended and the planet warmed, melting ice caps caused the sea level to rise. Water inundated the cave, concealing its entrance and filling its lower passages. The cave system consists of five distinct chambers connected by underwater tunnels. Four of these chambers retain a pocket of air trapped against the ceiling, allowing divers to surface inside the island. The entrance to this submerged world is an opening approximately 4 meters (13 feet) below the surface of Malakal Harbor.