# Any unexplored areas left on earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490 "2011-08-12T19:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/41 "2014-05-11T11:24:13Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > paris catacombs. at least 4 known levels but largely unmapped. most known entrances are sealed by the french government for public safety. Something similar in Kansas City. Years ago they were doing some digging and opened up some old sewer tunnels, lined with brick, they didnt even knew existed. It makes you wonder what old tunnels are hidden or if you dig into an old houses foundation might you uncover an old secret cellar or something. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/42 "2014-05-11T13:39:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I would define “explored” as that someone has been there physically, or at least within close sight range (within a few hundred yards). Then some of Canada’s north is unexplored. Surveyed by air or sat, yes, but tromped about up close and personal, no. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/43 "2014-05-11T14:08:29Z")
Let’s see: [ol] [li]The Guiana Highlands in Venezuela and Northern Brazil - Most of this area is too rugged and too remote to explore.[/li][li]The Siberian Arctic - too remote and too inhospitable to explore.[/li][li]The Sahara Desert - In many places outside of the few oases and populated areas haven’t been explored.[/li][li]The Andaman Islands - There are thousands of them,many of them are small and some like North Sentinel Island are inhabitated by fierce tribes who have killed outsiders who attempt to land on them.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/44 "2014-05-11T15:00:35Z")
A lot of this comes down to what “explored/unexplored” mean. For example, an island/valley/etc… may not have had people literally walk, drive or ride through them on the ground, but may have had multiple airplane, helicopter and satellite overflights, showing us the lay of the land well enough to map it and know that there isn’t anything particularly remarkable there. Would you call it unexplored? For example, the interior of Inaccessible Island is tough(impossible?) to get to via boat, but I imagine it’s pretty trivial for a ship-based helicopter to overfly the place and show that there’s not much up there of interest except to biologists. It would technically be unexplored, but the elevations, forests, etc… would be easily mapped out. Same thing in large desolate areas like the Sahara- aerial overflights show that there isn’t squat but sand dunes and scrub. No real point in packing up a Land Rover and driving out there is there? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/45 "2014-05-11T15:02:01Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > The Andaman Islands - There are thousands of them,many of them are small and some like North Sentinel Island are inhabitated by fierce tribes who have killed outsiders who attempt to land on them. Blatant hijack: Reminds me of a fictional Leonard Wibberly story, [Feast of Freedom,](http://www.amazon.com/Feast-Freedom-Leonard-Wibberley/dp/0688015689) when the Vice-Prez of the US made a goodwill visit to some obscure South Pacific islands. The VP was so friendly that he affectionately patted the native Chief on the head, not a wise move. They ate him. Hilarity ensued. ---
**Author:** ![cmdrpiffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@cmdrpiffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmdrpiffle)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/46 "2014-05-11T15:30:51Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > FWIW: I think this island might be the basis for the novel [Fragment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragment_%28novel%29) by Warren Fahy. I read it recently and thought it one of the best Sci-Fi reads I’ve encountered in a long time. and…I’ve just purchased it (Fragment) on my Kindle. Great suggestion, thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/47 "2014-05-11T15:35:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Would you call it unexplored? I would call it unexplored. As I said above, I would regard “explored” to mean visited on foot and visually surveyed. At close range, there are features that may not be apparent from the air or space, especially in forested terrain. More importantly, you would have little idea of the species of plants and animals present. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/48 "2014-05-11T15:58:00Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Complete bullshit, yes. Some Americans seem to have this fixed idea that Australia is a few cities on the coasts and a vast trackless waste inland. That’s very far from the truth. Outback Australia is about as “unexplored” as the deserts of Nevada or New Mexico. Yes, only some Americans have this misconception. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/49 "2014-05-11T19:30:47Z")
Just a note in case anyone missed it: The OP died two months after starting this thread. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/50 "2014-05-12T03:57:50Z")
Pellucidar? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/51 "2014-05-12T06:37:15Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > I saw a programme on the telly the other night which claimed that many of the [Tepuis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tepui) have not been explored by modern man, if at all. Yes, there’s probably some [dinosaurs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_World_(Conan_Doyle_novel)) up there on one of them. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/52 "2014-05-12T07:46:42Z")
With relatively recent stories of lost tribes in Papua New Guinea, I always kinda called bullshit. How could that be, in this day and age? Until I flew over PNG. Mountains of Amazon-density rainforest with valleys so much deeper than they were wide, that they were so dark as to be black to look at in broad daylight, and with Hollywood-effect mist rising out of them. Sure, they’ve probably been photographed to the metre by aerial and satellite photography, but the idea of no human ever having set foot on some of that ground certainly seemed a lot more believable then. I could imagine being a “lost tribe” is not as far-fetched as I thought. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/53 "2014-05-12T07:52:23Z")
The Catacombs under Paris. They’re still largely un-mapped and have 5 known levels, according to Linda Blair (“Scariest Places on Earth.”) Addendum: I didn’t read the OP’s qualifiers, and I thought restricting it to the Earth’s day lighted surface isn’t much fun. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/54 "2014-05-12T07:55:46Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > With relatively recent stories of lost tribes in Papua New Guinea, I always kinda called bullshit. How could that be, in this day and age? > > Until I flew over PNG. Mountains of Amazon-density rainforest with valleys so much deeper than they were wide, that they were so dark as to be black to look at in broad daylight, and with Hollywood-effect mist rising out of them. Sure, they’ve probably been photographed to the metre by aerial and satellite photography, but the idea of no human ever having set foot on some of that ground certainly seemed a lot more believable then. I could imagine being a “lost tribe” is not as far-fetched as I thought. Yup, New Guinea is the last frontier indeed! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/55 "2014-05-12T07:56:24Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > The Catacombs under Paris. They’re still largely un-mapped and have 5 known levels, according to Linda Blair (“Scariest Places on Earth.”) > > Addendum: I didn’t read the OP’s qualifiers, and I thought restricting it to the Earth’s day lighted surface isn’t much fun. Guess you didn’t read posts #29 or #31 either. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/56 "2014-05-12T07:58:56Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > With relatively recent stories of lost tribes in Papua New Guinea, I always kinda called bullshit. How could that be, in this day and age? > > Until I flew over PNG. Mountains of Amazon-density rainforest with valleys so much deeper than they were wide, that they were so dark as to be black to look at in broad daylight, and with Hollywood-effect mist rising out of them. Sure, they’ve probably been photographed to the metre by aerial and satellite photography, but the idea of no human ever having set foot on some of that ground certainly seemed a lot more believable then. I could imagine being a “lost tribe” is not as far-fetched as I thought. Heck, in New Guinea the tribes often speak completely different languages from one valley to the next, and scarcely know there is a next valley, with people in it. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/57 "2014-05-12T13:23:34Z")
And when you think about it, from the perspective of those tribes, the rest of the entire world remains unexplored. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/58 "2014-05-12T23:21:33Z")
Also, note that the ocean floor is theoretically part of the Earth’s surface. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/59 "2014-05-13T01:35:45Z")
The terrain under the Antarctic ice cap (in fact, most of the ice cap itself) certainly qualifies. We have a vague idea of the largest terrain features - mountains, etc. - but given that it’s all under 2 miles of ice, there could be an entire ancient civilization under there and we wouldn’t know it. Edit: Not human civilization, I grant you… ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490/60 "2014-05-13T09:22:43Z")
That pretty much describes the five foot space under my chalet. A couple of times a year, I mount an expedition under there, but there are still areas that are unexplored. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490.md?page=4)