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The Town of Coober Pedy, Australia, Has Moved Underground to Escape Extreme Heat

Faced with seasonal dust storms and temperatures that regularly reach above 110 degrees, citizens of a remote Australian town have made a drastic move — underground.

The desert town is called Coober Pedy, which was founded in 1915 when opal was first discovered in the region and miners began settling in. As they mined the earth to discover one of the world's richest gem deposits, they also found why people hadn't settled in this barren region of Australia before: the extreme heat. The settlers dug underground dwellings to escape the temperatures, and the practice still continues today.

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Many residents have turned unused portions of the mine into below-ground homes called "dugouts," The Epoch Times reports. The tunnel system holds around 1,500 houses with about 2,000 people living there.

These dugouts are more than just a hole in the ground, according to the Cultureist. Most homes contain all the amenities of an above-ground home, including walk-in closets, modern kitchens and televisions. The underground town also includes several churches, a bookstore, an art gallery, a bar and hotels. In some of the hotel rooms, opals can be seen embedded in the walls.

The town remains a popular tourist spot for those seeking an authentic Outback experience, or who want to see where movies like "Red Planet," "Mad Max" and "Pitch Black" were filmed. In the summer, the daytime temperatures in Coober Pedy get so high that most sporting activities take place at night. Golf played with glow-in-the-dark balls is a popular pastime.

To learn more about life underground, scroll through the slideshow below.