Inside The Psychedelic Salt Mine: Abandoned Russian Tunnels

Hundreds of feet below a Russian city is an abandoned salt mine which might as well be the inside of a rave. The walls are covered with psychedelic patterns, caused by the natural layers of mineral carnallite creating swirls throughout the coloured rock. Carnallite is used in the process of plant fertilisation, and is most often yellow to white or reddish, but can sometimes be blue or even completely colourless.

Jaw dropping acid: The psychadelic walls inside the abandoned salt mine in Yekaterinburg, Russia more than 650ft under the surface

Beauty below: Although the patterns appear man-made, they are all formed by layers upon layers of minerals which were mined for their use in fertilizers

Scratching the surface: The mineral carnallite, a hydrated potassium magnesium chloride, decorates the empty tunnels under Yekaterinburg

Although a small part of the mine is still in use, miles of tunnels now lay abandoned and are only accessible with a special government permit. But that didn't stop photographer, Mikhail Mishainik, 29, from exploring the network of passageways under ground near the industrial city of Yekaterinburg, Russia.

The Russian adventurer spent over 20 hours exploring the dimly lit labyrinth and has stayed overnight on at least three occasions. But if sleeping 650ft below the Earth's surface isn't nerve wracking enough, Mikhail and his friends are also at risk of gas leaks and landslides. Mikhail said: ‘The mines are huge and stretch many kilometres in width and length, a single tunnel can be over four miles long. It is hard to describe how it feels being so far down, you lose all track of time and the air is very dry, you always feel thirsty.'

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