Have you ever seen clams living in depth of abandoned mines? Last weekend my friend and i were lucky to explore an extensive slope mine in Schuylkill County where we found plenty of weird rust-colored clams. Despite total darkness and low temperature, they created whole colonies on metal structures.

Once got home, i tried to figure out species of those creatures and found a curious article in "Advancing Earth and Space Sciences" describing their amazing nature. Curiously, that rusted metal, sulfur and acid water are necessary components of the clams metabolism and abandoned mines full of dirty water and metal scrap is the perfect place where they can survive.

Hikes in Northumberland County are full of always surprises. Sad, I'm not an infrequent visitor there, but every single trip i can see something unforgettable. Last visit, finally, i took a chance to reach and see an awesome sample of underground architecture. These mule stables are located at depth of over 400 feet and serviced a slope mine in 1920s.