Vast ice cavern

The "vast ice cavern" is a room in Sector 2 / Cryosphere. It appears in Metroid: Other M.
==Description==
This room is set inside a natural ice cave, with the only man-made architecture consisting of a ladder and a drain from the adjacent Water Tank. The entrance is situated on a higher ledge with a tower next to it, which surrounds a short ladder. In gameplay, this ladder is ascended as a series of Grab Ledges. At the bottom of the room is a snow-covered ground with a small, shallow pond near the right side. The water has a noticeable purple glow, produced by shadows from the ice in the room, and is populated with Skulteras. The walls and floor are lined with icicles, sheets of ice and protruding stalagmites, and there are large ice pillars at different points in the cavern.
On the back wall is a series of platforms, each of which have icicles hanging off of their sides. One platform has a small stream that flows into the pond, and seems to originate from within the wall. It may be runoff from the ice. In the center of the wall is a large ice column that obstructs further progress. To remove it, Samus must fire a Missile at its base to form a puncture, and then, similar to that in the "ice passage", Samus must enter Morph Ball mode and lay a Bomb in the puncture to break the column off. The broken column falls to the floor below, and the base of it can now be stood on and crossed over. Multiple Snomers appear as Samus crosses the room, and near the exit door she encounters some Joulions as well. The door leads into the Water Tank.
In the Water Tank, Samus destroys a cover on the drain, forcing all the water into this cavern. The current carries her back into the cavern, which becomes mostly submerged. As she does not have her Gravity Feature authorized at that time, Samus's movements are made sluggish in the water. She carefully proceeds to the ladder (avoiding and/or killing any Skulteras) and then climbs it back to the surface. She can run across the toppled column, which floats on the surface of the water, and use it to reach some of the wall platforms that were not submerged. Samus is then able to return to the now empty Water Tank and continue through the Cryosphere. Notably, the fallen column is visible as a section of the room on the minimap.
==Connecting rooms==
*"Cooling fan hallway" (via automatic door)
*Water Tank (via automatic door and drain)
==Inhabitants==
===Before flood===
*17 Snomers
*4 Skulteras
*3 Joulions
===After flood===
*5 Skulteras
*6 Snomers
==Official data==
===Metroid: Other M Premiere Edition===
;Page 90:"Go through the hatch to the next large cavern. Drop to the bottom level and destroy all the Snomers in the room. Cross the room and hop up the stepped area on the other side. Follow the ridge back around left to a large pillar blocking your path and blast a hole in it with a Normal Missile. Drop into Morph Ball mode and place a Normal Bomb in the small hole you just created. The explosion tumbles the rest of the pillar, allowing you to cross left into the other side of the cavern. Follow the path around until it leads you to the Water Tank entrance."
;Page 91:"The explosion drains the room [Water Tank] and fills the previous room with water, but not before blowing you back into the previous room. Climb out of the water and return to the Water Tank."
==Gallery==
File:Vast ice cavern - top.png|The top of the room.
File:Vast ice cavern - bottom, pre-flood.png|The bottom of the room and base of the ladder, prior to the flood.
File:Vast ice cavern - pond.png|Samus in the pond.
File:Vast ice cavern - platform and stream.png|Samus grabbing onto a ledge, note the stream to her left.
File:Vast ice cavern column - intact.png|The large ice column, intact.
File:Vast ice cavern column - cracked.png|The column after a Missile is fired into it.
File:Vast ice cavern column - timber.png|The column falls over.
File:Vast ice cavern column - tipped over.png
File:Vast ice cavern column - cut side.png|The remaining part of the column.
File:Vast ice cavern - ascending.png|Samus continues to ascend the wall.
File:Vast ice cavern - drain.png|Samus is sent back into the room through the Water Tank's drain.
File:Vast ice cavern - underwater.png|Samus under the water in the flooded cavern.
Category:Rooms
Category:Cryosphere