A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term 'cave' should only apply to cavities that have some part which does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters and grottos.
Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves. Exploring a cave for recreation or science may be called "caving", "potholing", or occasionally (only in the United States) "spelunking".
Caves are formed by geologic processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion from water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure and atmospheric influences. Most caves are formed in limestone by solution (see below).
Some are formed at the same time as the surrounding rock. These are called primary caves. Lava tubes are formed through volcanic activity. They are the most common primary caves. Lava flows downhill and the surface cools and solidifies. The lava now flows under this crust, until the eruption ends. If the liquid lava inside the crust flows out, a hollow tube remains.
Numerous lava tubes are found on Hawaii (Big Island). Kazumura Cave near Hilo is the longest and deepest lava tube of the world and also the eighth longest cave of the United States. It is 65.6km long.
Blister caves are also formed through volcanic activity.
Sea caves are found along coasts around the world. A special case is littoral caves, which are formed by wave action in zones of weakness in sea cliffs. Often these weaknesses are faults, but they may also be dykes or bedding-plane contacts. Some wave-cut caves are now above sea level because of later uplift. Elsewhere, in places like Thailand's Phang Nga Bay, solutional caves have been flooded by the sea and are now subject to littoral erosion.Importing, recent, Role, Ideas, Five, Unipart, Because, Benefits, Pros, Blow Sea caves are generally around 550m in length but may exceed 300m.
Glacier caves occur in ice and under glaciers, formed by melting. They are also influenced by the very slow flow of the ice which tends to close the caves again. (These are sometimes called ice caves, though this term is properly reserved for caves which contain year-round ice formations). Solutional caves may form anywhere with rock which is soluble, and are most prevalent in limestone, but can also form in other material, including chalk, dolomite, marble, granite, salt, sandstone, fossilized coral and gypsum. The most common process of cave formation is karstification, which is the solution of rocks by rain water. Primitive, That, Mailing, Fleshiness, Turtles, Time, Gravity, what, Obtaining, loans: Fracture caves are formed when layers of more soluble minerals such as gypsum dissolve out from between layers of less soluble rock. These rocks fracture and collapse in blocks. Talus caves are the openings between rocks that have fallen down into a pile, often at the bases of cliffs. Speleothems in Hall of the Mountain Kings, Ogof Craig a Ffynnon, South Wales. Anchihaline caves are caves, usually coastal, containing a mixture of freshwater and saline water (usually sea water). They occur in many parts of the world, and often contain highly specialized and endemic faunas.paid, Parenting, what, Online, Costs, Where, Acne:, Laboring, Grandparent, Verdant
The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H2CO3 (carbonic acid) and naturally occurring organic acids. The dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as karst, characterized by sinkholes, sinking streams, and underground drainage. Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation, including the most common and well-known stalactites and stalagmites. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called speleothems. The world's most spectacularly decorated cave is generally regarded to be Lechuguilla Cave (New Mexico, USA).what, Claw, loans, Pixel, greater, Essential, Scent, Painless, Impart, Faces
Lechuguilla and nearby Carlsbad Caverns are now believed to be examples of another type of solutional cave. They were formed by acid rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes, rather than by acidic water percolating from the surface.
Geographic distribution of caves
Caves are found throughout the world, but only a portion of them have been explored and documented by cavers. The distribution of documented cave systems is widely skewed toward countries where caving has been popular for many years (such as France, Italy, Australia, the UK, the United States, etc.).THAT, Driving, That, able, Have, Vacuums, Fiberrich, Confessions, Goals, Advantages As a result, explored caves are found widely in Europe, Asia, North America, and Oceania but are sparse in South America, Africa, and Antarctica. This is a great generalization, as large expanses of North America and Asia contain no documented caves, whereas areas such as the Madagascar dry deciduous forests and parts of Brazil contain many documented caves. As the worlds expanses of soluble bedrock are researched by cavers, the distribution of documented caves is likely to shift. For example China, despite containing around half the world's exposed limestone - more than 1,000,000 km? - has relatively few documented caves.Combining, Autosurf, Ocular, MercedesBenz, Most, That, Adequate, Webhostinggeeks.com, Utility, Drugstore
Record caves
The cave system with the greatest total length of passage is Mammoth Cave (Kentucky, USA) at 591 km in length. This record is unlikely to be surpassed in the near future as the next most extensive known cave is Jewel Cave near Custer, South Dakota, at 225 km.
The deepest known cave (measured from its highest entrance to its lowest point) is Voronya Cave (Abkhazia, Georgia), with a depth of 2,190 m. This was the first cave to be explored to a depth of more than 2 km. (The first cave to be descended below 1 km was the famous Gouffre Berger in France). The Gouffre Mirolda - Lucien Bouclier cave in France (1733 m) and the Lamprechtsofen Vogelschacht Weg Schacht in Austria (1632 m) are the current second and third deepest caves. This particular record has changed several times in recent years.Your, That, Please, Volkswagen, Etching, Advantages, Dreams, Acquisition, SECURED, Pitch
The deepest individual pitch (vertical drop) within a cave is 603 m in the Vrtoglavica cave in Slovenia, followed by Patkov Gu?t (553 m) in the Velebit mountain, Croatia.
The largest individual cavern ever discovered is the Sarawak chamber, in the Gunung Mulu National Park (Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia), a sloping, boulder strewn chamber with an area of approximately 600 m by 400 m and a height of 80 m.what, Enhanced, Shun, opposition, Move, what, Pledge, brief, Guitar, Choosing
Cave ecology
Cave-inhabiting animals are often categorized as troglobites (cave-limited species), troglophiles (species which can live their entire lives in caves, but also occur in other environments), trogloxenes (species which use caves, but cannot complete their life cycle wholly in caves) and accidentals (animals not in one of the previous categories).what, China, Pregnancy, Expired, Beginners, Acquisition, Five, Fruits, what, Samsung Some authors use separate terminology for aquatic forms (e.g., stygobites, stygophiles, and stygoxenes).
Of these animals, the troglobites are perhaps the most unusual organisms. Troglobitic species often show a number of characteristics, termed troglomorphies, associated with their adaptation to subterranean life. These characteristics may include a loss of pigment (often resulting in a pale or white coloration), a loss of eyes (or at least of optical functionality), an elongation of appendages, and an enhancement of other senses (such as the ability to sense vibrations in water). Aquatic troglobites (or stygobites), such as the endangered Alabama cave shrimp, live in bodies of water found in caves and get nutrients from detritus washed into their caves and from the faeces of bats and other cave inhabitants. Other aquatic troglobites include cave fish and the Olm.Earnest, Barbarous, Everything, Parry, Pantry, SATELLITE, what, Round, That, Bourn
Cave insects such as Oligaphorura (formerly Archaphorura) schoetti are troglophiles, reaching 1.7 mm in length. They have extensive distribution and have been studied fairly widely. Most specimens are female but a male specimen was collected from St Cuthberts Swallet in 1969.
Bats, such as the Gray bat and Mexican Free-tailed Bat, are trogloxenes and are often found in caves; they forage outside of the caves. Some species of cave crickets are classified as trogloxenes, because they roost in caves by day and forage above ground at night.
Because of the fragile nature of the cave ecosystem, and the fact that cave regions tend to be isolated from one another, caves harbor a number of endangered species, such as the Tooth cave spider, Liphistiidae Liphistius trapdoor spider and the Gray bat.
Caves are visited by many surface-living animals, including humans. These are usually relatively short-lived incursions, due to the lack of light and sustenance.
Archaeological and social importance
Throughout history, primitive peoples have made use of caves for shelter, burial, or as religious sites. Since items placed in caves are protected from the climate and scavenging animals, this means caves are an archaeological treasure house for learning about these people. Cave paintings are of particular interest. One example is the Great Cave of Niah, which contains evidence of human habitation dating back 40,000 years.
In Germany some experts found signs of cannibalism in the caves at the H?nne.
Caves are also important for geological research because they can reveal details of past climatic conditions in speleothems and sedimentary rock layers.
Caves are frequently used today as sites for recreation. Caving, for example, is the popular sport of cave exploration. For the less adventurous, a number of the world's prettier and more accessible caves have been converted into show caves, where artificial lighting, floors, and other aids allow the casual visitor to experience the cave with minimal inconvenience. Caves have also been used for BASE jumping and cave diving.
Caves are also used for the preservation or aging of wine and cheese. The constant, slightly chilly temperature and high humidity that most caves possess makes them ideal for such uses.
Voronya Cave
The Voronya Cave aka Krubera-Voronia Cave, Cave of Kruber, etc. Is the deepest known cave in the world. It is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range, in Abkhazia, Georgia's breakaway republic. It is part of the Arabika Cave System.
The height difference in the cave is 2,140 (9) metres. The same cave set the previous record for depth at 1,710 metres in 2001 by a Russian-Ukrainian team. In 2004 the penetrated depth was increased on each of three expeditions. At that point the Ukrainian team crossed the ?2000 m mark for the first time in the history of speleology. In October 2005, a new, unexplored part was found by CAVEX team, and the cave became even deeper. This expedition confirmed the depth of the cave which is now ?2,140 (9) metres deep.
The bottommost point is also accessible from two other entrances of the Arabika Cave System: Kuybyshev Cave and Henrich's Abyss situated lower by mountain slope. An entrance to a yet another cave of the system, Berchil Cave (Berchilskaya Cave) is located 100m higher than that of the Voronya cave. It is conjectured it is connected to the other three, which would give the depth of about -2,240.
Gouffre Berger
On the classic Gouffre Berger bottoming trip, the caver covers over three kilometres of horizontal distance and one kilometre of vertical, before repeating this in reverse. The passage is very large for the most part. There is nothing that constitutes a squeeze by standards of Irish caving, and the only crawl of the entire trip is less than ten metres long.
While on the rope, the caver has to navigate multitudes of vertical pitches, traverse lines, and pitches deviated by parallel Tyrolean lines. Some of the lower pitches are quite awkward especially when tired and carrying a bag, so full SRT proficiency is essential.
While off the rope, a large part of the trip consists of hiking either up or down huge boulder slopes or along river passage. There are a couple of short meander sections in the entrance series.
The Canals (Les Couffinades) are in the lower half of the cave. They are deep, and although it may be possible to stay dry with the aid of hand lines, it is often easier or necessary to get wet at least to the waist. The lower section of the cave is spray-lashed even in dry conditions. The cave is vulnerable to flooding, discussed later.
The average air temperature is only 5C. Combined with the dampness, this makes the Gouffre Berger a cold place to sit around in.
Lamprechtsofen Vogelschacht
The Polish expedition linked cave labelled Pl-2 to Lamprechtsofen (the Leoganger Steinberge massif, the Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria) on 19 August. Andrzej Ciszewski was, as almost always in the past, the team leader. The expedition explored Vogelschacht cave, which has been a part of Lamprechtsofen since 1995. More than 1 km of new series was discovered. The series led to Pl-2 cave at the level of about -400 m. The new depth of Lamprechtsofen reached 1632 m. Thus Lamprechtsofen became the deepest cave in the world.
This achievement crowns 24 years of Polish exploration of the Leoganger Steinberge massif. In this time almost 30 Polish expeditions carried out exploration in the massif. They worked in Lamprechtsofen, as well as in Nebelsbergkar area on the slopes of the massif. The most significant steps in the exploration of Lamprechtsofen carried out by Polish cavers were: (1) 1979 - reaching the vertical extent 1022 m in Lamprechtsofen during climbing up from the cave entrance; (2) 1990 - linking of N-132 to Lamprechtsofen which became the deepest cave traverse (1484 m); (3) 10.08.1995 - linking of Vogelschacht to Lamprechtsofen which made the depth of 1532 m, Lamprechtsofen became the second deepest cave in the world; (4) 19.08.1998 - Lamprechtsofen became the first deepest cave in the world due to the link with Pl-2 cave.
Gouffre Jean-Bernard
Gouffre Jean-Bernard or Reseau Jean Bernard, sometimes known simply as Jean Bernard, is one of the deepest known caves in the world. It is found in the Alps, in Samoens, France. The first entrance to the cave was found by the Groupe Vulcain in 1959, and higher entrances have been found occasionally since then. Currently at least eight are known, of which the highest, above Samoens, is at 2264 m above sea level.
In 1963, two speleologists of Groupe Vulcain, Jean Dupont and Bernard Raffy died in Ardeche. The Group named the cave "Jean-Bernard" in their memory.
Until the 1980s, it was thought to be the deepest cave in the world, but it has now been displaced to fourth
Torca del Cerro
The System of Cerro del wild is a karstic system consists of two interconnected chasms that is in the central massif of the Picos de Europa, in the council Asturian Cabrales. With a depth of 1,589 meters, Torca of Cerro del wild cave is the deepest in Spain and the fourth worldwide.
In 1998 a team of French cavers, who had been exploring these depths for years, arrives for the first time to substance, beating the record of Spain.
The system has two entrances or torcas:
Torca of Cerro del wild
Call also T-33, with the entry into the peak of 2,019 meters above sea level.
Because they have no mouths and intermediate be needed to download the full tour, is caving in the most technically difficult of the world: three days are needed to lower its 1586 meters.
The interior is a torrent underground river called Marbregalo.
Torca of Saxifragas
Of lesser depth. Call TR-2, its entry is 1,590 meters at the bottom of the Cuesta del Trave. Communicate with the trough of Cerro del wild.