![Lechuguilla Cave Pearlsian Gulf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Lechuguilla_Cave_Pearlsian_Gulf.jpg)
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the
ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the
weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...
of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as
sea cave
A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relic ...
s,
rock shelter
A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...
s, and
grotto
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...
s, that extend a relatively short distance into the rock and they are called ''exogene'' caves. Caves which extend further underground than the opening is wide are called ''endogene'' caves.
Speleology
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). ...
is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the cave environment. Visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called
''caving'', ''potholing'', or ''spelunking''.
Formation types
The formation and development of caves is known as ''
speleogenesis Speleogenesis is the origin and development of caves, the primary process that determines essential features of the hydrogeology of karst and guides its evolution. It often deals with the development of caves through limestone, caused by the presenc ...
''; it can occur over the course of millions of years.
Caves can range widely in size, and are formed by various geological processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion by water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, and atmospheric influences. Isotopic dating techniques can be applied to cave sediments, to determine the timescale of the geological events which formed and shaped present-day caves.
It is estimated that a cave cannot be more than vertically beneath the surface due to the pressure of overlying rocks. This does not, however, impose a maximum depth for a cave which is measured from its highest entrance to its lowest point, as the amount of rock above the lowest point is dependent on the topography of the landscape above it. For
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
caves the maximum depth is determined on the basis of the lower limit of karst forming processes, coinciding with the base of the soluble carbonate rocks. Most caves are formed in
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
by
dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
.
Caves can be classified in various other ways as well, including a contrast between active and relict: active caves have water flowing through them; relict caves do not, though water may be retained in them. Types of active caves include inflow caves ("into which a stream sinks"), outflow caves ("from which a stream emerges"), and through caves ("traversed by a stream").
Solutional
Solutional caves or karst caves are the most frequently occurring caves. Such caves form in rock that is soluble; most occur in
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, but they can also form in other rocks including
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
,
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
, marble, salt, and
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
. Rock is dissolved by natural acid in groundwater that seeps through
bedding planes,
faults, joints, and comparable features. Over time cracks enlarge to become caves and cave systems.
The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H
2CO
3 (
carbonic acid) and naturally occurring
organic acid
An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties. The most common organic acids are the carboxylic acids, whose acidity is associated with their carboxyl group –COOH. Sulfonic acids, containing the group –SO2OH, are rel ...
s. The dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as ''
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
'', characterized by
sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
s and underground drainage. Limestone caves are often adorned with
calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation. These include
flowstone
Flowstones are sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals, formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothe ...
s,
stalactite
A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via
''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...
s,
stalagmite
A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling")
is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...
s,
helictite
A helictite is a speleothem (cave-formed mineral) found in a limestone cave that changes its axis from the vertical at one or more stages during its growth. Helictites have a curving or angular form that looks as if they were grown in zero grav ...
s,
soda straw
A soda straw (or simply straw) is a speleothem in the form of a hollow mineral cylindrical tube. They are also known as tubular stalactites. Soda straws grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of ca ...
s and columns. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called ''
speleothem
A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending on ...
s''.
The portions of a solutional cave that are below the
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
or the local level of the groundwater will be flooded.
Lechuguilla Cave
At , Lechuguilla Cave is the eighth-longest explored cave in the world and the second deepest () in the continental United States. It is most famous for its unusual geology, rare formations, and pristine condition.
The cave is named for the can ...
in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and nearby
Carlsbad Cavern
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an American national park in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The primary attraction of the park is the show cave Carlsbad Cavern. Visitors to the cave can hike in on their own via the natur ...
are now believed to be examples of another type of solutional cave. They were formed by H
2S (
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...
) gas rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes. This gas mixes with groundwater and forms H
2SO
4 (
sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
). The acid then dissolves the limestone from below, rather than from above, by acidic water percolating from the surface.
Primary
![hawaiian lava tube](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Hawaiian_lava_tube.jpg)
Caves formed at the same time as the surrounding rock are called primary caves.
Lava tube
A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave.
Formation
A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...
s are formed through
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
activity and are the most common primary caves. As
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
flows downhill, its surface cools and solidifies. Hot liquid lava continues to flow under that crust, and if most of it flows out, a hollow tube remains. Such caves can be found in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
,
Jeju-do, the basaltic plains of
Eastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho is the area of Idaho lying east of the Magic Valley region. It is generally understood to include: Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Caribou, Clark, Custer, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Power and ...
, and in other places.
Kazumura Cave
Kazumura Cave is a lava tube and has been surveyed at 40.7 miles (65.5 km) long and 3,614 feet (1,102 m) deep making it the longest and deepest lava tube in the world.
The cave is located on the island of Hawaiʻi on the eastern slope of Kīl ...
near
Hilo
Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
is a remarkably long and deep lava tube; it is .
Lava caves include but are not limited to lava tubes. Other caves formed through volcanic activity include rifts, lava molds, open vertical conduits, inflationary, blisters, among others.
Sea or littoral
![Painted cave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Painted_cave.jpg)
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 such as Thailand's
Phang Nga Bay
Phang Nga Bay ( th, อ่าวพังงา}, ) is a bay in the Strait of Malacca between the island of Phuket and the mainland of the Kra Isthmus of southern Thailand. Since 1981, an extensive section of the bay has been protected as the ...
, solutional caves have been flooded by the sea and are now subject to littoral erosion. Sea caves are generally around in length, but may exceed .
Corrasional or erosional
Corrasional or erosional caves are those that form entirely by erosion by flowing streams carrying rocks and other sediments. These can form in any type of rock, including hard rocks such as granite. Generally there must be some zone of weakness to guide the water, such as a fault or joint. A subtype of the erosional cave is the wind or aeolian cave, carved by wind-born sediments.
Many caves formed initially by solutional processes often undergo a subsequent phase of erosional or vadose enlargement where active streams or rivers pass through them.
Glacier
![Big Four Glacier Ice cave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Big_Four_Glacier_Ice_cave.jpg)
Glacier caves are formed by melting ice and flowing water within and under glaciers. The cavities are influenced by the
very slow flow of the ice, which tends to collapse the caves again. Glacier caves are sometimes misidentified as "
ice cave
An ice cave is any type of natural cave (most commonly lava tubes or limestone caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all ye ...
s", though this latter term is properly reserved for bedrock caves that contain year-round ice formations.
Fracture
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 of stone.
Talus
Talus caves are formed by the openings among large boulders that have fallen down into a random heap, often at the bases of cliffs. These unstable deposits are called talus or
scree
Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ha ...
, and may be subject to frequent
rockfall
A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity/sheets of rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or walls of min ...
s and
landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s.
Anchialine
Anchialine 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 fauna.
Physical patterns
*''Branchwork caves'' resemble surface dendritic stream patterns; they are made up of passages that join downstream as tributaries. Branchwork caves are the most common of cave patterns and are formed near
sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...
s where
groundwater recharge
Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...
occurs. Each passage or branch is fed by a separate recharge source and converges into other higher order branches downstream.
[Easterbrook, Don, 1999, ''Surface Processes and Landforms nd edition', New Jersey, Prentice Hall, p. 207]
*''Angular network caves'' form from intersecting fissures of carbonate rock that have had fractures widened by chemical erosion. These fractures form high, narrow, straight passages that persist in widespread closed loops.
*''Anastomotic caves'' largely resemble surface braided streams with their passages separating and then meeting further down drainage. They usually form along one bed or structure, and only rarely cross into upper or lower beds.
*''Spongework caves'' are formed when solution cavities are joined by mixing of chemically diverse water. The cavities form a pattern that is three-dimensional and random, resembling a sponge.
*''Ramiform caves'' form as irregular large rooms, galleries, and passages. These randomized three-dimensional rooms form from a rising water table that erodes the carbonate rock with hydrogen-sulfide enriched water.
*''
Pit cave
A pit cave, shaft cave or vertical cave—or often simply called a pit (in the US) and pothole or pot (in the UK); jama in South Slavic languages scientific and colloquial vocabulary (borrowed since early research in the Western Balkan Dinaric ...
s'' (vertical caves, potholes, or simply "pits") consist of a vertical shaft rather than a horizontal cave passage. They may or may not be associated with one of the above structural patterns.
Geographic distribution
Caves are found throughout the world, although the distribution of documented cave system is heavily skewed towards those countries where caving has been popular for many years (such as France, Italy, Australia, the UK, the United States, etc.). 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 rough generalization, as large expanses of North America and Asia contain no documented caves, whereas areas such as the
Madagascar dry deciduous forests
The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agric ...
and parts of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
contain many documented caves. As the world's 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 —has relatively few documented caves.
Records and superlatives
*The cave system with the ''greatest total length'' of surveyed passage is
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave National Park is an American national park in west-central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world.
Since the 1972 unification of Mammoth Cave with the even-longer system under F ...
in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, US, at .
*The longest surveyed ''underwater cave'', and second longest overall, is
Sistema Sac Actun
Sistema Sac Actun (from Spanish and Yucatec Maya meaning "White Cave System") is an underwater cave system situated along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula with passages to the north and west of the city of Tulum. Discovery of a connec ...
in
Yucatán
Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...
, Mexico at .
*The ''deepest known cave'' — measured from its highest entrance to its lowest point — is
Veryovkina Cave
Veryovkina Cave (also spelled Verëvkina Cave, , ) is a cave in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia. At 2,212 meters (7,257 ft) deep, it is the deepest-known cave on Earth. Its entrance is 2,285 metres (7,497 ft) above sea level. The entrance ...
in
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, with a depth of .
This was the first cave to be explored to a depth of more than . (The first cave to be descended below was
Gouffre Berger
The Gouffre Berger is a French cave discovered on 24 May 1953 by Joseph Berger, Bouvet, Ruiz de Arcaute and Marc Jouffrey. From 1953 to 1963, it was regarded as the deepest cave in the world at , relinquishing this title to the previous contender, ...
in France.) The
Sarma and
Illyuzia-Mezhonnogo-Snezhnaya caves in Georgia, (, and respectively) are the current second- and third-deepest caves.
The deepest outside Georgia is
Lamprechtsofen Vogelschacht Weg Schacht in Austria, which is deep.
*The ''deepest vertical shaft'' in a cave is in
Vrtoglavica Cave
Vrtiglavica, also Vrtoglavica (both from Slovene ''vrtoglavica'' 'vertigo'), is a karst shaft on the Kanin Plateau, part of the Kanin Mountains, Western Julian Alps, on the Slovene side of the border between Slovenia and Italy
Italy ( ...
in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. The second deepest is Ghar-e-Ghala at in the Parau massif near
Kermanshah
Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...
in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
* The deepest ''underwater cave'' bottomed by a
remotely operated underwater vehicle
A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''.
Definition
This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the ai ...
at , is the
Hranice Abyss
Hranice Abyss ( cs, Hranická propast) is the deepest flooded pit cave in the world. It is a karst sinkhole near the town of Hranice, Czech Republic. The greatest confirmed depth is , of which is underwater. In 2020, a scientific expedition to ...
in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
.
*The ''largest known room'' is
Sarawak Chamber Sarawak Chamber is the largest known cave chamber in the world by area and the second largest by volume after the Miao Room in China. It is in Gua Nasib Bagus (Good Luck Cave), which is located in Gunung Mulu National Park, in the Malaysian Territor ...
, in the
Gunung Mulu National Park
The Gunung Mulu National Park is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The park is famous for its cav ...
(
Miri
)
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = State
, subdivision_name1 =
, subdivision_type2 = Division
, subdivision_name2 ...
,
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
,
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
), a sloping, boulder strewn chamber with an area of approximately and a height of . The nearby
Clearwater Cave System
The Clearwater Cave System ( ms, Gua Air Jernih) in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia is believed to be one of the largest interconnected cave systems in the world by volume and the 9th longest cave in the world at (2020). The system l ...
is believed to be the world's ''largest cave by volume'', with a calculated volume of . The largest room in a
show cave
A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits.
Definition
A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...
is the
salle de La Verna in the French
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
.
*The ''largest passage'' ever discovered is in the
Son Doong Cave in
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park Phong may refer to:
Computer graphics
* Phong shading
* Phong reflection model
* Blinn–Phong shading model
* Bui Tuong Phong - creator of the Phong shading interpolation method and reflection model.
Other
* Phong-Kniang language
* Nam Phon ...
in
Quảng Bình Province,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. It is in length, high and wide over most of its length, but over high and wide for part of its length.
Five longest surveyed
#
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave National Park is an American national park in west-central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world.
Since the 1972 unification of Mammoth Cave with the even-longer system under F ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, US
#
Sistema Sac Actun
Sistema Sac Actun (from Spanish and Yucatec Maya meaning "White Cave System") is an underwater cave system situated along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula with passages to the north and west of the city of Tulum. Discovery of a connec ...
/
Sistema Dos Ojos
Dos Ojos (from Spanish meaning "Two Eyes"; officially Sistema Dos Ojos) is part of a flooded cave system located north of Tulum, on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The exploration of Dos Ojos be ...
, Mexico
#
Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave National Monument contains Jewel Cave, currently the third longest cave in the world, with of mapped passageways. It is located approximately west of the town of Custer in Black Hills of South Dakota. It became a national monument ...
,
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
, US
#
Sistema Ox Bel Ha
Sistema Ox Bel Ha (from Mayan meaning "Three Paths of Water"; short Ox Bel Ha) is a cave system in Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is the 2nd longest explored underwater cave in the world and ranks fourth including dry caves. As of January 2022 the surv ...
, Mexico
#
Shuanghedong Cave Network
Shuanghedong (), is the longest cave in China, in Asia, and the 5th longest in the world in 2020.
It is located near the town of Wenquan in Suiyang County, Guizhou Province.
This gypsum and dolomite cave has carbon dioxide levels of approximate ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
Ecology
![Proteus anguinus Postojnska Jama Slovenija](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Proteus_anguinus_Postojnska_Jama_Slovenija.jpg)
Cave-inhabiting animals are often categorized as
troglobite
A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...
s (cave-limited species),
troglophile
Troglofauna are small cave-dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglofauna and stygofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – troglofau ...
s (species that can live their entire lives in caves, but also occur in other environments),
trogloxene Trogloxenes or subtroglophiles, also called cave guests, are animal species which periodically live in underground habitats such as caves or at the very entrance, but cannot live exclusively in such habitats."Cave Plants and Animals". 9 December Am ...
s (species that use caves, but cannot complete their life cycle fully in caves) and accidentals (animals not in one of the previous categories). Some authors use separate terminology for aquatic forms (for example,
stygobite
Stygofauna are any fauna that live in groundwater systems or aquifers, such as caves, fissures and vugs. Stygofauna and troglofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environme ...
s,
stygophile
Stygofauna are any fauna that live in groundwater systems or aquifers, such as caves, fissures and vugs. Stygofauna and troglofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments ...
s, and
stygoxenes).
Of these animals, the troglobites are perhaps the most unusual organisms. Troglobitic species often show a number of characteristics, termed troglomorphic, 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 feces of bats and other cave inhabitants. Other aquatic troglobites include cave fish, and
cave salamander
A cave salamander is a type of salamander that primarily or exclusively inhabits caves, a group that includes several species. Some of these animals have developed special, even extreme, adaptations to their subterranean environments. Some speci ...
s such as the
olm
The olm or proteus (''Proteus anguinus'') is an aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae, the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic, eating, sleeping, and br ...
and the
Texas blind salamander
The Texas blind salamander (''Eurycea rathbuni'') is a rare cave-dwelling troglobite amphibian native to San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, specifically the San Marcos Pool of the Edwards Aquifer.
Description
The species has a broad, flat, snout ...
.
Cave insects
Cave-dwelling insects are among the most widespread and prominent troglofauna (cave-dwelling animals), including troglobites, troglophiles, and trogloxenes. As a category of ecological adaptations, such insects are significant in many senses, ecolo ...
such as Oligaphorura (formerly Archaphorura) schoetti are troglophiles, reaching 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
St Cuthbert's Swallet is the second longest, and most complex, cave on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It forms a major part of the Priddy Caves system and water entering this swallet re-emerges at Wookey Hole. – which also con ...
in 1969.
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
s, such as the
gray bat and
Mexican free-tailed bat
The Mexican free-tailed bat or Brazilian free-tailed bat (''Tadarida brasiliensis'') is a medium-sized bat native to the Americas, so named because its tail can be almost half its total length and is not attached to its uropatagium. It has been ...
, are trogloxenes and are often found in caves; they forage outside of the caves. Some species of
cave cricket
The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include cave wētā, cave crickets, camelback crickets, camel crickets, Hogan bugs, spider crickets (sometimes shorte ...
s are classified as trogloxenes, because they roost in caves by day and forage above ground at night.
Because of the fragility of cave ecosystems, 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
The Tooth Cave spider, formerly ''Neoleptoneta myopica'', now ''Tayshaneta myopica'', is a long spider in the family Leptonetidae. It is endemic to limestone caves near Austin, Texas in the United States and is considered an endangered species ...
,
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.
Cave entrances often have typical florae. For instance, in the eastern temperate United States, cave entrances are most frequently (and often densely) populated by the bulblet fern, ''
Cystopteris bulbifera
''Cystopteris bulbifera'', with the common name bulblet fern, bulblet bladderfern, or bulblet fragile fern is a fern in the family Cystopteridaceae.
Distribution
The fern is native to eastern Canada, the Midwestern and Eastern United States, an ...
''.
Archaeological and cultural importance
![Taino petroglyph in cave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Taino_petroglyph_in_cave.jpg)
Throughout history, primitive peoples have made use of caves. The earliest human
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s found in caves come from a series of caves near Krugersdorp and Mokopane in South Africa. The cave sites of
Sterkfontein,
Swartkrans
Swartkrans is a fossil-bearing cave designated as a South African National Heritage Site, located about from Johannesburg. It is located in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and is notable for being extremely rich in archaeological m ...
,
Kromdraai
Kromdraai Conservancy is a protected conservation park located to the south-west of Gauteng province in north-east South Africa. It is in the Muldersdrift area not far from Krugersdorp.
Etymology
Its name is derived from Afrikaans meaning "Cro ...
B,
Drimolen
The Drimolen Palaeocave System consists of a series of terminal Pliocene to early Pleistocene hominin-bearing palaeocave fills located around north of Johannesburg, South Africa, and about north of Sterkfontein in the UNESCO World Heritage Site ...
,
Malapa
Malapa is a fossil-bearing cave located about northeast of the well known South African hominid-bearing sites of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans and about north-northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated within the Cradle of Human ...
, Cooper's D, Gladysvale, Gondolin and Makapansgat have yielded a range of early human species dating back to between three and one million years ago, including ''
Australopithecus africanus
''Australopithecus africanus'' is an extinct species of australopithecine which lived between about 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa. The species has been recovered from Taung, Sterkfonte ...
'', ''
Australopithecus sediba
''Australopithecus sediba'' is an extinct species of australopithecine recovered from Malapa Cave, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. It is known from a partial juvenile skeleton, the holotype MH1, and a partial adult female skeleton, the para ...
'' and ''
Paranthropus robustus
''Paranthropus robustus'' is a species of robustness (morphology), robust australopithecine from the Early Pleistocene, Early and possibly Middle Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, about 2.27 to 0.87 (or, mo ...
''. However, it is not generally thought that these early humans were living in the caves, but that they were brought into the caves by carnivores that had killed them.
The first early hominid ever found in Africa, the
Taung Child
The Taung Child (or Taung Baby) is the fossilised skull of a young ''Australopithecus africanus''. It was discovered in 1924 by quarrymen working for the Northern Lime Company in Taung, South Africa. Raymond Dart described it as a new species ...
in 1924, was also thought for many years to come from a cave, where it had been deposited after being predated on by an eagle. However, this is now debated (Hopley et al., 2013; Am. J. Phys. Anthrop.). Caves do form in the dolomite of the Ghaap Plateau, including the Early, Middle and Later Stone Age site of
Wonderwerk Cave
Wonderwerk Cave is an archaeological site, formed originally as an ancient solution cavity in dolomite rocks of the Kuruman Hills, situated between Danielskuil and Kuruman in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is a National Heritage S ...
; however, the caves that form along the escarpment's edge, like that hypothesised for the Taung Child, are formed within a secondary limestone deposit called
tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertine. ...
. There is numerous evidence for other early human species inhabiting caves from at least one million years ago in different parts of the world, including ''
Homo erectus
''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor' ...
'' in China at
Zhoukoudian
Zhoukoudian Area () is a town and an area located on the east Fangshan District, Beijing, China. It borders Nanjiao and Fozizhuang Townships to its north, Xiangyang, Chengguan and Yingfeng Subdistricts to its east, Shilou and Hangcunhe Towns to ...
, ''
Homo rhodesiensis
''Homo rhodesiensis'' is the species name proposed by Arthur Smith Woodward (1921) to classify Kabwe 1 (the "Kabwe skull" or "Broken Hill skull", also "Rhodesian Man"), a Middle Stone Age fossil recovered from a cave at Broken Hill, or Kabwe, No ...
'' in South Africa at the Cave of Hearths (
Makapansgat
Makapansgat () (or Makapan Valley World Heritage Site) is an archaeological location within the Makapansgat and Zwartkrans Valleys, northeast of Mokopane in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is an important palaeontological site, with the local ...
), ''
Homo neanderthalensis
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an Extinction, extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ag ...
'' and ''
Homo heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' (also ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis''), sometimes called Heidelbergs, is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' in ...
'' in Europe at
Archaeological Site of Atapuerca, ''
Homo floresiensis
''Homo floresiensis'' also known as "Flores Man"; nicknamed "Hobbit") is an extinct species of small archaic human that inhabited the island of Flores, Indonesia, until the arrival of modern humans about 50,000 years ago.
The remains of an i ...
'' in Indonesia, and the
Denisovans
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. Denisovans are known from few physical remains and consequently, most of what is known ...
in southern Siberia.
In southern Africa, early modern humans regularly used sea caves as shelter starting about 180,000 years ago when they learned to exploit the sea for the first time. The oldest known site is PP13B at
Pinnacle Point
Pinnacle Point a small promontory immediately south of Mossel Bay, a town on the southern coast of South Africa. Excavations since the year 2000 of a series of caves at Pinnacle Point have revealed occupation by Middle Stone Age people between ...
. This may have allowed rapid expansion of humans out of Africa and colonization of areas of the world such as Australia by 60–50,000 years ago. Throughout southern Africa, Australia, and Europe, early modern humans used caves and rock shelters as sites for rock art, such as those at
Giant's Castle
Giant's Castle is a mountain located within the Drakensberg range in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It includes a grassy plateau nestled among the deep valleys of the southern end of the central Drakensberg. Together, the shape of the peaks an ...
. Caves such as the
yaodong
A yaodong () or "house cave" is a particular form of earth shelter dwelling common in the Loess Plateau in China's north. They are generally carved out of a hillside or excavated horizontally from a central "sunken courtyard".
The earth that su ...
in China were used for shelter; other caves were used for burials (such as
rock-cut tombs
A rock-cut tomb is a burial chamber that is cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation, so a type of rock-cut architecture. They are usually cut into a cliff or sloping rock face, but may go downward in fairly flat ground. It was a ...
), or as religious sites (such as
Buddhist caves). Among the known sacred caves are China's Cave of a Thousand Buddhas and the
sacred caves of Crete
Sacred caves and peak sanctuaries are characteristic holy places of ancient Minoan Crete. Most scholars agree that sacred caves were used by the Minoans for religious rites, and some for burial. While all peak sanctuaries have clay human figurines, ...
.
Caves and acoustics
The importance of sound in caves predates a modern understanding of acoustics. Archaeologists have uncovered relationships between paintings of dots and lines, in specific areas of resonance, within the caves of Spain and France, as well as instruments depicting paleolithic motifs, indicators of musical events and rituals. Clusters of paintings were often founds in areas with notable acoustics, sometimes even replicating the sounds of the animals depicted on the walls. The human voice was also theorized to be used as an echolocation device to navigate darker areas of the caves where torches were less useful. Dots of red ochre are often found in spaces with the highest resonance, where the production of paintings was too difficult.
Caves continue to provide usage for modern-day explorers of acoustics. Today
Cumberland Caverns
Cumberland Caverns is a national natural landmark and show cave located in McMinnville, Tennessee. It is the second longest cave in Tennessee and makes the list of longest caves in the United States and in the world.
History
The main entrance was ...
provides one of the best examples for modern musical usages of caves. Not only are caves utilized for the reverberations, but for the dampening qualities of their abnormal faces as well. The irregularities in the walls of the Cumberland Caverns diffuse sounds bouncing off the walls and give the space and almost recording studio-like quality. During the 20th century musicians began to explore the possibility of using caves as locations as clubs and concert halls, including the likes of
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
,
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...
, and
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...
. Unlike today, these early performances were typically held in the mouths of the caves, as the lack of technology made depths of the interior inaccessible with musical equipment. In
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a cave just west of Luray, Virginia, United States, which has drawn many visitors since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, s ...
, Virginia, a functioning
organ has been developed that generates sound by mallets striking stalactites, each with a different pitch.
See also
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References
{{Authority control
Erosion landforms
Fluvial landforms