New St. Michael's Cave, also known as Lower St. Michael's Cave, is a cave system in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. Unlike its namesake,

St. Michael's Cave St. Michael's Cave or Old St. Michael's Cave is the name given to a network of limestone caves located within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, at a height of over above sea level. According to Alo ...

(proper), which has been known for over 2,000 years, this cave was discovered as recently as World War II. The cave was accidentally discovered during World War II, when in 1942 the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

were blasting inside the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

so as to create an alternate entrance to the lower chambers of St. Michael's Cave, which had been prepared as an emergency hospital. The first sign was when their tunnelling appeared to create no rubble as it had fallen through the newly created opening into this previously undiscovered cave which may have remained sealed for some 20,000 years. The cave's chambers include examples of almost all known

cave formations 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 o ...

, including a lake nearly long containing an estimated of crystal-clear water. After the war, the cave and every visitor was supervised by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, specifically the Royal Engineers. It was not until the 1970s that civilian guides were authorised. Within ten years, the guides were all civilians as the Gibraltar Tourist Board took over the cave's management from the military. Three-hour guided tours of the cave can be arranged, ending with viewing the underground lake.

References

Caves of Gibraltar {{Gibraltar-geo-stub