Shatter Cave is a cave in
Fairy Cave Quarry
Fairy Cave Quarry () is between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.
Quarrying was first started on the site in the early 1920s. In 1963 the quarry was acquired by Hobbs (Quarries) Ltd., and ...
, near
Stoke St Michael
Stoke St Michael is a village and civil parish on the Mendip Hills north east of Shepton Mallet, and west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.
History
Since the 14th century the village has also been known as Stoke Lane, a ...
in the limestone of the
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...
, in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
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,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
It falls within the
St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
.
The name commemorates the damage, done by blasting in the quarry, to some of the decoration within the cave.
Description
Shatter Cave has been described as being one of the finest decorated caves in Britain in terms of their sheer abundance of pure white and translucent
calcite
Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
deposits.
[Moseley, Gina (2005), ''A Study into the Microclimatology of Shatter Cave, southwest England with comparison to Uamh an Tartair, northwest Scotland'', presented to the British Cave Research Association.]
The floor of Diesel Chamber includes some fine
gours, Helicite Rift contains
heligmites and a
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 ...
curtain, and Pillar Chamber contains a high white pillar as well as one of the finest crystalline gour floors in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. Tor Chamber, Portcullis Grottoes and Pisa Passage are also highly decorated.
[ – which also contains a detailed description of the cave.]
Access
The Fairy Caves Management Committee administers the access to this cave on behalf of the quarry owners. In order to protect the calcite formations, novices are not allowed to enter Shatter Cave.
See also
*
Caves of the Mendip Hills
The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain.
Geology ...
References
External links
*
{{coord, 51.2259, -2.4921, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(ST65734753), display=title, format=dms
Caves of the Mendip Hills
Limestone caves