The Yarrangobilly Caves are located in a

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 ...

region along the

Yarrangobilly River The Yarrangobilly River is a perennial river of the Murrumbidgee River catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The Yarrangobilly River rises on the ...

valley in the north of

Kosciuszko National Park The Kosciuszko National Park () is a national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wildern ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Discovered to British colonists by a cattleman, the Yarrangobilly Caves system includes several independent limestone caves formed over different time periods, from several million to a few hundred thousand years old. The older examples are in higher strata and have more

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 ...

decoration. The caves are administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Three lit

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 ...

s are regularly open to visitors, two for guided tours and the third for a

self-guided tour A self-guided tour is a self-governing tour where one navigates a route oneself as opposed to an escorted tour where a tour guide directs the route, times, information, and places toured."self-guided adj." The New Oxford American Dictionary, sec ...

. The caves complex also includes a and up to thermal pool, fed by natural warm-water springs, and a number of walking tracks.

History

The cave was formed in 440-million-year-old limestone, and was first discovered by Europeans in 1834 when a stockman John Bowman came across the complex. Leo James Hoad was associated with the caves from 1904–1950, serving as the official caretaker of the caves from 1919 to 1946. He discovered the Jillabenan Cave in 1910. The largest building on the site is Caves House, built in 1901 when the caves were the most popular resort in New South Wales. It can be booked as accommodation for groups of visitors.

Show caves

South Glory Cave is a self-guided cave, with a path length of , including 206 steps plus ramps. Jersey Cave is noted for its rare displays of black and grey

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 ...

, coloured by ash from ancient

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

. The path length is and includes 217 steps. Jillabenan Cave features

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 ...

stalactites, flowstone shawls,

cave coral Cave popcorn, or coralloids, are small nodes of calcite, aragonite or gypsum that form on surfaces in caves, especially limestone caves. They are a common type of speleothem. Appearance The individual nodules of cave popcorn range in size from ...

and

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. The path length is and includes 15 stairs. It is suitable for wheelchair access (though the Parks wheelchair must be used, as the rails over steps inside the cave are fixed-width). The North Glory Cave has a common entrance with the South Glory through Glory Arch and features chambers such as the Queens Chamber, Helictite Chamber and Devils Kitchen. The path length is and includes 191 stairs. Several other unlit caves in the Yarrangobilly complex can be visited with tours run by the NPWS: North Glory Cave and Smugglers Passage, Harrie Wood Cave and Castle Cave. These tours run daily during Christmas and Easter, or by prior arrangement, and require a minimum of eight people to run. For the unlit caves, helmets and lights are provided.

References

External links

Visit NSW: About the Caves NSW Dept. Environment and Climate Change
{{coord, -35.7251, 148.4914, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Show caves in Australia Limestone caves Snowy Mountains Highway Caves of New South Wales Warm springs of Australia