Krásnohorská Cave () is a

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

cave situated at the northern foot of the Silická planina Plain, in the

Slovak Karst The Slovak Karst () is one of the mountain ranges of the Slovenské Rudohorie mountains in the Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians in southern Slovakia. It consists of a complex of huge karst plains and plateaus. Since 1973 it has been a protected ...

, 6.5 km southeast of

Rožňava Rožňava (, , Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožňava is now a popular tourist attr ...

, in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. With unique natural decorations of bizarre shapes and unusual structure composed almost entirely of

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

, it is currently listed by the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

as the cave containing the largest

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) 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 composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

in existence, generally accepted as being about in diameter and in height. It grows significantly in volume every year as the incessant drips solidify. The length of the cave is to and it represents the end of the cave system underground stream Buzgó.

Description

Part of the cave from the entrance to the Hall of Giants (''Sieň obrov'') is formed in dolomite and dolomitic limestones with impressive limestone layers. The back parts of the cave, like the Pearl Passage (''Chodba perál''), the Great Hall (''Veľká sieň''), and the Mirror Hall (''Zrkadlová sieň''), are located in pure limestone areas. The Great Canyon (''Veľký kaňon'') passageway was formed as a result of tectonic faults which also helped shape large chambers in the back part of the cave,Martin Kubliniak
''Krásnohorská jaskyna - Krásnohorská Cave''
at Geocaching na Slovensku discovered by Rožnava cavers in 1964. Like the other caves in the Slovak Karst zone, it is on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

List of the World Natural Heritage.

References

External links

Krásnohorská cave
at krasnohorskajaskyna.sk World Heritage Sites in Slovakia Limestone caves Geography of Košice Region Tourist attractions in Košice Region {{Slovakia-geo-stub

Description

See also

References

External links