Category Caves

Stalactite and stalagmite, elongated forms of various minerals deposited from solution by slowly dripping water. A stalactite hangs like an icicle from the ceiling or sides of a cavern. A stalagmite appears like an inverted stalactite, rising from the floor of a cavern.

Stalactites hanging from the ceilings of caverns commonly exhibit a central tube or the trace of a former tube whose diameter is that of a drop of water hanging by surface tension. A drop on the tip of a growing stalactite leaves a deposit only around its rim. Downward growth of the rim makes the tube. The simplest stalactite form, therefore, is a thin-walled stone straw, and these fragile forms may reach lengths of 0.5 m (20 inches) or more where air currents have not seriously disturbed the growth. The more common form is a downward-tapering cone and is simply a thickening of the straw type by mineral deposition from a film of water descending the exterior of the pendant.

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There are caves all over the planet, but only a few have been explored. These dark spaces are sheltered from the weather and provide a steady temperature, making them ideal homes for an enormous diversity of life.

Animals that are adapted to live in caves are known as troglofauna. Some – such as bats, bears and swiftlets – use caves on a temporary basis. Others reside there permanently, living out their entire life cycles in the dark – but many have evolved special abilities to help them survive in their food- and light-limited habitats.

Some animals use caves as part-time homes. Bats and swiftlets use them to roost during the day and night respectively. In some caves there can be as many as 20 million bats in residence. By foraging outside of caves for insects and fruits, part-time cave residents provide for those that never leave.

Like other habitats, caves have their own food chain. The detritivores rely on bat faeces and are consumed by the next level of predators, such as spiders and pseudoscorpions. Centipedes and cave boas are often the top predators in these underground environments. The snakes are specially adapted to be able to catch swiftlet and bats as they fly past.

Credit:  Natural History Museum

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Polje, (Serbo-Croatian: “field”), elongated basin having a flat floor and steep walls; it is formed by the coalescence of several sinkholes. The basins often cover 250 square km (about 100 square miles) and may expose “disappearing streams.” Most such basins have steep enclosing walls that range from 50 to 100 m (165 to 330 feet) in height, giving rise to the name “blind valley.” The flat floor of a polje is characteristically covered with a soil composed of the residues of limestone solution. These areas may constitute the only arable part of the rock wasteland in a karst region.

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Sometimes, melting at the margin of a glacier may cause small caves to form within the ice, between the ice and the bedrock, or between the ice and the sediment beneath it. Ice caves can also form where water exits from beneath the glacier or where the ice flows over a large bump its bed.

Glacier ice caves are cold, with icy water dripping from their roofs. Sometimes, rocks and debris that the glacier has picked up melt out and drop into the caves. People interested in exploring ice caves should wear helmets, as they would in other kinds of caves.

Glacier Ice Caves are sometimes referred to as “ice caves”, but the term ice caves is more commonly used for caves in rock which contain ice year-round.

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With a staggering depth of 2,197 meters (7,208 feet), Krubera Cave is the deepest known cave in the world.

Considered “the Everest of caves,” the vast cavern, also known as Voronya or Voronja Cave, is located in the Arabika Massif. Arabika Massif is on the edge of the Black Sea in Abkhazia, a region that borders Georgia. Since its discovery in 1960, explorers and scientists have attempted to descend deeper and deeper into the cave. Thus, setting new records each time. In 2001, Krubera Cave officially became the deepest cave known to man. The massive cave has an explored depth of 1,710 meters (5,610 feet), beating the Lamprechtsofen by 80 meters.

Photos of expeditions over the years reveal an enormous subterranean wonder. In fact, the cave looks like it was taken straight from Journey to the Center of the Earth. With a freezing underground waterfall, entire areas filled with water, and tunnels so narrow it’s nearly impossible to squeeze through; the Krubera Cave is an awe-inspiring labyrinth of countless pits and chasms descending deep into the darkness.

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Caves, also called cavern, natural opening in the earth large enough for human exploration. Such a cavity is formed in many types of rock and by many processes. The largest and most common caves are those formed by chemical reaction between circulating groundwater and bedrock composed of limestone or dolomite. These caves, called solution caves, typically constitute a component of what is known as karst terrain. Named after the Karst region of the western Balkan Peninsula extending from Slovenia to Montenegro, karst terrain in general is characterized by a rough and jumbled landscape of bare bedrock ledges, deranged surface drainage, and sinkholes, as well as caves. It should be noted, however, that there is considerable variation among karst areas. Some may have dramatic surface landforms but few caves. By contrast, others may have extensive cave development with little surface expression; for example, the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico, the site of Carlsbad Caverns and various other caves, have very few surface karst features.

Not all caves are part of karst landscapes. A substantial number of relatively small caves, called volcanic caves, are formed in lava and by the mechanical movement of bedrock. Other caves are formed in glaciers by the melting of ice. Still others are created by the erosive action of water and wind or from the debris of erosive processes; these are sea caves, eolian caves, rock shelters, and talus caves.

Credit: Britannica

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