Caverns-unusualy under ground places
Posted by panta in Environment on 03 4th, 2010 | no responses
A cave is a natural opening in the ground extending beyond the zone of light and large enough to permit the entry of man. Occurring in a wide variety of rock types and caused by widely differing geological processes, caves range in size from single small rooms to interconnecting passages many miles long. The scientific study of caves is called speleology (from the Greek words spelaion for cave and logos for study). It is a composite science based on geology, hydrology, biology, and archaeology, and thus holds special interest for earth scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Caves have been natural attractions since prehistoric times. Prolific evidence of early man’s interest has been discovered in caves scattered throughout the world. Fragments of skeletons of some of the earliest manlike creatures (Australopithecines) have been discovered in cave deposits in South Africa, and the first evidence of primitive Neanderthal Man was found in a cave in the Neander Valley of Germany. Cro-Magnon Man created his remarkable murals on the walls of caves in southern France and northern Spain where he took refuge more than 1O,000 years ago during the chill of the ice age.
There are many types of caves including fissure, talus, solutional, granite, slate, erosional, man-made, rare emerged sea caves, sea caves, and sandstone caves.
Amongst the most famous caves in the world are the caves in Mulu National Park, Sarawak, which was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2001. Some of the caves there are world record holders, such as Gua Nasib Bagus which houses the world’s largest chamber – Sarawak Chamber. Clearwater Cave is the 10th longest in the world, at 110km. Deer Cave is one of the world’s largest passages. The Niah Caves, also in Sarawak, is a famous archaeological site. A 40,000 year old human skull has been found there, and the rock paintings have been dated at 1200 years. Near Kuching the caves of Bau can be visited.
Ice caves are very different from normal caves.
The term ice cave refers to any type of natural cave (most commonly lava tubes or limestone caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all year round, and water must have traveled into the cave’s cold zone.
The term ice cave is often used to describe a cavity formed within ice, which is properly called a glacier cave.
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