Cave

A cave is a naturally arising underground cavity which is large enough to be entered by humans, and is more than five meters. This definition of the term cave caving ( speleology ) differs from the colloquial usage.

Definition

Caves in this Article are solely naturally formed cavities. Cavities caused by geological processes.

Accordingly caused by human intervention cavities such as mines, Erdställe, rock tombs, hypogea, catacombs, air raid shelters, basements or artificial caves are not caves. Lately, the term Subterranea is it used (derived from the Latin word meaning " underground " ), but so far mainly in English.

Types of caves

Primary caves

Primary caves are caves that have arisen simultaneously with the rock surrounding it.

Numerous small primary caves were formed when in the formation of carbonate sediments ( eg in the tufa ) the cavities during sedimentation were left out, or they were created before the processes of cementation or diagenesis inserting.

Also common are lava caves. Often there are small cavities, caused by gas bubbles in solidifying lava. Most of these cavities are opened only by chance. But there are also many kilometers long lava caves. These so-called lava tubes are lava tubes, whose surface is cooled and solidified, while including further flowed the lava until the eruption came to a halt. Such caves are found about Hawaii, Iceland and the Canary Islands.

Secondary caves

Secondary caves are caves, as they have arisen surrounding rock later.

This category includes caves, due to corrosion ( chemical weathering ), erosion ( mechanical weathering ), tectonics ( movements of the earth or rock layers) or a combination of these influences have emerged.

Secondary caves can be found in rocks that are water soluble in the broadest sense, especially in the various types of limestones. Rain water contains carbon dioxide, which can solve it depending on its temperature. Colder water can dissolve more carbon dioxide. Depending on the carbon dioxide concentration of the water generates carbonic acid weathering of the lime. By capillary action, the water penetrates into fine crevices of the rock and dissolves lime. That alone explains no significant cave formation. However, the ability of water to dissolve lime, is not linear with the concentration of carbon dioxide, it comes to so-called mixture corrosion: Meet in the mountains two different, saturated with lime solutions and mix them so is a new concentration of carbon dioxide, the additionally can solve calcium. Thus, a larger cavity may arise at this point. This is sort of the key to the formation of a cavity.

Phreatic and vadose caves

Occur in both the primary formed by solution processes secondary caves, but also in the primary caves erosive ( mechanical ) forces the water further shaping in appearance, this is called active underwater caves. If the cavity is sufficient so that large amounts of water can flow through, it is possible that the water is transported away from the ceiling broken pieces of rock and thus changes the cavity space considerably. Over time, water penetrates into deeper areas of the mountain and are traversed earlier more or less free of water.

During this educational process can be distinguished:

• Phreatic Caves: These are entirely filled by water, for example, pregelatinised caves.
• Active vadose caves: These are still traversed regularly by water, the formation of cavities in these parts is not yet complete.
• Inactive vadose caves: These are dry, here the cave formation is complete.

In large cave systems, those with considerable differences in altitude, you can find all three appearances. The deepest parts are often completely under water, the middle floors are filled with water, and the highest are dry. This is where even the slow decline of the cave, parts of the ceiling to collapse. If this happens just below the surface, so you can do this on the basis of sinkholes ( collapse craters ) recognize (see also: Cenote ).

Resulting in joint cavities

The gap joints cave is also called cleft cave or cave columns. It is a tectonically along crevasses scale cave that is caused by corrosion in verkarstungsfähigen rocks ( eg dolomite ) along a divide.

A break joints Cave is a cave located on breaking joints. A layer joint cavity is formed on layer joints.

Semi-cave

Half caves are also called Balmen. There are usually only created by erosion eruptions in rock walls. The main feature of these caves is that their depth is less than the width of the portal and they do not have a lightless cave part. From a great distance such half caves often look like portals normal caves. Were half- caves in former times also sometimes referred to as living caves used ( Abri ) until recent times by hunters and poachers.

More cave species

Note: take on many caves depending on the approach to several denominations.

• Bubble cave: formed by gas entrapment in lava
• Sea cave: formed by surf
• Erosion cave: formed by erosion secondary cavity
• Inca Sion Cave: cave-in caused by
• Corrosion cave: formed by corrosion
• Laughöhle: without chemical reaction caused by solution of the rock (about salt cave )
• Tectonic cave: formed by tectonic forces
• Versturzhöhle: caused by Versturz
• Wind or aeolian cave cave: formed by wind erosion

• Passage Cave: cave with several entrances that are not adjacent
• Horizontal Cave: mainly horizontal duct system
• Vertical cave: predominantly vertical transition system ( cf. Schacht )

• Gypsum cave
• Karst cave formed by dissolution of limestone ( calcite, dolomite)
• Tufa cave

• Ice Cave: Cave in the essential parts (especially near the input parts) are iced (usually high alpine cave )
• Glacier Cave: cave in a glacier, caused by fracturing and melt water
• Lava cave: Cave of volcanic origin
• Coverage Cave: cave beneath or between boulders
• Shore cave: secondary cavity on a surface water, formed by erosion

• Fossil cave filled with sediments cave
• Cave ruins: the residue of a cave ( as natural bridges)
• Stalactite cave

See.

Cave system

From a cave system occur in conjunction with longer caves in which one can distinguish a main course and some side passages.

If it is possible to prove a connection between two neighboring systems, usually the name of the previously larger system is adopted for the entire system. An example is the underwater cave system Sac Actun in Yucatán. At the time of unification in 2007 was Sac Actun 14.3 km longer than the adjacent system Nohoch Nah Chich. The official name is therefore Sistema Sac Actun ( with 222.7 km the second longest underwater system ).

If one combines several caves by artificial passageways, also created a cave system. In this case, mostly the names of the caves are preserved. The name for the entire system is then, for example, " Berger Cave Platteneckeishöhlen Beer hole system ". This system consists of three originally separate caves in the Tennen mountains of Salzburg.

Records

The following data may not be current. This is partly because it often takes longer to be published research results. As caving is almost exclusively driven by people in their spare time as a hobby, and the evaluation and documentation of the data obtained often takes longer. It is common only to publish information when a conscientious survey of the discovered caves or parts of the cave has been made. Not getting the traffic spaces are immediately measured.

The above records should not be understood in a sporting sense. The exploration of a very long cavity can, unless it has a larger number of inputs, much easier to make than that of a cave, which is much shorter, but only one has only access. Also, exploring deeper wells has simplified since the introduction of Einseiltechnik, at least from the top. On the other hand, the upgrade in a cave from below still extremely high demands on the performance of the researchers and the amount of material needed.

• Longest Cave: Mammoth Cave, Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, USA, length 627 ± 8 km
• Longest underwater cave Sistema Ox Bel Ha, Yucatan, length 244 km
• Longest gypsum cave: Optymistytschna Petschera, Ukraine, length 236 km
• Longest lava cave: Cave Kazumura on Kilauea, Hawaii, USA, length 65 m, depth 1101 m
• Deepest cave: Voronya Cave in Georgia, depth 2191m
• Lowest Direct bay: In the Vrtoglavica, Slovenia, 603 m
• Largest Ice Cave: Ice Caves in Werfen in Salzburg, Austria, total length 42 km, the Eisteil has a length of 1 km
• The largest cave room: Sarawak Chamber in Good Luck Cave in Borneo, with an extension of 700 m length, 400 m wide and 70 m height
• Tagfernster dive: Ulrich Meyer popped by in January 2005 11.500 meters from the entrance two siphons in the Hirlatzhöhle.

• Longest Cave: Optymistytschna Petschera in Ukraine, 236 km
• Largest natural cave lake: Lac souterrain de Saint- Léonard in the canton of Valais, Switzerland

• Longest Cave: Giant Ding- vertical cave on the lower mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps in Bavaria, 18.1 km (01 / 2013)
• Deepest cave: Giant Ding- vertical cave, 1059 m

• Longest Cave: Schoenberg cave system in the Dead Mountains in Upper Austria and Styria, 135 km ( currently the longest cave in the EU)
• Deepest cave: Lamprechtsofen in the Leogang Stone Mountains in Salzburg, 1632 m, total length 38 km. The Lamprechtsofen was for many years, until the discovery of its upper input, representing " the highest cave in the world ." Its lower input is almost the lowest point of the cave.

• Longest Cave: Hoelloch, Muotatal, Schwyz, 200km
• Deepest cave: Réseau Seven -Hohgant in the canton of Bern with a depth of 1340 m

Exploitation and exploration

Caves were sometimes also the permanent residence of people, eg as a dwelling ( cave dwelling). Corresponding traces were found approximately in the Stefánshellir in Iceland. In southern Europe, and other warm countries, there have been people living in artificial caves, such as in Greece (eg Meteora monastery ).

Natural caves were also visited by prehistoric people who used it as a place of worship, and possibly also designed as such (cave painting, petroglyphs ). Caves are the frequent references of well-preserved cave finds from the Stone Age, and thus of great importance for archaeological research. A recent example of an archaeological actively explored cave is the cave in Hagen leaves. Cave finds also serve the research of fauna and flora, as well as to provide information about the climate change as climate archive in the next stalactites also transitional forms and sediment deposits.

Today the tourist use is in the form of show caves of importance.

Less desirable is the use as a quarry, in particular for the purpose of degradation of stalactites for sale at rock picker or jewelery making - and so are in wide areas of the third world today caves - the science often are unknown - completely emptied. Another degradation product of caves is bat guano.

Controversial is the use of the caves caving.

The study of caves is called speleology or potholing. It is performed, as a rule of volunteer cavers who collect their results in cave registers.

In all forms of use are significant conflicts between the useful and the interests of the cave protection.

Cave as a motive

Frequently dive caves as a motif in myths, dreams or fairy tales. According to the analytical psychology in the tradition of Carl Gustav Jung, these are a special form of the mother archetype.