Speleology

You will find prehistoric paintings in the Chauvet Cave in France. Lascaux Cave is also in France and is known for its famous prehistoric cave paintings.

Karst or dissolutional: in limestone by the action of water. By far the majority.

Lava-tubes: left by lava running out from under the solidified crust of a lava flow.

Mass-movement: fissures behind a mass of rock peeling away from a cliff or hill-side.

Sea-caves: eroded in cliffs by wave action.

Talus Caves: rather stretching the definition of "cave" but these are still natural cavities -between rock-falls and the parent rock-face.

Rock-shelters: simply shallowcavities useable as sheltersin rock-faces, such as found in desert areas by scouring by wind-blown sand.

That's six out of the three you wanted... will that do?

Cam is the leader of the cavern folk. She's is sharp, clever and has all those leader ship qualities. She notices things very fast like she noticed the bat fur. All the members of the cavern have duties but they need a leader to help them out and to keep life going, in a way they all depend on Cam. When Cam goes with Robert on his journey the rest of the cavern members feel very uncomfortable without her. She was the one who gave them orders. She is very observant and is a good leader. But she knows that she won't survive through the winter and the cavern members will need a new leader. A leader who is capable to help them and to guide them and she sees all these qualities in Robert.

Caves are formed through a process called speleogenesis, which involves the dissolution of soluble rocks like limestone, dolomite, or gypsum by groundwater. Over time, the water creates underground passages and caverns as it erodes and dissolves the rock, creating the intricate formations seen in caves. Other processes like tectonic activity, erosion, and lava flows can also contribute to cave formation.

A web-site devoted to the cave's geology(rozylowicz.com) gives passage inception in already-fractured Permian limestone, as 20-30MA, after uplift had advanced sufficiently for karst development to start.

I have also seen elsewhere an age of <4MA, but that was based on analysis of minerals in one area of the system.

I would though treat Rozy Lowicz's work with some caution because it implies the cave's large passages and chambers were formed by collapse, not dissolution. This cannot happen. Collapses fill caves, not form them. For breakdown to occur, there has to be a void for the weakened rock to collapse into; and in the active phase of the passage the stream erodes fallen rock away.

A karst cave passage can only be formed by a stream; but infilled by blockfall as percolation water attacks the rock surrounding the joints in the roof rock.

Far more likely the dry passages in Carlsbad Caverns are like those in any fossil cave (including a far more modest caveI am helping explore): the original streams have changed courses or disappeared altogether; and the dry passages are now decaying.

For the specific geology and development of any individual cave you will have to read the appropriate research papers on that region and its karst features; but since it's clear from its own operators' web-site (ohiocaverns) that it's a karst cave, the essentials are:

How Caves Form in Limestone

That is such a common question on ‘Answers’ I wrote this single reply! The technical terms are introduced by capital initials.

Most of the world’s caves are in Limestone.

Caves need three materials: a soluble rock like Limestone or Gypsum, water and Carbon-dioxide (CO2).

Their host limestone also needs to be of appropriate physical structure and raised into hills, then subjected to reasonably consistent precipitation for many tens or hundreds of thousands of years.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock of which the world’s greater proportion was laid down in warm, relatively shallow, seas. The rock was laid in horizontal layers – Beds – separated by Bedding-planes which generally reflect geologically-brief changes in the environment. The suite of beds is known as a Formation, generally named after its “type area”.

Later continental uplift (tectonic processes) raise the formation along with its underlying rocks, usually tilting and folding it to at least some extent in the process. Since most rocks are brittle they cannot take much stress, and limestone beds crack into grids of fine fractures called Joints. The uplift and folding often also causes Faulting – major breaks with the rock mass one side of the Fault Plane being raised, lowered or moved horizontally past that on the opposite side. (Note: Plane – the “Fault Line” sometimes misused as a political metaphor is that of the fault-plane cutting the land surface.)

Now we have the hills, next we need rain-water that has absorbed atmospheric CO2 to create Carbonic Acid (weak, natural soda water in fact!). It may be augmented by acids from the soil, too. This solvent permeates through all those joints, bedding-planes and faults; flowing very, very slowly under considerable pressure applied by its depth, from its sinks on the surface to its springs at the base of the formation. In doing so, it dissolves the limestone (chemical weathering), creating meshes of tiny micro-conduits that over many tens of thousands of years coalesce and capture each other to form cave passages.

Once this happens, the rate of erosion can increase – though still to perhaps only a few millimetres per thousand years under generally temperate climates.

A cave, or a series within a cave system, that still carries its formative stream is called “Active”, and is still being developed.

Surface changes such as the valley floor being lowered by erosion, or down-cutting within the cave by its stream, changes the water’s route and the original, now dried-out, stream-way is called “Fossil” or “Abandoned”. Such passages may be filled with silt left by floods as the main flow gradually abandons them; or may become richly decorated with Speleothems – calcite deposits such as stalactites and stalagmites precipitated from ground-water still oozing through the joints in the limestone above the cave. In time such passages may start to break down as there is no stream to dissolve away slabs falling from the roof as permeating ground-water attacks the rock above.

In the end, surface lowering of the landscape as a whole, breaches and destroys the cave. Nothing is permanent in Nature!

Caves in limestone are also parts of Karst Landscape. i.e. a landscape developed by the dissolution of limestone, giving surface features like Dolines, Limestone Pavement, and in the tropics, distinctive hills such as those represented in Chinese Willow-pattern images. ‘Karst’ is from the Slavic word ‘Kras’, the name for its world type-area.

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The above is purely an introduction to a vastly more complex and subtle series of processes, of course, and you need to refer to appropriate text-books on geology and cave studies to learn them.

The scientific study of caves is Speleology – embracing geology, hydrology, biology, archaeology and other disciplines.

Simply visiting caves to enjoy them for their scenery and the physical and mental challenges they present, is called Caving, though you can’t study a cave unless you can negotiate its obstacles. The enthusiasts are simply Cavers throughout the English-speaking world – you see “spelunkers” sometimes on ‘Answers’ but it's an old slang word not found in caving literature.

The Ajanta Caves were built using solid rock, through a process of carving and sculpting the rock surface to create the intricate cave structures and artwork. The caves were carved into a horseshoe-shaped cliff, using simple tools like hammers and chisels.

If you mean from the cave roofs, and the caves are in limestone, then 'stalactites'. The term refers to such formation in any karst cave irrespective of location.

When visiting Ruby Falls Cavern in Tennessee, consider bringing comfortable walking shoes with good grip and a light jacket, as the temperature inside the cave is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Additionally, it's a good idea to bring a camera or smartphone to capture the stunning formations and waterfall inside the cave.

Some main landforms in Carlsbad Caverns include stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, columns, and cave popcorn. These formations are created by the deposition of minerals carried by dripping water over thousands of years, and they contribute to the unique beauty of the caverns.

Caves! As simple as that.

And the passageways are just "passages", believe it or not - though that is a generic term for different passage types have their own technical names (apart from any lyrical names for individual ones).

The caves at Ruby Falls were formed over millions of years through a process called karst topography, where limestone is dissolved by acidic groundwater. Water slowly eroded the caverns, creating unique formations such as stalactites and stalagmites.

Their air temperature is generally that of the mean air temperature of the cave's locality, so in temperate latitudes and altitudes they are cool in Summer and warm (ish) in Winter.

It's not an absolute rule though. Caves at high altitudes in mountain ranges can retain very cold Winter temperatures.

The temperature is also affected by flowing streams, air circulation between different entrances, and so on.

Your definitte article and capital 'C' imply a particular cave, but you don't name one. For the specific geology and development of any individual cave you will have to read the appropriate research papers on that region and its karst features; but if it's a karst cave, as most are, the essentials are:

How Caves Form in Limestone

This is such a common question on ‘Answers’ I wrote this single reply! The technical terms are introduced by capital initials.

Most of the world’s caves are Karst features, i.e. primarily in Limestone.

Karst caves need three materials: a soluble rock like Limestone or Gypsum, water and Carbon-dioxide (CO2). The last two combine to form a weak acid that dissolves the limestone. For a fuller account:

The host limestone needs to be of appropriate physical structure and raised into hills, then subjected to reasonably consistent precipitation for many tens or hundreds of thousands of years.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock of which the world’s greater proportion was laid down in warm, relatively shallow, seas. The rock was laid in horizontal layers – Beds – separated by Bedding-planes which generally reflect geologically-brief changes in the environment. The suite of beds is known as a Formation, generally named after its “type area”.

Later continental uplift (tectonic processes) raise the formation along with its underlying rocks, usually tilting and folding it to at least some extent in the process. Since most rocks are brittle they cannot take much stress, and limestone beds crack into grids of fine fractures called Joints. The uplift and folding often also causes Faulting – major breaks with the rock mass one side of the Fault Plane being raised, lowered or moved horizontally past that on the opposite side. (Note: Plane – the “Fault Line” sometimes misused as a political metaphor is that of the fault-plane cutting the land surface.)

Now we have the hills, next we need rain-water that has absorbed atmospheric CO2 to create Carbonic Acid (weak, natural soda water in fact!). It may be augmented by acids from the soil, too. This solvent permeates through all those joints, bedding-planes and faults; flowing very, very slowly under considerable pressure applied by its depth, from its sinks on the surface to its springs at the base of the formation. In doing so, it dissolves the limestone (chemical weathering), creating meshes of tiny micro-conduits that over many tens of thousands of years coalesce and capture each other to form cave passages.

Once this happens, the rate of erosion can increase – though still to perhaps only a few millimetres per thousand years under generally temperate climates.

A cave, or a series within a cave system, that still carries its formative stream is called “Active”, and is still being developed.

Surface changes such as the valley floor being lowered by erosion, or down-cutting within the cave by its stream, changes the water’s route and the original, now dried-out, stream-way is called “Fossil” or “Abandoned”. Such passages may be filled with silt left by floods as the main flow gradually abandons them; or may become richly decorated with Speleothems – calcite deposits such as stalactites and stalagmites precipitated from ground-water still oozing through the joints in the limestone above the cave. In time such passages may start to break down as there is no stream to dissolve away slabs falling from the roof as permeating ground-water attacks the rock above.

In the end, surface lowering of the landscape as a whole, breaches and destroys the cave. Nothing is permanent in Nature!

Caves in limestone are also parts of Karst Landscape. i.e. a landscape developed by the dissolution of limestone, giving surface features like Dolines, Limestone Pavement, and in the tropics, distinctive hills such as those represented in Chinese Willow-pattern images. ‘Karst’ is from the Slavic word ‘Kras’, the name for its world type-area.

@@@@@

The above is purely an introduction to a vastly more complex and subtle series of processes, of course, and you need to refer to appropriate text-books on geology and cave studies to learn them.

The scientific study of caves is Speleology – embracing geology, hydrology, biology, archaeology and other disciplines.

Simply visiting caves to enjoy them for their scenery and the physical and mental challenges they present, is called Caving, though you can’t study a cave unless you can negotiate its obstacles. The enthusiasts are simply Cavers throughout the English-speaking world – you see “spelunkers” sometimes on ‘Answers’ but it's an old slang word not found in caving literature.

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Most are in limestone uplands (as karst features).

Some volcanic areas erupting basaltic lava have lava-tube caves.

There are also minor caves in various rocks dotted around the world, such as fissure-caves created by mass-movement.

Castleton, Derbyshire Engalnd? I ask because I don't know if there is a Castleton in a caving area in the USA. Sticking to Derbyshire:

Peak Cavern, Giant's Hole, Oxlow Cavern, Nettle Pot... That's 4 natural caves in or near Castleton; then there are assorted former mines like Knotlow, Old Tor, Blue John, etc.

Actually Knotlow mine drops into natural passages.

If it's show-caves/ mines you want your best source of information may be that designed fortourists. Peak and Blue John are partially show cave and mine respectively.

Limestone caves are sometimes called solution caves because they are formed through a process called solution weathering. This occurs when water containing carbon dioxide dissolves the limestone rock, creating cave systems over time. The dissolved limestone is carried away in the form of a solution, hence the term "solution cave."

Every cave is unique in the sense of individuality although its formations are in various types or classes. Nevertheless you can see formations unique in themselves by being very distinctly different from anything else of their basictype.

Cheddar - the village, and Cheddar Gorge - the feature, holding Goughs' and Cox's Caves (show-caves).

Ironically one dairy uses the exit tunnel in commercial-rival Wookey Hole, at the foot of Ebbor Gorge only a few miles from Cheddar, to mature its own Cheddar Cheese!

The Sonora Caves in Mexico were formed through a combination of tectonic activity, erosion, and chemical dissolution of the limestone bedrock over millions of years. Groundwater seeped into the limestone, creating passages and chambers that eventually developed into the intricate cave system we see today.

Adults 16 and older costs 6$

Children 15 and younger are free

I hope this helps.

"Carlsbad Caverns" IS the cave. Its largest chamber, as far as I can make out (the Internet's not all it's cracked up to be for finding information!), is known as The Big Room. Note: The word "chamber". I'd used that as a British caver, but I believe US cavers usually use "room" for the same thing: a discrete cavity within a cave, and distinctly larger than the passages entering it.

Good question! I assume you mean how deep is Desoto Caverns (actually one cave as far as I can make out), not how thick is the rock above its roof. For some reason such statistics are rare in show-cave publicity.

Short of an intensive trawl of speleological literature I'll leave to you, it's hard to find such details. The show-cave web-site is dreadful - just a playground ad. There must be a survey and description somewhere!

Wikipedia doesn't give much more beyond revealing the cave to be notable for a very large chamber rich in active speleothems, so it sounds worth seeing. The description then reports the cave ending not far further in a pool and blank wall, and mentions no diving attempts.

Are there any TAG cavers here who can supply the cave's vital statistics?