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How do caves form?

Caves are large, natural holes in rock or ice. They can be created in various ways, but most caves are hollowed out of rock by water—or by water that is loaded with stones that grind away the rock like sandpaper. Some caves are just single chambers, while others are part of a network where many caves are linked by narrow passages.

WHATS IN A NAME?

The Yucatan in Mexico has

a network of underground

caves. Somesifes ^haVe«^Cd oenofes Ihich means

Wl" in the ancient Mayan

language of Mexico.

Limestone

caves

01: The most spectacular caves form in a rock called limestone. Over hundreds of years, the rock is dissolved by rain water.

02: As the water seeps down through cracks and joints in the rock, it enlarges them into vertical holes.

03: The water flows through narrow winding tunnels or potholes that lead to underground rivers.

04: Sometimes, the cave roof collapses to create huge underground caverns with strange rock formations shaped by dripping water.

32.000    YEARS 0LD

The approximate age of the earliest-known cave paintings, in the Chauvet Cave in Southern France that show animals, including lions, bears, rhinos, and hyenas

25.000    YEARS 0LD

Spectacularly lifelike images of woolly mammoths, horses, cattle, reindeer, and some humans are madę on the walls of Pech Merle Cave in Southern France

15.000    YEARS 0LD

The datę of paintings in the Altamira Cave in northern Spain, which include a herd of bison that are painted so beautifully that they were an inspiration for the great Spanish artist Pablo Picasso

12.000    YEARS 0LD

The radio-carbon datę of the paintings in Las Monedas Cave in northern Spain, borne out by images of reindeer, which died out in Spain when the ice age ended

Don’t even think of doing it alone. You need experienced backup, so join a caving club.

Check the weather. Many caves may flood to the ceiling if there is a sudden rainstorm, leaving you with no air to breathe.

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Strange cave formations

The water that flows through limestone caves contains a minerał called calcite. As it is deposited, the minerał gradually builds up to create strange and beautiful shapes.

Straw stalactites

Water seeping through a cave roof interacts with air, which crystallizes the dissolved calcite and forms delicate “straws.”

Stalactites

Larger flows of water from the cave roof build up bigger hanging structures shaped like inverted cones.

Stalagmites

Where the dripping water lands on the cave floor, morę calcite is deposited. Over time, this builds up into conical structures.

Flowstones

If mineral-loaded water flows over a boulder, the minerals stick to the rock in fluted layers that hang like curtains.

Cave pearls

Water dripping into a cave pool deposits calcite on sand grains. As the layers of calcite build up, they form pearl-like spheres.

(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. Ali Rights Reserved.