Famous caves of the world. The most famous caves in the world. Vatnajokull glacier and its caves

A cave is a naturally formed natural cavity in a mountain, large enough for a person to enter. They are studied by such a science as speleology. Thanks to speleologists, we know a lot about caves, because they are very different: deep, beautiful, bizarre or just huge. What is the deepest cave in the world and what other outstanding caves exist on Earth?

This Vietnamese cave was discovered relatively recently - in 1991 - local resident, who was afraid to enter it because of the terrible rumble of water inside and called his friends for help. Eighteen years later, speleologists from Britain came to grips with the study. After covering a distance of four kilometers, they stumbled upon an obstacle in the form of an impressive wall, entirely formed from solid calcite (rock-forming material). In 2010, the study resumed again, the expedition stayed in the depths of the cave for two weeks.

Unusual columns made of stone and deep gorges. The wonders of Shondong amazed the entire speleological world. The dimensions of the cave are truly gigantic, in some places a skyscraper could fit there. It reminds lost city underground. It is even surprising that for so many years no one suspected its existence.

When floods occur, it is not possible to enter the cave

The cavity is 150 m high and about 9 km long. After the discovery of the cave, extreme sports enthusiasts rushed there. To get underground, you need a rope and stuff climbing equipment. On the way, you will have a chance to see the dark labyrinths, decorated with real rock patterns created by water flows. After all, inside this outlandish cave, a stormy underground river, creating a variety of tunnels. In some places, she managed to break through to the surface.

Son Doong is a very unusual place. 70-meter stalagmites grow here, attracting the attention of tourists, and real clouds form due to the mixing of warm and cold air. No matter how difficult and tiring the path to the cave was, all those who have been there unanimously assure that it is worth it.

Lubang Nasib Bagus

This one big cave in the world is located in Malaysia. It has a famous grotto called Sarawak. This grotto has very impressive dimensions - 600 by 415 m, and a height of about a hundred meters. The total volume of the grotto reaches a fantastic figure of 25 million cubic meters. It was discovered by three cavers from England in 1981.

At that time, they examined the karst massif, which is located in the Gunung Mulu reserve. Scientists climbed up the river and found themselves in a cave from which it flows. The speleologists did not even have enough lanterns to fully illuminate it.

On the area occupied by the grotto of Sarawak, several dozen aircraft can easily fit

Miao (Miao)

China also has one of the largest caves on the planet. It is hidden under the hills, and you can get there only by moving along the underground river. The cavity is a huge cave chamber. A few years ago, an expedition took place that studied this chamber in detail using a laser method.

This expedition was organized by the British, including specialists from the Chinese Institute of Karst Geology. Funding generated by the US National geographical society. Later, all the information was announced at a conference on the issue of caves, held in England. After extensive laser scans were carried out in 2013, the cave was officially mapped.

Miao's volume is approximately 11 million cubic meters

Eisreisenwelt

There is an amazing place on the planet, surrounded on all sides by ice. It is located in Austria near the city of Salzburg. It is the longest cave in the world that is partly made of ice.

The cave goes deep Alpine mountains for as much as 40 kilometers, but ice occupies only a small part of it, followed by limestone. The cave was formed by the efforts of the Salzak River, which made a hole in the mountain, and the ice appeared due to the snows that fell into the cave and into winter period were freezing.

The entrance to the ice part of the cave is always open for tourists, and cold winds constantly walk through the tunnels, which prevents snow and ice from melting, and in the warm season cold air rushes outward, forming a kind of air plug.

According to official data, A. Posselt was the discoverer of the cave in 1879. This naturalist, however, managed to explore only the initial 200 m. Before the discovery, only the locals knew the cave. They were afraid of her, calling the devil's abode. In the middle of the 20th century, it was decided to build a special cable car, which reduced the travel time from 1.5 hours to just 3 minutes. The open season runs from the beginning of May to the end of October. A full tour of this impressive site will take approximately 1.5 hours.

It is difficult to find a photo of the interior of the cave, because it is forbidden to take pictures there

red cave

On the Crimean Peninsula, which is part of Russia, there is also an outstanding cave, or rather, a cave system that stretches for more than 25 kilometers. Underground there are many halls of different sizes and appearance, between them, an impenetrable labyrinth wanders. True, only 500 m are available for tourists, and then under the control of an experienced guide.

The interior view of the cavity is striking in the first place due to the lighting skillfully distributed along the entire route. Its intensity is adjusted in such a way that it favorably emphasizes the relief and creates beautiful shadows. Walking through the cave is convenient and safe: it is equipped with special paths with railings. The place is very interesting from the point of view of speleology, especially with its large stalagmites and bizarre streaks on the walls. Also, an amazingly clean river flows inside. It is so transparent that sometimes it can be seen only by reflections of light.

Hearing this name, anyone will imagine the remains of the greatest prehistoric giants discovered by scientists underground. But this is just a play on words, in the English dialect "mammoth" is huge. However, despite the fact that it has nothing to do with mammoths, traveling in it is extremely exciting. This is a whole underground kingdom, full of halls, galleries and passages. The cave seems to live its own, independent life: rivers roar here and waterfalls seethe. The reservoirs even have their own unique fauna: blind fish, shrimp without eyes...

The main entrance is located in the US, Kentucky. Nearby, in the western part of the Appalachians, there are several more smaller underground systems that were previously considered independent, but now it turned out that they are all connected in one way or another with Mamontova. A significant national park was founded on this territory, where a colony of rare bats lives and you can enjoy untouched nature. IN mammoth cave scientists have come across unusual finds more than once, for example, the mummified corpse of an Indian, perfectly preserved along with clothes thanks to special climatic conditions.

The cave has not yet been fully explored, the estimated length is 587 km.

Sak-Aktun

This unique cave- one of the main attractions not only of Mexico, but also of the world. flowing in it major river bears the same name, which means "white cave" in translation. The cave system has a length of more than 300 km and is a suite, interconnected by passages of "rooms". The study of Sak-Aktun, located on the Yucatan Peninsula, began only in 1987, but over the years that have passed since that time, only one percent of the territory has been explored. It is hard to imagine how many more amazing things are hidden in it, because the cavity was formed 65 million years ago.

According to one version, its occurrence is the result of a collision of the Earth with a huge meteor. At the place where he fell, a crater turned out, from which, in turn, many cracks spread underground. Time passed, and the crater, along with the cracks, filled with rainwater. And so it turned out a long full-flowing underground channel. This river has always been treated with respect by local tribes, for example, the Maya.

The river occupies almost the entire cave, and the spectacle is unusually beautiful.

Krubera-Crow

This cave is located in Abkhazia. Its length is just over two kilometers, and Georgian scientists began to study it since 1960. Krubera-Voronya is of interest not only for speleologists, but also for biologists. Here they discovered a previously unknown species of beetles, which were recognized as champions among insects in terms of the depth of their habitat. Biologists also claim that many other new species can be found in this place.

The well-known speleological group Cavex is mainly engaged in the study of the cave. It was this team that was the first to reach the maximum depth - 1.7 km. Research can not be called easy: the expedition now and then ran into dead ends, had to go back. It also happened vice versa, windows leading to the discovery of new paths were found in the cave wall.

The shortest river on the planet flows from Krubera-Voronya - Reprua, which is only 18 meters long

Sarma

Sarma is located in Arabica mountain in Georgia. It is a series of wells and halls, between which many tunnels and small climbs meander. Sarma is unanimously recognized by scientists as one of the most beautiful and scientifically interesting caves, extremely valuable for the world speleological community.

Sarma is conditionally divided into three levels - the first goes to a depth of 420 m, the second - to 900 m, the third - to 1830 m, then the territory has not yet been explored. Sarma got its name in accordance with the name of the wind: due to the peculiarities of aerodynamics, a strong hurricane wind always blows here, reaching a speed of 50 km/h, which the locals are afraid of.

The cave is closed to tourists, so you can get into it only as part of an expedition, having the appropriate skills and equipment.

Our Earth is a place filled with amazing wonders and mysteries of nature, only a small part of which has been explored by mankind. Huge and majestic caves invariably delight travelers.

What could be better than mountains? Only mountains, you say. And you will be right. But there are still many wonders of nature, and they can be just under our feet.

As you probably already guessed, we will talk about caves. explore the depths underground resources- always interesting, unusual, albeit risky. Descending deep into the cave around various stalactites and other rocks in the midst of darkness is an indescribable feeling.

To inspire you to commune with nature, life guide prepared for you a short excursion to the most beautiful caves in the world:

Cave of Crystals (Mexico)

The cave, located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, is known for huge crystals of a mineral called selenite. The very high temperature inside the cave greatly complicates the process of exploring it, even with special equipment it is possible to stay there for no more than 20 minutes. The cave was discovered by two brother miners Sanchez only in 2000, despite the fact that it had existed, presumably, for a couple of million years.

Glowworm Waitomo Cave (New Zealand)

The feeling of the starry sky above your head is the main feature of this cave. Thousands of firefly larvae, found only in New Zealand, hang on the walls of the cave and give it that glowing effect.

Blue Grotto (Italy)

This grotto is located on the coast of the island of Capri, Italy. Known for its blue water, the grotto is very popular place among tourists. However, the only way to get there is by boat, and only when the weather is good.

Vatnajökull Ice Cave (Iceland)

Glaciers have been formed over the centuries due to the combination low temperatures air with big amount solid atmospheric precipitation. As a result of the absence of air bubbles in the glaciers, when sunlight is absorbed, this cave acquires a beautiful azure blue hue, giving a "radiance effect precious stones". It is recommended to visit the cave in winter due to the risk of melting water.

Cave Phraya Nakhon (Thailand)

One of the most beautiful caves in Thailand. It is located in the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park in southern Thailand. The main attraction of this place is the Kuha Karuhas Pavilion, built in 1890 by King Chulalongkorn. The cave was named after the ruler of the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat Phray Nakhon, who accidentally discovered it during a storm.

Marble Caves (Chile)

One of the most deep lakes on the planet - Lake General Carrera (from Chile), thanks to its clear blue water, adds beauty to these caves. And, despite the fact that the caves are called "marble", they are located on limestone islands.

Cave in Mutnovsky volcano (Russia)

At first glance, the existence of an ice cave inside a volcano may well seem strange. However, this is actually the case. While exploring the area around the Mutnovsky volcano, the cave was discovered by accident, which became absolutely incredible find. The light passing through the ceiling of the caves creates an amazing variety of colors in them.

Dongzhong Cave (China)

Dongzhong Chinese cave is located in Guizhou province. It was formed several thousand years ago, but since 1984 it has been used as ... an educational institution.

Fingal's Cave (Scotland)

Washed up in the rock sea ​​water, Fingal's Cave is located on the island of Staffa and is part of the Inner Hebrides group. On its walls there are vertical basalt columns 69 m deep and 20 m high. Due to the curved vault, the cave has a unique acoustics.

Reed Flute Cave (China)

Located in the city of Guilin, this cave was named after the reeds growing around it. Modern lighting further emphasizes the beauty of the rocks formed inside.

Allison Cave (USA)

The cave is located in northeast Georgia. This perfect place for lovers of extreme sports and speleologists. Its depth reaches 179 m.

SAE Kyaut Cave (Myanmar)

There is a Buddhist temple at the entrance to this cave, and it is also a favorite place for tourists.

Son Doong Cave (Vietnam)

The largest cave in the world is located in the Vietnamese province of Quang Binh. She became known to local residents since 1991. The total volume of the cave is estimated at 38.5 million m³.

Ice caves Eisriesenwelt (Austria)

The biggest ice caves were discovered at the end of the 19th century. The structure of the caves is constantly changing due to the ice that melts and then freezes again.

Cave Ordinskaya (Russia)

Ordinskaya Cave is the longest flooded cave in Russia and is ranked 25th among the longest gypsum caves in the world. Thanks to the clean clear water, this place is good for diving.

Carlsbad Caverns (USA)

They are located in New Mexico, in Carlsbad National Park. The caves were formed 4-6 million years ago as a result of the dissolution of limestone with sulfuric acid. They are remarkable for deposits of gypsum, silt and clay, which gave them this fantastic appearance.

Barton Creek Cave (Belize)

At first glance, ordinary beautiful cave…until you come across some skull. At one time, the Maya Indians performed their rituals and sacrifices there. Many artifacts that have survived from those times still lie among the cave formations.

Jeita Grotto (Lebanon)

Once you enter this cave, you will immediately understand why its name translates as "roar of water". At the bottom of the grotto, you will be deafened by the sounds of rushing water and air due to the loud echo. However, in the depths of the caves there is a profound silence that will allow you to admire it without any distractions.

Kango Caves (South Africa)

This is a network of limestone caves. Artifacts show that many of the main entrances to the cave served as dwellings for people of the middle and later stone ages. These caves are one of the biggest wonders of the African continent.

Aven Armand (France)

If you want to go underground to a depth of 100 m, then you are here. The cave is unique for its stalagmites (more than 400 types), including the largest known in the world, almost 30 m high. Of course, the symbol of France, no doubt, is the Eiffel Tower, but it’s still worth seeing the natural sculptures that are underground.

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Exploration of caves has been going on for years, expeditions find new and new natural formations. Some caves are recognized as beautiful, others are difficult to pass, there are the largest caves.

The longest cave in Russia

It was discovered by chance by a local hunter following the trail of a bear. In this cave there is a grotto in which there are lakes. The uniqueness of the Botovskaya cave is that it consists not only of limestone, as is most often the case in karst caves, but also of sandstone. The type of this object is horizontal.

The cave was first explored in 1947. It has about twelve thousand crossroads, many intricate passages. In 2013, the expedition discovered a map of this cave carved on a stone, which exactly repeats the moves. The size of this "map" is relatively large.

During the study of the passages, it became clear that the Botovskaya cave was visited more than once by researchers of the Neolithic era.

The opportunity to get into the cave appears only in winter, since it can only be reached by a tractor on the ice of the Lena River. The path on the ice is almost ninety kilometers.

But the longest underwater cave in Russia is recognized Orda cave. She is in Perm region eighty kilometers from the city of Kungur and got its name in honor of the nearby village of Orda. It was discovered when the high left bank of the Kungur River collapsed.

Scientists first explored the cave in 1993. It is a plaster horizontal labyrinth. His most of filled with water. The length of the cave is four kilometers six hundred meters. Being the largest water cave in Russia, it is in second position in Eurasia.

Large and beautiful caves

In the southwestern part of Slovenia, there are the staggering Škocjan Caves. Underground halls and gorges are immense in form. In fact, this is a whole network of eleven caves.

In Chile Chico are the most beautiful Marble Caves. Surprisingly, they are entirely made of marble. The beauty of the naturally formed caves mesmerizes the visitors who come there.

America has national park with the name "Mammoth Cave". The park was founded in 1941 and is located in Central Kentucky. The cave system is recognized as the longest in the world.

It is impossible not to say about the caves of Cenoty Yucatan. They originated in the Yucatan Peninsula. Even the Mayans considered them sacred.

In 2000, the Crystal Cave was discovered in Mexico. Its second name is the Cave of Crystals. It contains many crystals of huge selenite. You can visit the cave only with special equipment, as it is located at a depth of three hundred meters, and with a humidity of ninety-nine percent, the air temperature there reaches fifty-eight degrees.

The most amazing and unique is the Romanian cave Movile. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is a closed ecosystem. For five million years, it existed separately from the Earth's ecosystem. This was the reason why dozens of unknown plants and living beings were found in this cave. It was only opened in 1996.

Ila National Park is on the island of Borneo. There is a cave discovered in 1980, reaching a kilometer in length, two kilometers in width, its height is two hundred meters.

There is a cave in the US state of New Mexico large sizes- Big Room (Big room) or "Big room". Its length is five hundred and fifty meters, and its height is seventy-seven meters.

The largest cave in Vietnam

The locals know this huge cave since 1991, and it was discovered by speleologists in 2009. It was not easy to find her, as she is in the impenetrable jungle. Its width is one hundred meters. The length of Shondong has been studied for six and a half kilometers, while in some places the height reaches two hundred and forty meters.

The deepest cave in the world

The cave was discovered and explored for the first time in 1960. The last expedition dived in 2012. Each subsequent expedition tries to reach greater depth than the previous one.

Caves surprise not only with their size, but also with their beauty. But in Russia there are others Beautiful places. .
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Son Doong is a cave in Central Vietnam, currently holding the title of the largest cave in the world. She is in the heart national park Phong Nha Kebang in Quang Binh province, near the Vietnamese-Lao border. Its dimensions reach record levels - the height is 200 meters, the width is 150 meters, and the length is more than 5 kilometers. The total volume of the unique formation is 38.5 million m³.

Deep in the jungle, the entrance to the cave was first discovered by a local resident named Ho Han in 1991, but the roar of water flowing from there and the steep descent prevented him from exploring it from the inside. Only in 2009, a group of British scientists led by Howard Limbert managed to discover and successfully study Son Doong in Vietnam, after which they announced the official discovery of the cave and confirmed that the dimensions allow it to be given the status of the largest on the planet.

“Hang Sơn Đoòng” is Vietnamese for “cave mountain river". It really has an underground river with a fast current that floods parts of Sondong during the rainy season. In addition, it has its own jungle, climate and even real clouds that form due to the large temperature difference. Two huge windows of a giant underground cavity allow light to penetrate into many parts of it, thanks to which a lush jungle with 3-meter trees grows inside.

Son Doong is famous not only for its impressive size, but also for the best examples of cave formations on the planet. Here you can find interesting ancient fossils, stalactites and some of the tallest stalagmites in the world up to 70 meters high. especially impressive education considered the "Hand of the Dog" and a place called the Cactus Garden. Also in the cave there are examples of giant cave pearls that fill the limestone layers.

The flora and fauna of Shondong is a godsend for any scientist. Many rare plant species grow on the territory of the cave, and a number of new animal species have even been discovered recently. Monkeys, hornbills and flying foxes all live in this unusual underground jungle.

The unique cave was formed as a result of a long process of washing out limestone by a water stream. about 2-5 million years ago.

In early August 2013, the first tourist group. To get inside the attraction, you need with a ropego underground to a depth of 80 meters. Tourists crash there camping while spending time in mazes underground cave or sitting comfortably by the fire. The cost of such entertainment is $ 3,000. In the period from September to March, access to the cave is closed, as the rainy season sets in, during which many areas are flooded. The tour schedule for 2015 will be posted on the tour site later this year.

The world's largest cave, called Sơn Đoòng, attracts a lot of attention from many film companies such as the BBC, National Geographic, as well as famous Japanese and Brazilian teams. In 2011, she appeared on the pages of the popular National Geographic magazine.

Cave - a cavity in the upper part of the earth's crust, communicating with the surface by one or more inlets. Another definition: a cave is a natural underground cavity accessible to human penetration, having parts not illuminated by sunlight and a length (depth) greater than the other two dimensions. The largest caves are complex systems of passages and halls, often with a total length of up to several tens of kilometers. Caves are an object of speleology study. Speleotourists make a significant contribution to the study of caves.

Caves according to their origin can be divided into five groups: tectonic, erosional, ice, volcanic and, finally, the most large group- karst. Caves in the entrance part, with suitable morphology (horizontal spacious entrance) and location (close to water), were used by ancient people as comfortable dwellings.

Caves by origin

Karst caves

Most of these caves. Exactly karst caves have the greatest extent and depth. Karst caves are formed as a result of the dissolution of rocks by water, so they are found only where soluble rocks occur: limestone, marble, dolomite, chalk, as well as gypsum and salt. Limestone, and even more so marble, dissolves very poorly with pure distilled water. The solubility increases several times if dissolved water is present in the water. carbon dioxide(and it is always present in natural water), but limestone still dissolves weakly compared to, say, gypsum or, moreover, salt. But it turns out that this has a positive effect on the formation of extended caves, since gypsum and salt caves not only quickly formed, but also quickly destroyed.

A huge role in the formation of caves is played by tectonic cracks and faults. According to the maps of the explored caves, one can very often see that the passages are confined to tectonic disturbances that can be traced on the surface. Also, for the formation of a cave, a sufficient amount of water precipitation is necessary, a successful form of relief: precipitation from a large area should fall into the cave, the entrance to the cave should be located noticeably higher than the place where groundwater is discharged, etc.

Many karst caves are relic systems: the water flow that formed the cave left it due to a change in relief or more deep levels(due to lowering of the local basis of erosion - the bottom of the neighboring river valleys), or ceased to fall into the cave due to a change in the surface catchment, after which the cave goes through various phases of aging. Very often, the studied caves are small fragments of an ancient cave system, opened up by the destruction of the enclosing mountain ranges.

Evolution karst processes and their chemistry are such that water, having dissolved mineral substances of rocks (carbonates, sulfates), after some time deposits them on the vaults and walls of caves in the form of massive crusts up to a meter or more thick (cave marble onyx) or ensembles special for each cave mineral aggregates of caves, forming stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, draperies and other specific karst mineral forms - sinter formations.

IN Lately more and more caves are being opened in rocks traditionally considered non-karst. For example, in sandstones and table quartzites mountains tepui South America, the caves of Abismo Gai Collet with a depth of −671 m (2006), Cueva Ojos de Cristal with a length of 16 km (2009) were discovered. Apparently, these caves also have karst origin. hot tropical climate Under certain conditions, quartzite can be dissolved in water.

Another exotic example of the formation of karst caves is the very long and deepest cave in the US mainland, Lechugia Cave (and other caves in Carlsbad National Park). According to the modern hypothesis, it was formed by the dissolution of limestones by rising thermal waters saturated with sulfuric acid.

Tectonic caves

Such caves can arise in any rocks as a result of the formation of tectonic faults. As a rule, such caves are found in the sides of river valleys deeply cut into the plateau, when huge rock masses break off from the sides, forming sagging cracks (sherlops). Seizure cracks usually converge with depth in a wedge. Most often they are filled with loose deposits from the surface of the massif, but sometimes they form rather deep vertical caves up to 100 m deep. Sherlops are widespread in Eastern Siberia. They are relatively poorly studied and probably occur quite often.

erosion caves

Caves formed in insoluble rocks due to mechanical erosion, that is, worked out by water containing grains of solid material. Often such caves are formed on the seashore under the action of the surf, but they are small. However, the formation of caves, worked out along the primary tectonic cracks by streams going underground, is also possible. Quite large (hundreds of meters long) erosional caves are known, formed in sandstones and even granites. Examples of large erosion caves would be T.S.O.D. (Touchy Sword of Damocles) Cave in gabbro (4 km/−51 m, New York), Bat Cave in gneisses (1.7 km, North Carolina), Upper Millerton Lake Cave in granites (California).

Glacial caves

Caves formed in the body of glaciers by melt water. Such caves are found on many glaciers. Melted glacial waters are absorbed by the body of the glacier along large cracks or at the intersection of cracks, forming passages that are sometimes passable for humans. The length of such caves can be several hundred meters, the depth - up to 100 m or more. In 1993, a giant Izortog glacial well, 173 m deep, was discovered and explored in Greenland; the inflow of water into it in summer was 30 m³ or more.

Another type of glacial caves are caves formed in a glacier at the point where intraglacial and subglacial waters exit at the edge of glaciers. Meltwater in such caves can flow both along the glacier bed and over glacial ice.

A special type of glacial caves - caves formed in glaciers at the exit point of underground caves located under the glacier. thermal waters. Hot water is capable of making voluminous galleries, however, such caves do not lie in the glacier itself, but under it, since the ice melts from below. Thermal ice caves meet in Iceland, Greenland and reach the considerable sizes.

Volcanic caves

These caves are formed during volcanic eruptions. The lava flow, cooling down, is covered with a solid crust, forming a lava tube, inside of which molten rock is still flowing. After the eruption has already, in fact, ended, the lava flows out of the tube from the lower end, and a cavity remains inside the tube. It is clear that lava caves lie on the very surface, and often the roof collapses. However, as it turned out, lava caves can reach very large sizes, up to 65.6 km long and 1100 m deep (Kazumura cave, Hawaiian Islands).

In addition to lava tubes, there are vertical volcanic caves - the vents of volcanoes.

Caves by type of host rocks

The longest Mammoth Cave in the world (USA) is karst, laid in limestone. It has a total length of passages of more than 600 km. The longest cave in Russia - the Botovskaya cave, over 60 km long, is laid in a relatively thin layer of limestone, sandwiched between sandstones, located in the Irkutsk region, the river basin. Lena. Slightly inferior to it is Bolshaya Oreshnaya - the world's longest karst cave in conglomerates in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The longest cave in gypsum is Optimistic, in Ukraine, with a length of more than 230 km. The formation of such extended caves in gypsum is associated with a special arrangement of rocks: the layers of gypsum that enclose the cave are covered from above with limestone, due to which the vaults do not collapse. Caves are known in rock salt, in glaciers, in solidified lava, etc.

Caves by size

The deepest caves of the planet are also karst: Krubera-Voronya (up to −2196 m), Snezhnaya (−1753 m) in Abkhazia. In Russia, the deepest cave is Throat Barloga (−900 m) in Karachay-Cherkessia. All these records are constantly changing, only one thing is invariable: karst caves are in the lead.

The deepest caves in the world

The depth of a cave is the height difference between the entrance (the highest of the entrances, if there are several) and the lowest point of the cave. If there are passages in the cave located above the entrance, the concept of amplitude is used - the difference in levels between the lowest and highest point caves. According to estimates, maximum depth the occurrence of cave passages under the surface (not to be confused with the depth of the cave!) can be no more than 3000 meters: deeper than any cave will be crushed by the weight of the overlying rocks. For karst caves, the maximum depth of occurrence is determined by the karst base (the lower limit of karst processes coinciding with the base of the limestone sequence), which can be lower than the erosion base due to the presence of siphon channels. The deepest cave, at present, is the Krubera-Voronya cave with a depth of 2196 m, this is the first and only cave that crossed the line of 2 km. The first explored cave with a depth of more than 1000 meters was the French Berger abyss, considered the deepest in the world from the discovery in 1953 until 1963.

The longest caves in the world

Contents of the caves

Speleofauna

Although the living world of caves, as a rule, is not very rich (excluding the entrance part, where sunlight), however, some animals live in caves or even only in caves. First of all, these are bats, many of their species use caves as a daily shelter or for wintering. Moreover, bats sometimes fly into very remote and hard-to-reach corners, perfectly orienting themselves in narrow labyrinth passages.

In addition to bats, several species of insects, spiders (Neoleptoneta myopica), shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) and other crustaceans, salamanders and fish (Amblyopsidae) live in some caves in warmer climates. cave views adapt to complete darkness, and many of them lose their organs of vision and pigmentation. Often these species are very rare, many of them are endemic.

archaeological finds

Primitive people used caves all over the world as a dwelling. Even more often, animals settled in the caves. Many animals died in the cave-traps, starting from steep wells. The extremely slow evolution of caves, their constant climate, and protection from the outside world have preserved a huge number of archaeological finds to us. These are pollen of fossil plants, bones of long-extinct animals (cave bear, cave hyena, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros), cave drawings ancient people (caves Kapova in the Southern Urals, Divya in the Northern Urals, Tuzuksu in the Kuznetsk Alatau, Niah Caves in Malaysia), tools of their labor (villages Strashnaya, Okladnikova, Kaminnaya in Altai), human remains of different cultures, including Neanderthals , up to 50-200 thousand years old (Teshik-Tash cave in Uzbekistan, Denisova cave in Altai, Cro-Magnon in France and many others).

The caves may have played the role of modern cinemas.

Water in the caves

Water, as a rule, is found in many caves, and karst caves owe their origin to it. In the caves you can find condensate films, drops, streams and rivers, lakes and waterfalls. Siphons in caves significantly complicate the passage, require special equipment and special training. Often there are underwater caves. In the entrance areas of the caves, water is often present in a frozen state, in the form of ice deposits, often very significant and perennial.

Air in the caves

In most caves, the air is breathable due to natural circulation, although there are caves in which you can only be in gas masks. For example, guano deposits can poison the air. However, in the vast majority of natural caves, air exchange with the surface is quite intense. The reasons for the movement of air are most often the temperature difference in the cave and on the surface, so the direction and intensity of circulation depend on the season and weather conditions. In large cavities, the movement of air is so intense that it turns into wind. For this reason, air draft is one of the important features when looking for new caves.

cave deposits

There are mechanical (clay, sand, pebbles, boulders) and chemogenic deposits (stalactites, stalagmites, etc.). IN cave systems with an active watercourse, as a rule, mechanical deposits are presented in the form of blocky blockages, often of very large volumes, formed as a result of the collapse of the set of passages that the water flow forms by dissolving. Blockages are difficult to pass, and dangerous, since the balance of a block blockage is often unstable. Clay deposits are widely represented in the galleries left by an active stream that carried mechanically insoluble rock particles. In the limestone containing the cave, the soluble component is calcium carbonate, which often makes up only about 50% of the rock. The remaining minerals are usually insoluble, and if the water that dissolves the rock is presented in the form of a drop, infiltrate, with a low water flow, unable to provide mechanical transfer of particles, clay deposits begin to accumulate. Very often, ancient passages are completely covered with clay.

Chemogenic deposits (sinter formations) also usually adorn ancient cave galleries, where water, slowly filtering through cracks in limestone, is saturated with calcium carbonate, and when it enters the cavity of the cave, due to a slight change in the partial pressure of water vapor when a drop breaks off, or when when it falls to the floor, or when turbulence occurs when draining, calcium carbonate crystallizes from a saturated solution in the form of calcite.

excursion caves

Some caves are equipped for visiting tour groups(so-called showcaves). To do this, in the part of the cave, the most spacious and rich sinter formations, pave footpaths, ladders, bridges, electric lighting is created; in some cases, if the entrance part of the cave is a technically difficult area, tunnels are made. In the territory former USSR the most famous caves are Marble in the Crimea, Kungurskaya in the Urals, Novoafonskaya in Abkhazia.

Caves in the solar system

In addition to the Earth, caves have been found on the Moon and Mars. Apparently, these are volcanic caves, ancient traces of volcanic activity.

artificial caves

Caves - dungeons of the industrial world

Under any major city there is a system of dungeons for technical purposes: basements of ground buildings, metro, life support system (water supply, heating, sewerage, electrical and telephone cables, fiber optic network), bomb shelters, bunkers in case of war, and so on.

Cave - as the dwelling of holy ascetics

Many holy ascetics settled in the caves. Later, monasteries and Lavra were founded on these places:

• Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
• Pskov-Caves Monastery
• Holy Assumption Cave Monastery (Crimea)
• Kholkovsky monastery
• Chelter Coba
• Basarbovsky monastery
• Cave churches in Ivanovo

Holy ascetics who lived in caves:

• “And Lot went out of Segor and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Segor. And he dwelt in a cave, and his two daughters with him” (Genesis 19:30)
• “And the Prophet Elijah went into the cave there and spent the night in it” (1 Kings 19.9)
• Hilarion of Kyiv
• Anthony Pechersky
• Varlaam Pechersky

cave houses

Many peoples made dwellings in caves, as they were easy to keep clean and maintain a constant temperature throughout the year.

• Cappadocia
• Anasazi
• Guadis
• Sassi Di Matera

Healing caves

In many medical institutions there are rooms called "salt caves". The walls are lined with potash salt bricks, and patients spend some time in them, listening to music and getting a healing effect.

Entertaining caves

Horror caves are known as a part of amusement parks, cafes and bars, finished under a cave.

Caves in mythology, mysticism and religion.

V. G. Ivanchenko wrote about the symbolic and mystical meaning of the caves in his article “The Sign of the Cave”, published in the journal “Orientation”.

Caves in art, literature and cinematography

Caves appear in many fantastic works (both in fantasy and science fiction). Caves (more precisely, bunkers) in science fiction mainly serve as shelters after a global catastrophe that made life on the surface impossible. And also the caves in fantasy are inhabited by: gnomes, kobolds, goblins, dragons, and in Russian folk tales, the "Mistress of the Copper Mountain", the Serpent Gorynych, lives there. In northern mythology, Sirte live in caves. One of the most famous literary characters who ended up in the caves were: Tom Sawyer along with Becky Thatcher, Bilbo Baggins.

underground cavities

In addition to caves that have access to the surface and are accessible for direct study by humans, there are closed underground cavities in the earth's crust. The deepest underground cavity (2952 meters) was discovered by drilling on the coast of Cuba. In the Rhodope Mountains, an underground cavity was discovered at a depth of 2400 meters while drilling. On Black Sea coast in Gagra, underground voids were discovered by drilling at a depth of up to 2300 meters.

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