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 study for speleology. 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 largest 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. It is karst caves that have the greatest length and depth. Karst caves are formed due to the dissolution of rocks with 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. Solubility increases several times if dissolved carbon dioxide is present in water (and it is always present in natural water), but limestone still dissolves poorly 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 form, but also quickly collapse.
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 the relief either to deeper levels (due to a decrease in the local basis of erosion - the bottom of neighboring river valleys), or stopped entering 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.
The evolution of karst processes and their chemistry are such that often 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 special for each cave of ensembles of mineral aggregates of caves, forming stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, draperies and other specific karst mineral forms - sinter formations.
Recently, more and more caves have been opened in rocks traditionally considered non-karst. For example, in the sandstones and quartzites of the mesas of the tepui mountains of South America, the caves of Abismo Guy Collet with a depth of −671 m (2006), Cueva Ojos de Cristal with a length of 16 km (2009) were discovered. Apparently, these caves are also of karst origin. In a 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 covered 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 can 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
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 are caves formed in glaciers at the exit point of underground thermal waters located under the glacier. 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 are found in Iceland, Greenland and reach 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 - volcanic vents.
Caves by type of host rocks
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), rock paintings of ancient people (Kapova caves 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 bad for breathing 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
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)
cave houses
Many peoples made dwellings in caves, as they were easy to keep clean and maintain a constant temperature throughout the year.
- 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.
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 the Black Sea coast in Gagra, drilling discovered underground voids at a depth of up to 2300 meters.
Notes
- Maruashvili, 1969; TSB; Schukin, 1980; Monkhouse, 1970.
- Mineral aggregates of karst caves
- “On the silicate bradykarst of the tropical zone”, Maksimovich G.A. // Hydrogeology and Karstology. Issue. 7. Perm, 1975: 5-14.
- History of the Sylphuric Acid Theory of Speleogenesis in the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, 2000.
- OTHER CAVES , Compiled by: Bob Gulden.
- Save Millerton Lake Cave
- Images from the Millerton Lakes Cave System
- Reynaud L., Moreau L. Moulins Glaciaires des Temperes et Froids de 1986 a 1994 (Mer de Glace et Groenland). Actes du 3e Symposium International Cavites Glaciaires et Cryokarst en Regions Polaires et de Haute Montagne, Chamonix-France, 1er-6.XI.1994. Annales Litteraires de l'universite de Besancon, N 561, serie Geographie, N 34, Besancon, 1995, p. 109-113.
- Krubera Cave: Profile. Ukrainian Speleological Association (1999-2010) // speleogenesis.info. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
- Worlds deepest caves, Compiled by: Bob Gulden
- I. Kudryavtseva, D. Lury Geography / S.T. Ismailova. - Moscow: Avanta +, 1994. - T. 3. - S. 472. - 638 p. - ISBN 5-86529-015-0
- Message to the caving mailing list CML#13657 , Yu.Kasyan, 09/10/2012.
- Message to the caving mailing list CML#13648 , P. Rudko, 08/28/2012.
- Message to the caving mailing list CML#10132 , A. Shelepin, 09/18/2007.
- Worlds longest caves, Compiled by: Bob Gulden
- Paleolithic of Altai
- Prehistoric caves named as first cinema halls
- Wind in the Caves, A.L. Shelepin, 1995, KSK Library
The caves have always attracted with their mystery, uniqueness, as well as original combinations of bizarre statues, often reminiscent of fantasy images of mythical heroes.
Grottoes often served many people as a shelter over their heads, a reliable shelter from bad weather, a place of fertile hermitage. And now that many of them have become available for visiting, anyone can get a little closer to their own history, which is so fascinating and alluring.
Kungur cave
She is considered the most beautiful in Russia. And this is not surprising, because, once inside, each person experiences a strong feeling that he has fallen into the very realm of the Snow Queen. All this is because the entire cave surface is covered with eternal layers of ice, as well as hoarfrost. According to scientists, the age of the ice layers reaches about 10 thousand years.
The views that tourists have the opportunity to admire are truly impressive. Ice droplets here gather into magnificent crystals, iridescent with many color shades. This is achieved thanks to the lighting system, which is based on laser illumination. There are also man-made ice sculptures.
Surprisingly, despite the eternally reigning cold, a man once lived in the cave. This is evidenced by a hermit's hut discovered here, a dug well, as well as a lost bast shoe.
Where is it located and how to get there? The cave is located near the city of Kungur (Perm region). You can get here by bus from Yekaterinburg.
Batovskaya cave
It is considered the longest cave in all of Russia, because its length reaches about 62,103 meters.
The cave was discovered quite by accident: a local hunter, following the trail of a bear, suddenly stumbled upon the entrance to it.
Inside the grotto there are permanent lakes one and a half meters deep and ten meters long. The uniqueness of the attraction lies in the fact that it is based on both limestone and sandstone. And this is rare, since most karst caves are made entirely of limestone. The Botovskaya cave is considered to be a horizontal type cave, representing a labyrinth of intricate passages.
Where is it located and how to get there? The object is located in the Irkutsk region, near the village of Konoshalovo. Guides are advised to get to the cave. By car, it is impossible to drive close to the entrance.
Barlog's throat
It is considered the deepest cave in Russia. So, its depth is about 900 meters, and the length reaches 3000 meters. It got its name in honor of the character of the same name from The Lord of the Rings. After all, when the researchers had to go down deep, overcoming the path along a narrow well, it seemed that they had made their way through the throat of a fantastic monster.
The cave is relatively young, since it was discovered only in 1994. The entrance to the grotto is located at the top of the Atsgara River, its peak reaches a height of 2825 meters above sea level.
Where is it located and how to get there? The throat of Barloga is located in the Urupsky district of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. Take a bus to Kurdzhinovo, then hire a car. If the road is not washed out, then you can get to the Mostovska glade on the Zagedanka River.
Kapova cave (Shulgan-tash cave)
Gained worldwide fame thanks to the Paleolithic drawings. The age of the rock carvings is impressive: about 14–14.5 thousand years. The size of the drawings is also considered rare (within 44–112 centimeters). Some of them are made with red ocher, and the rest - with charcoal. Quite curious is the fact that no traces of soot were found on the ceiling of the object (after all, light was required to complete the drawings). But, as it turned out later, ancient people had a kind of analogue of a kerosene lamp, in which fat acted as an alternative to kerosene.
According to the results of archaeological excavations, it was possible to find human skulls without skeletons. It is assumed that a separate burial of the head indicated the importance of the departed person. It is possible that the heads belonged to the shaman and the leaders, since earlier the cave was an analogue of the sanctuary, where certain rituals took place.
Where is it located and how to get there? It is located in the Burzyansky district of Bashkiria in the Southern Urals, in the Shulgan-Tash nature reserve. You need to go from Ufa to Sterlitamak, turn to Beloretsk. Before reaching it 50 km, turn to Starosubkhangulovo. Go to Mindigulovo, then follow the sign "Shulgan-Tash".
Vorontsovskaya cave
It ranks sixth among the longest caves in Russia (length is 11,720 meters). It is the largest cave system in the Caucasus.
During archaeological excavations in the cave, traces of an ancient person were found (starting from the Stone Age and up to the Middle Ages). And during the Civil War, the grotto served as a reliable shelter for the red partisans.
The Vorontsovskaya Cave is also called an excellent geological monument. For example, the length of stalactites is impressive. In the same Labyrinth cave (which is a continuation of Vorontsovskaya) a stalactite called Rocket rises more than 6 meters high.
Where is it located and how to get there? Located near the city of Sochi. You can get from the village of Khosta by car. But it should be noted that regular buses will take you only to Kalinovoye Lake, from where you will have to walk 5–7 kilometers.
Akhshtyrskaya cave
The uniqueness of this attraction is that it was once inhabited by primitive people, as evidenced by the discovered objects, traces and rock tempera.
The first settlement arose in a cave 70 thousand years ago. Its main representatives were the Neanderthals. Further 20 thousand years the grotto was empty. And about 30-35 thousand years ago it was inhabited by the Cro-Magnons. In later times, people also lived in the cave. Similar intervals between settlement occurred at a time when the cave (according to the same indicators of dampness) was not suitable for living. But if people did not live in it, then it was still not empty, becoming a refuge for bears.
In relation to the Akhshtyrskaya cave, a rather curious assumption was made by mythologists who claim that Odysseus once met a cyclops here.
Where is it located and how to get there? The cave is 15 kilometers away from Adler. You can get there along the way from the trout factory or by bus from Adler.
Where is it located and how to get there? It is located in Khakassia, 9 kilometers south of the village of Topanova. You can get there along the Shira-Kommunar highway.
No human building can compare with the greatest caves in the world in beauty and grandeur. We offer you a selection of the twenty most stunning caves and grottoes from all over the world.
Caves are one of the most amazing creations of nature. Among the many dirty and damp "sheds" come across real palaces and temples, as if created in mockery of the architectural tricks of people. No human building can compare with the greatest caves in the world in beauty and grandeur. We offer you a selection of the twenty most stunning caves and grottoes from all over the world.
1. Crystal Cave (Cueva de los Cristales), Mexico
The Cave of Crystals was discovered in 2000 by the Sanchez miner brothers, who were digging a new tunnel in the mine complex. It is located at a depth of 300 meters under the city of Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. The cave is unique in the presence of giant crystals of selenite. The largest of the found crystals has a size of 11 m in length and 4 m in width, with a mass of 55 tons. This is one of the largest known crystals. It is very hot in the cave, temperatures reach 58 ° C with a humidity of 90-100%. These factors make it very difficult for people to explore the cave, making it necessary to use special equipment. Even with equipment, being in a cave usually does not exceed 20 minutes.
2. Waitomo Glowworm Cave, New Zealand
The Waitomo Caves are truly a masterpiece of nature, over which she has worked for many millions of years. For many centuries, the ocean has ruled here, creating bizarre limestone outgrowths and mysterious intricacies of passages. And then the water receded, forming a system of about 150 caves. The most famous of them is Glowworm Cave. It is inhabited by amazing creatures - Arachnocampa Luminosa. These are fireflies that can only be found in New Zealand. Their green-blue glow makes the arch of the cave look like a starry sky on a frosty night.
3. Blue Grotto (Grotto Azzurra), Italy
This beautiful cave is only accessible from the sea. The name "Blue Grotto" comes from the bright blue color of its waters. The entrance to the cave is very small and lets in a small amount of light, which gives the water its bright color.
4. Vatnajokull Glacier Cave, Iceland
Sunlight, scattered over the surface of the Svínafellsjökull glacier, draws amazing pictures on the vaults of the ice cave, creating the illusion of being at sea depth. The depth of the underground passage does not exceed 50 meters, and the width of the cave is only 10 meters. During the winter months, a crackling sound is heard inside, caused by the movement of the glacier.
Such pure azure and blue hues are the result of the absence of air bubbles in the ice. You can see colored ice under certain weather conditions; one of them is the absence or minimum amount of snow on the surface. Intense sky blue ice is best seen in January and February; it is during this period that shades of azure, framed by snow cover, look fantastic.
You can get into the cave only in the winter months: narrow ice passages are accessible to tourists only with the onset of frost. At other times, being here can be dangerous; melting ice vaults often collapse under a mass of snow.
5. Phraya Nakhon, Thailand
It's not actually a cave, but a huge valley that is 65 meters deep and 50 meters wide, with overhanging walls covered in plants and stalactites. At certain hours of the day, light enters the interior, illuminating the small temple.
6Marble Caves Of Patagonia, Chile
Despite their name, they are made of ordinary limestone, but there is an opinion that in the depths of the caves there are the purest deposits of marble. The walls of the Chilean landmark have a surprisingly beautiful bright blue color, and the blue water of the lake doubles the impression of what they see. It is also worth mentioning that the caves consist of many labyrinths and tunnels, over the creation of which the coastal waves worked hard.
7. Ice caves near Mutnovsky volcano, Russia
A small and very beautiful snow cave on the slope of the Mutnovsky volcano.
8. Dongzhong Cave, China
Dongzhong Cave (whose name is simply translated as "cave") is located in the village of Mao in the Chinese province of Guizhou. Since 1984, the cave has been equipped as an elementary school.
9. Fingal's Cave, Scotland
The famous sea cave, washed into the rock by sea water, on the island of Staffa, part of the Inner Hebrides group. The walls are made up of vertical hexagonal basalt columns 69 meters deep and 20 meters high. For three centuries it has been a place of artistic pilgrimage and has inspired the work of many famous artists, musicians and writers.
10. Reed Flute Cave, China
Reed Flute Cave (Ludi Yan) is an amazing creation of nature, located in the city of Guilin (China). A special type of reed grows around the cave, from which in the old days the best flutes in all of China were made, this fact served as the basis for such a beautiful name. Ludi Yan Cave, like Waitomo Cave, has illumination, but not natural, but "artificial" - artificial. With its help, the Chinese successfully emphasize the beauty of the flawless creation of nature. Multi-colored lights playfully paint stalactites and other bizarre rock formations, making the cave even brighter and more fabulous.
11. Fantastic Pit at Ellison's Cave, Georgia, USA
If you are an extreme, and besides, an amateur speleologist, then Allison Cave is ideal for you, namely its Fancy Mine, 179 meters deep.
12. Kyaut Sae Cave in Myanmar
Few people know about this cave, but nevertheless it impresses both with its size and the fact that a Buddhist temple is located in it.
13. Son Doong Cave, Vietnam
The largest cave in the world. It is located in Central Vietnam, in the province of Quang Binh, in the Phong Nha Kebang National Park, 500 kilometers south of Hanoi and 40 km from the center of the province - Dong Hoi. This cave has been known to locals since 1991, in April 2009 it was discovered by a group of British speleologists. The cave has an underground river that floods some parts of the cave during the rainy season.
14. Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave, Austria
The Eisriesenwelt caves are the largest system of ice caves on our planet available for viewing. In translation, Eisriesenwelt means "giant ice world." The caves are located in the Alps in Austria at an altitude of 1641 meters and consist of 30 thousand cubic meters. meters of ice. These caves were formed by the waters of the Salzach River, which eroded limestone rocks over thousands of years. Currently, the riverbed is below the entrance to the caves.
The Eisriesenwelt caves were discovered by accident as early as 1849. For a long time only hunters and poachers knew about them. The date of the official discovery of the Eisriesenwelt caves is considered to be 1879, when the Austrian naturalist from Salzburg, Anton von Posselt-Czorich, first penetrated 200 meters deep into the caves. A year later, he published a detailed account of his discovery in a mountaineering magazine, but this information did not arouse due interest.
15. Orda Cave, Russia
Orda Cave is the longest underwater gypsum cave in Russia and one of the longest in the world. This place is a real paradise for divers. The cave begins with the Crystal Grotto. In the northwestern corner of this grotto is Lake Ledyanoe. The move on the left will lead to the next grotto - the Ice Palace. Lake Main is located here, and a little further - Lake Teploe. Through these lakes, divers enter the mysterious underwater part of the cave. The water here is extremely clean, transparent, bluish in color and very cold (+ 4 degrees)
16. Carlsbad Caverns, USA
Under the arches of the mountains of Guadalupe in the state of New Mexico, endless labyrinths of halls, tunnels and corridors are hidden, the main inhabitants of which are bats. The charm of Carlsbad caves becomes more charming and mysterious with the advent of twilight. The park and the caves got their name in honor of the nearby city of Karlsbad.
17. Barton Creek Cave, Belize
This cave has not only extraordinary natural beauty, but is also a living witness to the household items of the ancient Mayans who inhabited this area more than 2000 years ago. In it you can see many grandiose stalactites and stalagmites, ancient jugs and religious bowls of the May Indians, traces of religious human sacrifices.
18. Jeita Grotto Caves, Lebanon
a complex of two caves in Lebanon, 20 kilometers north of Beirut. In 1836, the upper cave was discovered by William Thomson, and the lower cave was discovered by Lebanese speleologists in 1958. The length of the Upper Cave is 2200 meters, but only part of it, which is 750 meters long, is open to tourists. There are three halls in the Upper Cave, each of which is 100 meters or more in height. There are unique underground reservoirs, very beautiful crevices, various stalagmites and stalactites. The length of the Lower Cave is much larger than the Upper Cave and is equal to 6900 meters
19. Kango Caves, South Africa
Caves Cango (Cango Caves), tacitly called the wonder of the world. The caves are famous for their "Organ Hall" - stalactites descending along the walls form something resembling a large organ here, which, combined with music and lighting effects, makes an indelible impression on visitors
20. Aven Armand Cave, France
A special funicular lowers visitors 50 meters deep into the tunnel, which is 200 meters long. There suddenly turns out to be a huge hall in which Notre Dame Cathedral could easily fit.
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 largest 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. It is karst caves that have the greatest length 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. Solubility increases several times if dissolved carbon dioxide is present in water (and it is always present in natural water), but limestone still dissolves poorly 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 form, but also quickly collapse.
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 the relief either to deeper levels (due to a decrease in the local basis of erosion - the bottom of neighboring river valleys), or stopped entering 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.
The evolution of karst processes and their chemistry are such that often 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 special for each cave of ensembles of mineral aggregates of caves, forming stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, draperies and other specific karst mineral forms - sinter formations.
Recently, more and more caves have been opened in rocks traditionally considered non-karst. For example, in the sandstones and quartzites of the mesas of the tepui mountains of South America, the caves of Abismo Guy Collet with a depth of −671 m (2006), Cueva Ojos de Cristal with a length of 16 km (2009) were discovered. Apparently, these caves are also of karst origin. In a 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 covered 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 are caves formed in glaciers at the exit point of underground thermal waters located under the glacier. 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 glacial caves are found in Iceland, Greenland and reach 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 points of the cave. According to estimates, the maximum depth of the cave passages under the surface (not to be confused with the depth of the cave!) Can be no more than 3000 meters: any cave deeper 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.
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Depth, m |
Location |
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| 1 | Krubera-Crow | |||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 |
Lamprechtsofen |
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| 5 |
Mirolda |
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| 6 |
Jean Bernard |
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| 7 |
Torca del Cerro |
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| 8 |
Pantyukhinskaya |
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| 9 |
Sima de la Cornisa |
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| 10 |
Slovenia |
The longest caves in the world
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Depth, m |
Location |
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| 1 |
Mamontova |
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| 2 | ||||
| 3 |
Aux Bel Ha |
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| 4 |
optimistic |
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| 5 | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 7 |
Sak-Aktun |
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| 8 |
Switzerland |
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| 9 |
Fisher Ridge |
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| 10 |
Gua Air Jernih |
Malaysia |
Contents of the caves
Speleofauna
Although the living world of caves, as a rule, is not very rich (excluding the entrance part, where sunlight enters), nevertheless, 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 species 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), rock paintings of ancient people (Kapova caves 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, which are formed by the dissolution of the water flow. 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 (the so-called showcaves). To do this, in the part of the cave, the most spacious and rich in sinter formations, footpaths, ladders, bridges are laid, electric lighting is created; in some cases, if the entrance part of the cave is a technically difficult area, tunnels are made. On the territory of the 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 large city there is a system of technical dungeons: 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 the Black Sea coast in Gagra, drilling discovered underground voids at a depth of up to 2300 meters.
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