Caves

Cave OutlineWeek Monday Tuesday Wednesda

yThursday Friday

Week 1 •Cave History•Discovery of caves

•Types of caves

•How caves are made•Cave geology

• Dissolution Lab

•Nova: Mystery Caves •Quiz

Week 2 •Cave Conservation•Conservation Lab

•Cave preservation

•Cave safety•Guest Speaker

•What to Bring•Cave safety•Introduction to newspaper

•Caving trip•Newspaper project

Week 3 •Caving trip•Newspaper project

•Caving trip•Newspaper project

•Reflection of trip•Newspaper project

•Newspaper project…the final touches

•Quiz on caves

What is a cave?September 19, 2011

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter.

Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the environment which surrounds the caves.

Exploring a cave for recreation or science may be called caving, potholing, or, in Canada and the United States, spelunking.

The key is time – millions and millions of years of constant dissolving.

Cave HistorySeptember 19, 2011

•Discoveries•Caves have been discovered since the 1st Century A.D. •Often times, caves are discovered and then left a secret until they are later rediscovered.•It normally takes an estimate of 10 years, but up to 30 for a cave to become open to the public for safety reasons.

•Cave Drawings• They suggest that Cave People (aka Cavemen) had lived in them since ancient times.

Cave History cont.September 20, 2011

Cave Use ProtectionBurialReligious SitesTourist AttractionRecreationPreservation of aging wine and cheese

How did Wisconsin get the name “The Badger State”Miners in WI, lived and worked in the mines

for many years. They were said to look like badgers. Thus…”The Badger State.”

History of CavesThe first mentions of karst landscape date back to

the ancient Assyrian King Salmanassar III. As reported on bronze engravings, he was

investigating the caves and springs at the source of the Tigris River.

There are also mentions of karst topography in the writings of the ancient Greek and Romans ( Jennings, 1971).

In Israel there is a cave called the Cave of Letters and inside this cave documents from the second century C.E. describing in detail one woman’s life were found (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The Cave of Letters in Israel which was used for protection and storage 2000 years ago is now being excavated and explored. (NOVA, 2004).

The woman was named Babatha and it is thought that she used the cave for protection and to store her documents for safekeeping (Tyson, 2004).

It wasn’t until the 17 th century, when scientific societies began to emerge that books devoted to karst started to appear.

The earliest work was written in 1654 by a Parisian by the name of Jacques Gaffarel, however little of this text remains today ( Jennings 1971)

Figure 2: The first page of Jacques Gaffarel’s 1654 work on karst topography. (Martel, 1952)

 In the mid to late 19th century Vienna, Austria was the center for scientific study and karst was a hot topic. It was popular here because there were so many karst areas.

In the late 19 th century Edouard Martel, with his extensive investigation into karst landscapes, however brought France to the front in karst study with Austria where it has remained since ( Jennings, 1971).

Figure 3: An important Austrian speleologist and possibly the world’s first professor of speleology, Georg Kyrle (Österreich-Lexikon,1995).

In the 1950’s and 60’s there was a rush to open the biggest and best cave which is referred to as the cave wars.

During this time it was realized that people would pay money to see these mysterious caverns underground and everyone tried to make their cave the biggest and the best on order to attract the most tourists.

A National Parks Service ranger and tour guide at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky said in 2004, "Wealthy people in Europe and in the East wanted to see Mammoth Cave, and the owners of Mammoth got a wild idea -- that people would pay money to see a hole in the ground" (Associated Press, 2004).

Crystal Caves in Spring Valley Wisconsin was part of this national contest which is how it got its name.

The owner who donned the caves Crystal Caves thought that name would help attract tourists.

Even before Wisconsin was a state caves drew people to the area for their mineral resources.

Lead miners flocked to modern Southwest Wisconsin. This competition actually threatened the integrity of the

cave at one point. One of the owners wanted to make one of the rooms in the cave more dramatic by carving out the rock and raising the ceiling. This dramatically weakened the ceiling and the overlying layers of soil were too heavy. Eventually the ceiling in that room collapsed and it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Cave DiscoveriesSeptember 20, 2010

DiscoveriesKartchner Caverns – Discovered by checking out a sink hole.Timpanogos Caves – Followed lion tracks to the entrance.Son Doong Cave – Discovered by a farmer loosing cattle in a

hole.Eagle Cave – Discovered by Murphy chasing a bear into the

entrance.Crystal Cave – Discovered by a young boy poking a sink hole

covered by leaves, until he fell into the hole.Secrets

Caves have been discovered for centuries now. Most caves are kept secret, even to the point where the

person who discovered the cave dies, and the cave is lost.Why keep this a secret?

Preservation

Types of Wisconsin CavesSeptember 21, 2010There are two types of caves in Wisconsin – limestone

and sandstone. Limestone caves

The are the ones you might typically think of – stalactites dripping from the ceiling, dark, wet places with steady cool temperatures, and bats lurking in the corners. These caves are found in limestone rock formations and are the most prominent type found here.

also known as 'solution' cave that formed by the dissolving limestone rock as the surface came in contact with water that is slightly acidic. It is sort of like seeing an Alka-Seltzer™ tablet dissolving in water."

Sandstone caves These are formed primarily in the southwestern part of

the state and are sometimes merely rock outcroppings or shelters. These tend to be much smaller and drier than their limestone cousins. Both types of caves offer opportunities for fun and adventure. The easiest to access are a few of the larger limestone caves that are open to the public.

No two caves are alike, just as you never step into the same river twice. Each cave is ever-changing and water constantly shapes the landscape above ground and underground.

5 Types of CavesSeptember 21, 2010

Epigenic Caves (Sea Caves / Limestone Caves)A cave where slightly acidic

water seeps into the ground through cracks and begins to dissolve the rock underneath.

Sinkholes develop and create underground streams

Streams cut to lower levels causing breakdown forming a cavity in the earth.Breakdown – When the

water pressure builds and carries away rock in the underground streams. Usually developed in limestone rock because that is one of the softer rocks.

Epigenic Caves

Hypogenic CavesRain falls

through the cracks of the earth and mixes with underground water.

When these two waters mix, they cause a chemical reaction which eats away at the rock in the earth.

A cavity is formed.

Hypogenic Caves

Lava Tube (Lava Cave)Lava flows away

from a vent from the volcano.

The lava burns through the rock, creating a lava tube.

When the tube has cooled, you have a open cavity to walk or crawl through.

Boulder Cave

A stream will build in a valley.

Runoff brings down rock collapsing into the small lake.

As rock piles on, the cavity become clear between the fallen rock.

As more rock piles on, it provides extra roofing.

Boulder Cave

Tectonic CaveRocks are disturbed that rest in the earth from earthquakes.

Large slabs of rock slide apart from one another leaving a cavity in the earth.

Sea CavesCrashing waves constantly pound away at

oceanfront cliff sides, the water combining with the sand and gravel it carries to erode caves out of the rock. Like Eolian caves, the forces that carve sea caves do not produce features like stalactites and stalagmites.