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Caves Jeanne K. Hanson Foreword by Geoffrey H. Nash, Geologist CAVES Copyright © 2007 by Jeanne K. Hanson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 ISBN-10: 0-8160-5917-9 ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-5917-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hanson, Jeanne K. Caves / Jeanne K. Hanson; foreword by Geoffrey H. Nash. p. cm. — (The extreme earth) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-5917-9 1. Caves — Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. GB601.2.H33 2007 551.44’7 — dc22 2006011718 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text design by Erika K. Arroyo Cover design by Dorothy M. Preston/Salvatore Luongo Illustrations by Melissa Ericksen Photo research by Diane K. French Printed in the United States of America VB FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. This book is dedicated to extremophiles, the archaic and amazing microscopic creatures who live in extreme places like caves. GGG Contents GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Origin of the Landform: Caves Cave Sites Types of Caves: Limestone Dissolution Types of Caves: Lava Caves, Sea Caves, Sandstone Caves Types of Caves: Glacial Caves, Tectonic Caves Caves Featured 1G Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, United States Some Cave Records Exploration Basics of Formation Erosion Situation Acid Needed Time Shape of the Cave Limestone/Karst Karst on the Surface Cave Conditions for Speleothems Cave Fun, Cave Safety How Speleothems Form Speleothems: Stalactites, Stalagmites Larger-Scale Cave Features Extremophiles: Amazing Creatures Extremophiles: What They Are xi xiii xv xvii 1 2 3 5 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 16 17 18 18 19 Extremophiles: Mammoth Cave In the Field: Cave Dates Conservation Issues Earthquake, 1811–1812 2 G Cenotes, Chicxulub, and the Caves of Yucatán, Mexico Cenotes Secret Important to Mayan Culture Cenotes: Beware Collapse Sinkholes Formation: Water Table Location Water Storage/Layers Formation: Giant Meteorite Hit Environmental Issues Extremophiles El Sótano In the Field: Ancient Climate Clues 3 G Lascaux Cave of Southwestern France Cro-Magnons in Caves Paints from Minerals Limestone Cave Painting and Carving Why Those Animals? Many Caves around Here Extremophiles After the Cro-Magnons: Us Cave Re-Creation and More Cave Art In the Field: Carbon-14 Dating 4 G Lubang Nasib Bagus and the Sarawak Chamber of Borneo, Malaysia Gunung Mulu National Park Huge Chamber Cave “Mouths” in Mulu Early Mulu Exploration Caves of Langkawi and Cave Materials Mulu Exploration Now Many Caves Here Gunung Buda National Park, Other Large Cave Chambers 20 21 21 22 23 24 24 25 25 27 27 28 30 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 36 37 39 39 40 41 43 43 45 47 47 48 48 49 49 Formation Local Geology: Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, Peat Resources Rain Forest Tree Resources Rain Forest Water Resources In the Field: Dye Traces In the Field: Mud Polarity 50 51 52 52 53 53 5 G Kazumura Cave of Hawaii, United States 55 6G Fingal’s Cave of Scotland, Great Britain 69 7 G W