View source for Cave

{{short description|Natural void under a planetary surface}}

{{hatnote group|{{other uses}}
{{redirect|Cavern}}}}

{{use British English|date=July 2024}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}

[[file:Lechuguilla Cave Pearlsian Gulf.jpg|thumb|[[Lechuguilla Cave]], [[New Mexico]], United States]]

'''Caves''' or '''caverns''' are natural voids [[subterranea (geography)|under]] the [[planetary surface|surface]] of the [[Earth]]<ref>{{Cite OED|cave|8886318356}}</ref> and have been observed in other [[terrestrial planet|rocky]] [[celestial body|worlds]] also (''[[viz.]]'' [[Caves of Mars Project|on Mars]]). Caves often form by the [[weathering]] of rock and can extend deep underground. '''Exogene caves''' are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as [[rock shelter]]s). Caves which extend farther underground than the opening is wide are called '''endogene caves'''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUm0BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA304|page=304|title=California Archaeology|first=Michael J.|last=Moratto|publisher=Academic Press|year=2014|isbn=9781483277356}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEODBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA142|title=Reconstructing Quaternary Environments|last1=Lowe|first1=J. John|last2=Walker|first2=Michael J. C.|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317753711|pages=141–42}}</ref>

[[Speleology]] is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves and the cave environment. Visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called [[Caving|''caving'', ''potholing'', or ''spelunking'']].

==Formation types==
The formation and development of caves is known as ''[[speleogenesis]]''; it can occur over the course of millions of years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Laureano|first1=Fernando V.|last2=Karmann|first2=Ivo|last3=Granger|first3=Darryl E.|last4=Auler|first4=Augusto S.|last5=Almeida|first5=Renato P.|last6=Cruz|first6=Francisco W.|last7=Strícks|first7=Nicolás M.|last8=Novello|first8=Valdir F.|date=2016-11-15|title=Two million years of river and cave aggradation in NE Brazil: Implications for speleogenesis and landscape evolution|journal=Geomorphology|volume=273|pages=63–77|doi=10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.08.009|bibcode=2016Geomo.273...63L}}</ref> Caves can range widely in size, and are formed by various geological processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion by water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, and atmospheric influences. Isotopic dating techniques can be applied to cave sediments, to determine the timescale of the geological events which formed and shaped present-day caves.<ref name=":0" />

It is estimated that a cave cannot be more than {{convert|3000|m}} vertically beneath the surface due to the pressure of overlying rocks. This does not, however, impose a maximum depth for a cave which is measured from its highest entrance to its lowest point, as the amount of rock above the lowest point is dependent on the topography of the landscape above it. For [[karst]] caves the maximum depth is determined on the basis of the lower limit of karst forming processes, coinciding with the base of the soluble carbonate rocks.<ref>[http://www.rgo-speleo.ru/books/termin/termin1.htm#a9 Комиссия спелеологии и карстоведения. Д. А. Тимофеев, В. Н. Дублянский, Т. З. Кикнадзе. Терминология карста. Базис карстования] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215034652/http://www.rgo-speleo.ru/books/termin/termin1.htm#a9 |date=2013-02-15 }} D.A. Timofeev, V.N. Dublyansky, T.Z. Kiknadze, 1991, ''Karst Terminology'', The Commission for Speleology and Karst, Moscow Center of the Russian Geographical Society<!-- Google translate --></ref> Most caves are formed in [[limestone]] by [[Solvation|dissolution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/how-caves-form.html|publisher=[[Nova (American TV series)]]|title=How Caves Form|access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref>

Caves can be classified in various other ways as well, including a contrast between active and relict: active caves have water flowing through them; relict caves do not, though water may be retained in them. Types of active caves include inflow caves ("into which a stream sinks"), outflow caves ("from which a stream emerges"), and through caves ("traversed by a stream").<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsscjizazXAC&pg=PA38 |title=The Cave Book|last=Silvestru|first=Emil |date=2008|publisher=New Leaf|isbn=9780890514962|page=38}}</ref>
[[File:HallOfTheMountainKings.jpg|thumb|[[Speleothem]]s in Hall of the Mountain King of [[Ogof Craig a Ffynnon]], a solutional cave in [[South Wales]].]]

===Solutional===
{{Main|Solutional cave}}
'''Solutional caves''' or '''karst caves''' are the most frequently occurring caves. Such caves form in rock that is soluble; most occur in [[limestone]], but they can also form in other rocks including [[chalk]], [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]], [[marble]], salt, and [[gypsum]]. Except for [[Salt_cave|salt caves]], solutional caves result when rock is dissolved by natural acid in [[groundwater]] that seeps through [[bedding planes]], [[Fault (geology)|faults]], joints, and comparable features. Over time cracks enlarge to become caves and cave systems.

The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> ([[carbonic acid]]) and naturally occurring [[organic acid]]s. The dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as ''[[karst]]'', characterized by [[sinkhole]]s and underground drainage. Limestone caves are often adorned with [[calcium carbonate]] formations produced through slow [[Precipitation (chemistry)|precipitation]]. These include [[flowstone]]s, [[stalactite]]s, [[stalagmite]]s, [[helictite]]s, [[soda straw]]s and columns. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called ''[[speleothem]]s''.

The portions of a solutional cave that are below the [[water table]] or the local level of the groundwater will be flooded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amazingcaves.com/learn_formed.html |title=Learning about caves; how caves are formed |access-date=September 8, 2009 |author=John Burcham |work=Journey into amazing caves |publisher=Project Underground |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503192150/http://www.amazingcaves.com/learn_formed.html |archive-date=May 3, 2009 }}</ref>

[[Lechuguilla Cave]] in [[New Mexico]] and nearby [[Carlsbad Cavern]] are now believed to be examples of another type of solutional cave. They were formed by H<sub>2</sub>S ([[hydrogen sulfide]]) gas rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes. This gas mixes with groundwater and forms H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> ([[sulfuric acid]]). The acid then dissolves the limestone from below, rather than from above, by acidic water percolating from the surface.

===Primary===
<!--{{main|Primary cave}}-->
[[File:hawaiian lava tube.jpg|thumb|Exploring a [[lava tube]] in [[Hawaii]].]]
Caves formed at the same time as the surrounding rock are called '''primary caves'''.

[[Lava tube]]s are formed through [[volcanic]] activity and are the most common primary caves. As [[lava]] flows downhill, its surface cools and solidifies. Hot liquid lava continues to flow under that crust, and if most of it flows out, a hollow tube remains. Such caves can be found in the [[Canary Islands]], [[Jeju Province|Jeju-do]], the basaltic plains of [[Eastern Idaho]], and in other places. [[Kazumura Cave]] near [[Hilo]], [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaii]] is a remarkably long and deep lava tube; it is {{convert|65.6|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=mid|long}}.

Lava caves include but are not limited to lava tubes. Other caves formed through volcanic activity include rifts, lava molds, open vertical conduits, inflationary, blisters, among others.<ref name="ENCYCLO">{{cite book|page=84|title=Encyclopedia of Caves|first=David C.|last=Culver|publisher=Elsevier Academic Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0121986513}}</ref>

===Sea or littoral===
{{Main|Sea cave}}
[[File:Painted cave.jpg|thumb|Painted Cave, a large [[sea cave]], [[Santa Cruz Island]], [[California]]]]
Sea caves are found along coasts around the world. A special case is littoral caves, which are formed by wave action in zones of weakness in sea cliffs. Often these weaknesses are faults, but they may also be dykes or bedding-plane contacts. Some wave-cut caves are now above sea level because of later uplift. Elsewhere, in places such as [[Thailand]]'s [[Phang Nga Bay]], solutional caves have been flooded by the sea and are now subject to littoral erosion. Sea caves are generally around {{convert|5|to|50|m}} in length, but may exceed {{convert|300|m}}.

===Erosional===
[[Image:Sodom Salt Cave 031712.JPG|thumb|[[Halite|Salt]] cave in [[Mount Sodom]]]]
Erosional caves are those that form entirely by erosion by flowing streams carrying rocks and other sediments. These can form in any type of rock, including hard rocks such as granite. Generally there must be some zone of weakness to guide the water, such as a fault or joint. A subtype of the erosional cave is the wind or aeolian cave, carved by wind-born sediments.<ref name="ENCYCLO"/> Many caves formed initially by solutional processes often undergo a subsequent phase of erosional or vadose enlargement where active streams or rivers pass through them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Erosional Caves |url=https://caves.org/erosional-caves/ |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=National Speleological Society |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Glacier===
{{Main|Glacier cave}}
[[File:Big Four Glacier Ice cave.jpg|thumb|[[Glacier cave]] in Big Four Glacier, [[Big Four Mountain]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], {{circa}} 1920]]
Glacier caves are formed by melting ice and flowing water within and under glaciers. The cavities are influenced by the [[Creep (deformation)|very slow flow]] of the ice, which tends to collapse the caves again. Glacier caves are sometimes misidentified as "[[ice cave]]s", though this latter term is properly reserved for bedrock caves that contain year-round ice formations.

===Fracture===
Fracture caves are formed when layers of more soluble minerals, such as gypsum, dissolve out from between layers of less soluble rock. These rocks fracture and collapse in blocks of stone.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mörner|first1=Nils-Axel|last2=Sjöberg|first2=Rabbe|date=September 2018|title=Merging the concepts of pseudokarst and paleoseismicity in Sweden: A unified theory on the formation of fractures, fracture caves, and angular block heape|journal=International Journal of Speleology|volume=47|issue=3|pages=393–405|doi=10.5038/1827-806X.47.3.2225|issn=0392-6672|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Talus<span class="anchor" id="Talus_cave"></span>===
{{Main|Talus cave}}
Talus caves are formed by the openings among large boulders that have fallen down into a random heap, often at the bases of cliffs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kolawole|first1=F.|last2=Anifowose|first2=A. Y. B.|date=2011-01-01|title=Talus Caves: Geotourist Attractions Formed by Spheroidal and Exfoliation Weathering on Akure-Ado Inselbergs, Southwestern Nigeria.|journal=Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management|volume=4|issue=3|pages=1–6|doi=10.4314/ejesm.v4i3.1|issn=1998-0507|doi-access=free}}</ref> These unstable deposits are called talus or [[scree]], and may be subject to frequent [[rockfall]]s and [[landslide]]s.

===Anchialine===
{{Main|Anchialine cave}}
Anchialine caves are caves, usually coastal, containing a mixture of freshwater and saline water (usually sea water). They occur in many parts of the world, and often contain highly specialized and endemic fauna.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Peldanga Labyrinth (Liepniekvalka Caves), Latvia - redzet.eu|url=https://www.redzet.eu/en/photo/peldanga-labyrinth-liepniekvalka-caves-latvia-A-261-15|website=www.redzet.eu|access-date=2020-05-17}}</ref>

==Physical patterns==
[[File:Grotte Castellana 03apr06 04.jpg|thumb|right|[[Castellana Caves]], [[Italy]]]]

*''Branchwork caves'' resemble surface dendritic stream patterns; they are made up of passages that join downstream as tributaries. Branchwork caves are the most common of cave patterns and are formed near [[sinkhole]]s where [[groundwater recharge]] occurs. Each passage or branch is fed by a separate recharge source and converges into other higher order branches downstream.<ref name=Easterbrook>Easterbrook, Don, 1999, ''Surface Processes and Landforms [2nd edition]'', New Jersey, Prentice Hall, p. 207</ref>
*''Angular network caves'' form from intersecting fissures of carbonate rock that have had fractures widened by chemical erosion. These fractures form high, narrow, straight passages that persist in widespread closed loops.<ref name=Easterbrook />
*''Anastomotic caves'' largely resemble surface braided streams with their passages separating and then meeting further down drainage. They usually form along one bed or structure, and only rarely cross into upper or lower beds.<ref name=Easterbrook />
*''Spongework caves'' are formed when solution cavities are joined by mixing of chemically diverse water. The cavities form a pattern that is three-dimensional and random, resembling a sponge.<ref name=Easterbrook />
*''Ramiform caves'' form as irregular large rooms, galleries, and passages. These randomized three-dimensional rooms form from a rising water table that erodes the carbonate rock with hydrogen-sulfide enriched water.<ref name=Easterbrook />
*''[[Pit cave]]s'' (vertical caves, potholes, or simply "pits") consist of a vertical shaft rather than a horizontal cave passage. They may or may not be associated with one of the above structural patterns.

==Geographic distribution==
[[Image:Domica Cave 22.jpg|thumb|[[Domica|Domica Cave]] in [[Slovak Karst]] ([[Slovakia]])]]
[[Image:Torhola cave entrance Aug2008.jpg|thumb|An entrance of the Torhola Cave in [[Lohja]] ([[Finland]])]]
[[File:Genga04.jpg|thumb|[[Frasassi Caves]], [[Italy]]]]

Caves are found throughout the world, although the distribution of documented cave system is heavily skewed towards those countries where caving has been popular for many years (such as France, Italy, Australia, the UK, the United States, etc.). As a result, explored caves are found widely in Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania, but are sparse in South America, Africa, and Antarctica.

This is a rough generalization, as large expanses of North America and Asia contain no documented caves, whereas areas such as the [[Madagascar dry deciduous forests]] and parts of [[Brazil]] contain many documented caves. As the world's expanses of soluble bedrock are researched by cavers, the distribution of documented caves is likely to shift. For example, China, despite containing around half the world's exposed limestone—more than {{convert|1000000|km2}}—has relatively few documented caves.

==Records and superlatives==
*The cave system with the ''greatest total length'' of surveyed passage is [[Mammoth Cave]] in [[Kentucky]], US, at {{convert|675.9|km|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NSS-GEO2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.caverbob.com/wlong.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515145704/http://www.caverbob.com/wlong.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=15 May 2006 |title=World's Longest Caves List from The National Speleological Society |date=2022-08-21 |access-date=2023-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=National Park Service |date=September 8, 2022 |title=Mammoth Cave Just Got A Little More "Mammoth" - Mammoth Cave National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/maca/learn/news/mammoth-cave-just-got-a-little-more-mammoth.htm |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>
*The longest surveyed ''underwater cave'', and second longest overall, is [[Sistema Ox Bel Ha]] in [[Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán]], Mexico at {{convert|524.1|km|abbr=on}}.<ref name="CINDAQ">{{cite web|publisher = El Centro Investigador del Sistema Acuífero de Quintana Roo A.C.(CINDAQ)|work = CINDAQ|title = CINDAQ 2022 Annual report|url = https://www.cindaq.org/2022EN | date = January 26, 2023|access-date= February 3, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Reports Archives |url=https://www.cindaq.org/en/tag/reports/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Cindaq |language=en-US}}</ref>
*The ''deepest known cave''—measured from its highest entrance to its lowest point—is [[Veryovkina Cave]] in the [[Abkhazia|Republic of Abkhazia]], with a depth of {{convert|2,204|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=wdeep>{{Cite web |url=http://www.caverbob.com/wdeep.htm |title=World's Deepest Caves List from The National Speleological Society |access-date=2007-08-28 |archive-date=2017-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028083708/http://www.caverbob.com/wdeep.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref> This was the first cave to be explored to a depth of more than {{convert|2000|m|abbr=on}}. (The first cave to be descended below {{convert|1000|m|abbr=on}} was [[Gouffre Berger]] in France.) The [[Sarma, Georgia|Sarma]] and [[Illyuzia-Mezhonnogo-Snezhnaya]] caves in Georgia, ({{convert|1830|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}, and {{convert|1753|m|abbr=on|disp=or}} respectively) are the current second- and third-deepest caves.<ref name=wdeep /> The deepest outside Georgia is [[Lamprechtsofen|Lamprechtsofen Vogelschacht Weg Schacht]] in Austria, which is {{convert|1,623|m|abbr=on}} deep.<ref name=wdeep />
*The ''deepest vertical shaft'' in a cave is {{convert|603|m|abbr=on}} in [[Vrtoglavica Cave]] in [[Slovenia]]. The second deepest is Ghar-e-Ghala at {{convert|562|m|abbr=on}} in the Parau massif near [[Kermanshah]] in [[Iran]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brocklebank|first1=Tony|title=Iranian cavers discover one of the world's deepest shafts|url=http://darknessbelow.co.uk/iranian-cavers-discover-one-of-the-worlds-deepest-shafts/|website=Darkness Below UK|access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>
* The deepest reached by a [[remotely operated underwater vehicle]] in an ''underwater cave'' is {{convert|450|m|ft}}, in the [[Hranice Abyss]] in the [[Czech Republic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.novinky.cz/veda-skoly/clanek/speleologove-namerili-novy-svetovy-rekord-hranicke-propasti-40404594#dop_ab_variant=0&dop_source_zone_name=novinky.sznhp.box&dop_req_id=2dXxsk6iCrC-202208011702&dop_id=40404594&source=hp&seq_no=2| title=Hranice Abyss is believed to be 1200 m. deep (in Czech)| date=August 2022}}</ref>
*The [[Miao Room]] is the world's ''largest known room by volume'', with a measured volume of {{convert|10780000|m3|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NatGeoNews">{{cite news|last=Vergano |first=Dan |date=September 28, 2014 |title=China's "Supercave" Takes Title as World's Most Enormous Cavern |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140927-largest-cave-china-exploration-science/ |work=[[National Geographic News]] |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |accessdate=December 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131062902/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140927-largest-cave-china-exploration-science |archivedate=January 31, 2017 }}</ref> The ''largest known room by surface'' is [[Sarawak Chamber]], in the [[Gunung Mulu National Park]] ([[Miri]], [[Sarawak]], [[Borneo]], [[Malaysia]]), a sloping, boulder strewn chamber with an area of {{convert|154500|m2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NatGeoNews" /> The largest room in a [[show cave]] is the [[La Verna cave|Salle de la Verna]] in the French [[Pyrenees]].
*The ''largest passage'' ever discovered is in the [[Son Doong Cave]] in [[Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park]] in [[Quảng Bình Province]], [[Vietnam]]. It is {{convert|4.6|km|mi|abbr=on}} in length, {{convert|80|m|ft|abbr=on}} high and wide over most of its length, but over {{convert|140|m|ft|abbr=on}} high and wide for part of its length.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Owen
| first = James
| title = World's Biggest Cave Found in Vietnam
| work = National Geographic News
| publisher = [[National Geographic Society]]
| date = 2009-07-04
| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090727132344/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = July 27, 2009
| access-date =2009-07-29}}</ref>
*The highest surveyed cave in the world is [[Qaqa Mach'ay]] in the Peruvian Andes at an elevation of 4930m above sea level.<ref>Pumacocha 2004 Expedition Report</ref> Subsequent GPS measurements suggest this is understated.
===Five longest surveyed===
{{for|more|List of longest caves}}
# [[Mammoth Cave]], [[Kentucky]], US<ref name="NSS-GEO2" />
# [[Sistema Ox Bel Ha]], Mexico<ref name="NSS-GEO2" />
# [[Sistema Sac Actun]]/[[Sistema Dos Ojos]], Mexico<ref name="NSS-GEO2" />
# [[Jewel Cave]], [[South Dakota]], US<ref name="NSS-GEO2" />
# [[Shuanghedong Cave Network]], [[China]]<ref name="NSS-GEO2" />

==Ecology==
{{Main|Biospeleology}}
[[File:townsends in music hall.jpg|thumb|[[Townsend's big-eared bat]]s in a cave in California]]
[[File:Proteus anguinus Postojnska Jama Slovenija.jpg|thumb|[[Olm]]s in a Slovenian cave]]
Cave-inhabiting animals are often categorized as [[troglobite]]s (cave-limited species), [[troglophile]]s (species that can live their entire lives in caves, but also occur in other environments), [[trogloxene]]s (species that use caves, but cannot complete their life cycle fully in caves) and accidentals (animals not in one of the previous categories). Some authors use separate terminology for aquatic forms (for example, [[stygobite]]s, [[stygophile]]s, and [[stygoxene]]s).

Of these animals, the troglobites are perhaps the most unusual organisms. Troglobitic species often show a number of characteristics, termed troglomorphic, associated with their adaptation to subterranean life. These characteristics may include a loss of pigment (often resulting in a pale or white coloration), a loss of eyes (or at least of optical functionality), an elongation of appendages, and an enhancement of other senses (such as the ability to sense vibrations in water). Aquatic troglobites (or stygobites), such as the endangered [[Alabama cave shrimp]], live in bodies of water found in caves and get nutrients from detritus washed into their caves and from the feces of bats and other cave inhabitants. Other aquatic troglobites include cave fish, and [[cave salamander]]s such as the [[olm]] and the [[Texas blind salamander]].

[[Cave insects]] such as ''Oligaphorura'' (formerly ''Archaphorura'') ''schoetti'' are troglophiles, reaching {{convert|1.7|mm}} in length. They have extensive distribution and have been studied fairly widely. Most specimens are female, but a male specimen was collected from [[St Cuthberts Swallet]] in 1969.

[[Bat]]s, such as the [[gray bat]] and [[Mexican free-tailed bat]], are trogloxenes and are often found in caves; they forage outside of the caves. Some species of [[cave cricket]]s are classified as trogloxenes, because they roost in caves by day and forage above ground at night.

Because of the fragility of cave ecosystems, and the fact that cave regions tend to be isolated from one another, caves harbor a number of endangered species, such as the [[Tooth cave spider]], [[Liphistiidae|liphistius trapdoor spider]], and the gray bat.

Caves are visited by many surface-living animals, including humans. These are usually relatively short-lived incursions, due to the lack of light and sustenance.

Cave entrances often have typical florae. For instance, in the eastern temperate United States, cave entrances are most frequently (and often densely) populated by the bulblet fern, ''[[Cystopteris bulbifera]]''.

==Archaeological and cultural importance==
[[File:SantaCruz-CuevaManos-P2210651b.jpg|thumb|[[Cueva de las Manos]], [[Perito Moreno, Santa Cruz|Perito Moreno]], [[Argentina]]. The art in the cave is dated between 7,300 BC and 700 AD;{{Efn|The UNESCO dates the art to 13,000–9,000 [[Before Present|BP]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=World Heritage Sites: a Complete Guide to 1007 UNESCO World Heritage Sites |date=2014 |publisher=[[UNESCO Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-77085-640-0 |edition=6th |page=607 |oclc=910986576}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |title=Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/936/ |url-status=live |access-date=2021-04-07 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en |archive-date=2021-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414171517/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/936}}</ref>|name=UNESCO}} stenciled, mostly left hands are shown.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Art & Place: Site-Specific Art of the Americas. |date=2013 |publisher=[[Phaidon Press]] |editor-last1=Renshaw |editor-first1=Amanda |isbn=978-0-7148-6551-5 |pages=354–355 |oclc=865298990 }}</ref><ref name=":92">{{cite book |last1=Podestá |first1=María Mercedes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NuG-pvgnd6IC&dq=%22Cueva+de+las+Manos%22+left+hand&pg=PA11 |title=El arte rupestre de Argentina indígena: Patagonia |last2=Raffino |first2=Rodolfo A. |last3=Paunero |first3=Rafael Sebastián |last4=Rolandi |first4=Diana S. |publisher=Grupo Abierto Communicaciones |year=2005 |isbn=978-987-1121-16-8 |language=es |access-date=2021-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029010950/https://www.google.co.uk/gen_204?s=web&t=aft&atyp=csi&ei=10l7Ye-DE4K60PEP6uey8A8&rt=wsrt.491,aft.4960,prt.2585&imn=26&ima=10&imad=9&aftp=18869&bl=TGeo |archive-date=2021-10-29 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Taino petroglyph in cave.jpg|thumb|[[Taíno people|Taíno]] [[petroglyph]]s in a cave in Puerto Rico]]

People have made use of caves throughout history. The earliest human [[fossil]]s found in caves come from a series of caves near Krugersdorp and Mokopane in South Africa. The cave sites of [[Sterkfontein]], [[Swartkrans]], [[Kromdraai]] B, [[Drimolen]], [[Malapa]], Cooper's D, Gladysvale, Gondolin and Makapansgat have yielded a range of early human species dating back to between three and one million years ago, including ''[[Australopithecus africanus]]'', ''[[Australopithecus sediba]]'' and ''[[Paranthropus robustus]]''. However, it is not generally thought that these early humans were living in the caves, but that they were brought into the caves by carnivores that had killed them.

The first early hominid ever found in Africa, the [[Taung Child]] in 1924, was also thought for many years to come from a cave, where it had been deposited after being predated on by an eagle. However, this is now debated (Hopley et al., 2013; Am. J. Phys. Anthrop.). Caves do form in the dolomite of the Ghaap Plateau, including the Early, Middle and Later Stone Age site of [[Wonderwerk Cave]]; however, the caves that form along the escarpment's edge, like that hypothesised for the Taung Child, are formed within a secondary limestone deposit called [[tufa]]. There is numerous evidence for other early human species inhabiting caves from at least one million years ago in different parts of the world, including ''[[Homo erectus]]'' in China at [[Zhoukoudian]], ''[[Homo rhodesiensis]]'' in South Africa at the Cave of Hearths ([[Makapansgat]]), ''[[Homo neanderthalensis]]'' and ''[[Homo heidelbergensis]]'' in Europe at [[Archaeological Site of Atapuerca]], ''[[Homo floresiensis]]'' in Indonesia, and the [[Denisovans]] in southern Siberia.

In southern Africa, early modern humans regularly used sea caves as shelter starting about 180,000 years ago when they learned to exploit the sea for the first time.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marean |first1=Curtis W. |last2=Bar-Matthews |first2=Miryam |last3=Bernatchez |first3=Jocelyn |first4=Erich |last4=Fisher |first5=Paul |last5=Goldberg |first6=Andy I. R. |last6=Herries |first7=Zenobia |last7=Jacobs |first8=Antonieta |last8=Jerardino |first9=Panagiotis |last9=Karkanas |first10=Tom |last10=Minichillo |first11=Peter J. |last11=Nilssen |first12=Erin |last12=Thompson |first13=Ian |last13=Watts |first14=Hope M. |last14=Williams |date=2007 |title=Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=449 |issue=7164 |pages=905–908 |doi=10.1038/nature06204|pmid=17943129 |bibcode=2007Natur.449..905M |s2cid=4387442 |url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/15550/files/PAL_E2962.pdf }}</ref> The oldest known site is PP13B at [[Pinnacle Point]]. This may have allowed rapid expansion of humans out of Africa and colonization of areas of the world such as Australia by 60–50,000 years ago. Throughout southern Africa, Australia, and Europe, early modern humans used caves and rock shelters as sites for rock art, such as those at [[Giant's Castle]]. Among the known sacred caves are China's Cave of a Thousand Buddhas<ref>{{cite book|last=Olsen|first=Brad|title=Sacred Places Around the World: 108 Destinations|year=2004|publisher=CCC Publishing|isbn=9781888729160|page=16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FS40w2nrqQC&q=sacred%20caves&pg=PA16}}</ref> and the [[sacred caves of Crete]].
[[File:Ghamari cave (2).jpg|thumb|Archaeological excavations in the Middle Paleolithic cave site of the Ghamari Cave, 2025]]
Paleolithic [[cave paintings]] have been found throughout the world dating from 64,800 years old for non-figurative art<ref name="Hoffmann2018">{{cite journal |author1=D. L. Hoffmann |author2=C. D. Standish |author3=M. García-Diez |author4=P. B. Pettitt |author5=J. A. Milton |author6=J. Zilhão |author7=J. J. Alcolea-González |author8=P. Cantalejo-Duarte |author9=H. Collado |author10=R. de Balbín |author11=M. Lorblanchet |author12=J. Ramos-Muñoz |author13=G.-Ch. Weniger |author14=A. W. G. Pike |year=2018 |title=U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art |journal=Science |volume=359 |issue=6378 |pages=912–915 |bibcode=2018Sci...359..912H |doi=10.1126/science.aap7778 |pmid=29472483 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=10498/21578}} "we present dating results for three sites in Spain that show that cave art emerged in Iberia substantially earlier than previously thought. Uranium-thorium (U-Th) dates on carbonate crusts overlying paintings provide minimum ages for a red linear motif in La Pasiega (Cantabria), a hand stencil in [[Cave of Maltravieso|Maltravieso (Extremadura)]], and red-painted speleothems in Ardales (Andalucía). Collectively, these results show that cave art in Iberia is older than 64.8 thousand years (ka). This cave art is the earliest dated so far and predates, by at least 20 ka, the arrival of modern humans in Europe, which implies Neandertal authorship."</ref> and 43,900 years old for figurative art.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aubert |first=M. |display-authors=et al. |date=11 December 2019 |title=Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art. |journal=Nature |volume=576 |issue=7787 |pages=442–445 |bibcode=2019Natur.576..442A |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1806-y |pmid=31827284 |s2cid=209311825|hdl=10072/397337 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

==Caves and acoustics==
[[File:Grotta azzurra.capri.JPG|thumb|[[Blue Grotto (Capri)|Blue Grotto]], [[Capri]], [[Italy]]]]

The importance of sound in caves predates a modern understanding of acoustics. Archaeologists have uncovered relationships between paintings of dots and lines, in specific areas of resonance, within the caves of Spain and France, as well as instruments depicting paleolithic motifs,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fazenda |first1=Bruno |title=Cave acoustics in prehistory: Exploring the association of Palaeolithic visual motifs and acoustic response |journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |date=September 11, 2017 |volume=142 |issue=1332 |pages=1332–1349 |doi=10.1121/1.4998721 |pmid=28964077 |bibcode=2017ASAJ..142.1332F |doi-access=free }}</ref> indicators of musical events and rituals. Clusters of paintings were often found in areas with notable acoustics, sometimes even replicating the sounds of the animals depicted on the walls. The human voice was also theorized to be used as an echolocation device to navigate darker areas of the caves where torches were less useful.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Whipps |first1=Heather |title=Turns out, cavemen loved to sing |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25516181/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/turns-out-cavemen-loved-sing/#.XpOWOi-ZN-U |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522022117/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25516181/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/turns-out-cavemen-loved-sing#.XpOWOi-ZN-U |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 May 2015 |date=July 3, 2008}}</ref> Dots of red ochre are often found in spaces with the highest resonance, where the production of paintings was too difficult.<ref>{{cite news |title=Music Went With Cave Art In Prehistoric Caves |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080704130439.htm |date=July 5, 2008 |ref=American Institute of Physics}}</ref>

Caves continue to provide usage for modern-day explorers of acoustics. Today [[Cumberland Caverns]] provides one of the best examples for modern musical usages of caves. The caves are utilized not only for reverberation, but for the dampening qualities of their abnormal faces as well. The irregularities in the walls of the Cumberland Caverns diffuse sounds bouncing off the walls and give the space an almost recording studio-like quality.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farmer |first1=Blake |title=Cumberland Caverns: A Subterranean Concert Venue In Tennessee |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/08/11/431512181/cumberland-caverns-a-subterranean-concert-venue-in-tennessee |date=August 11, 2015}}</ref> During the 20th century musicians began to explore the possibility of using caves as locations as clubs and concert halls, including the likes of [[Dinah Shore]], [[Roy Acuff]], and [[Benny Goodman]].{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Unlike today, these early performances were typically held in the mouths of the caves, as the lack of technology made depths of the interior inaccessible with musical equipment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parton |first1=Chris |title=Why Brandi Carlile, Steve Earle and More Are Performing in a Tennessee Cave |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/why-brandi-carlile-steve-earle-and-more-are-performing-in-a-tennessee-cave-629847/ |website=RollingStone |date=4 June 2018 |access-date=June 4, 2018}}</ref> In [[Luray Caverns]], Virginia, a functioning [[organ (music)|organ]] has been developed that generates sound by mallets striking stalactites, each with a different pitch.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm1_aCjrC5o | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211124/vm1_aCjrC5o| archive-date=2021-11-24 | url-status=live|title=Real Live Cave Music: Marvel at the World's Largest Instrument | website=[[YouTube]]| date=3 February 2016|access-date=May 5, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col}}
* {{annotated link|Cave gate}}
* {{annotated link|Subterranean waterfall}}
* {{annotated link|Caving}}
* {{annotated link|Caving organizations}}
* {{annotated link|Cenote}}
* {{annotated link|Grotto}}
* {{annotated link|List of caves}}
* {{annotated link|Outline of caves}}
* {{annotated link|Pit cave}}
* {{annotated link|Speleology}}
* {{annotated link|Speleothem}}
* {{annotated link|Subterranean river}}
* {{annotated link|Underground lake}}
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Caves}}
{{Wikivoyage|Caves|Caves|travel information}}
{{Americana Poster}}

{{Caves}}
{{Subterranea}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Caves| ]]
[[Category:Erosion landforms]]
[[Category:Fluvial landforms]]