What Is A Cave?
A cave is an opening (natural) in
the earth that is big enough to allow entry to a normal sized human
being. They occur with a wide variety of rock types and are caused
by differing geological formations and processes. Caves can range
in size from caves the size of small rooms (like the one that you
will be examining) to the long formations that are miles upon miles
long. The scientific study of caves is called speleology.
Caves have been dated to prehistoric
times. Evidence of early human remains have been found in caves.
Paintings called hieroglyphics have been found in caves and have
been dated back hundreds of thousands of years. Early man of the
Cro-Magnon period, constructed murals on the walls of caves that
depicted everyday life. Caves are one of the earliest forms of
shelter. They were instrumental in the ice age for use of
shelter.
Types of Caves
A simple classification of caves
includes four main types of caves.
• Solution caves are
formed in carbonate and sulfate rocks such as limestone, dolomite
,marble, and gypsum. The action of slow moving ground water,
dissolves the rock and forms tunnels, passages, and caverns. This
is the most common type of cave, and some experts say it’s
the easiest to identify.
• Lava caves are tunnels
or tubes in lava formed when the outer surface of a lava flow cools
and hardens while the molten lava within continues to flow and
eventually drains out through the newly formed tube.
• Sea caves are formed
by the constant action of waves which attacks the weaker portions
of rocks lining the shores of oceans and large lakes. Such caves
testify to the enormous pressures exerted by waves and to the
corrosive power of wave-carried sand and gravel.
• Glacier caves are
formed by melt water which excavates drainage tunnels through the
ice. Of entirely different origin and not to be included in the
category of glacier caves are so-called "ice caves," which usually
are either solution caves or lava caves within which ice forms and
persists through all or most of the year.
How Caves Form
The melt-water streams draining out
along the floor of a glacier cave or the surging, pounding waves at
the mouth of a sea cave offer immediate evidence of the origin of
these caves. Solution caves, however, have always been a source of
wonder to man. How do these extensive, complex, and in some places
beautifully decorated passageways develop?
Solution caves are formed in
limestone and similar rocks by the action of water; they can be
thought of as part of a huge subterranean plumbing system. After a
rain, water seeps into cracks and pores of soil and rock and
percolates beneath the land surface. Eventually some of the water
reaches a zone where all the cracks and pores in the rock are
already filled with water. The term water table refers to the upper
surface of this saturated zone. calcite (calcium carbonate), the
main mineral of limestone, is barely soluble in pure water.
Rainwater, however, absorbs some carbon dioxide as it passes
through the atmosphere and even more as it drains through soil and
decaying vegetation. The water, combining chemically with the
carbon dioxide, forms a weak carbonic acid solution. This acid
slowly dissolves calcite, forms solution cavities, and excavates
passageways. The resulting calcium bicarbonate solution is carried
off in the underground drainage system.
A second stage in cave development
occurs after a lowering of the water table (the water table
normally sinks as the river valleys deepen). During this stage, the
solution cavities are stranded in the unsaturated zone where air
can enter. This leads to the deposition of calcite, which forms a
wide variety of dripstone features.
The chemical process causing
deposition of calcite is the reverse of the process of solution.
Water in the unsaturated zone, which dissolved some calcite as it
trickled down through the limestone above the cave, is still
enriched with carbon dioxide when it reaches the ventilated cave.
The carbon dioxide gas escapes from the water (just as it escapes
from an opened bottle of soda pop). The acidity of the water is
thereby reduced, the calcium bicarbonate cannot remain in solution,
and calcite is deposited as dripstone.
Cave Features
The most familiar types of features
are stalactites and stalagmites. stalactites hang downward from the
ceiling and are formed as drop after drop of water slowly trickles
through cracks in the cave roof. As each drop of water hangs from
the ceiling, it loses carbon dioxide and deposits a film of
calcite. Successive drops add ring below ring, the water dripping
through the hollow center of the rings, until a pendant cylinder
forms. Tubular or "soda straw" stalactites grow in this way; most
are fragile and have the diameter of a drop of water, but some
reach a length of perhaps a yard or more. The large cone-shaped
stalactites begin as these fragile tubes and then enlarge to cones
when enough water accumulates to flow along the outside of the soda
straws. Deposition of calcite on the outside of the tubes, most of
which are near the ceiling and taper downward, results in the
familiar cone shapes.
Stalagmites grow upward from the
floor of the cave generally as a result of water dripping from
overhanging stalactites. A column forms when a stalactite and a
stalagmite grow until they join. A curtain or drapery begins to
form on an inclined ceiling when the drops of water trickle along a
slope. Gradually a thin sheet of calcite grows downward from the
ceiling and hangs in decorative folds like a drape. Sheets of
calcite that are deposited on the walls or floor by flowing water
are called flowstone. Rimstone dams are raised fence-like deposits
of calcite on the cave floor that form around pools of water.
Rock material produced by the
collapse of the ceiling or walls of a cave is called breakdown and
may range in size from plates and chips to massive blocks. Most
breakdown present in caves today appears to have occurred thousands
of years ago. It is generally associated with the early history of
cave development.
CAUTION
You DO NOT have to enter this cave
to log this Earthcache. If you do so, it is at your own risk. I
entered the cave while exploring the area and I was not alone while
doing so. Please bring a flashlight and a spare!
Here are some things to keep in
mind!
•Always tell someone where you
are going and when you can be expected to return; obtain permission
from the owner of the cave for the visit.
•Never enter a cave alone.
•Always carry several sources
of light; do not depend solely on flashlights.
•Make sure you have proper
equipment in good working condition.
•Never go beyond your physical
and technical capabilities.
•Meet with knowledgeable and
experienced cavers.
What you must do to log this
Earthcache:
1. Based on the description, what
type of cave do you think this is?
2. How many openings are present on
the cave?
3. What type of rock is the cave
composed of?
4. (Optional) Take a picture of your
team or your GPS in front of, or inside of the cave
5. (Optional) If you enter the cave,
what is the temperature difference like?
This is said to be the cave of Silas
Doty. According to the Hillsdale Historic Society, "He was nice in
a sneaky way. His neighbors would ask to borrow something and
Silas, the nice guy he was, would make sure he got it by stealing
it from another person. He had started out small and then
eventually began stealing bigger things. Doty began stealing the
fastest racehorses and hiding them in a cave in Pittsford's own
Lost Nations (one of the best game areas around). Then he stole
people's money and it was said he would even kill for it.
When Doty was 51 years old, he found
himself in Jackson Prison for 17 years. He later announced that
prison was his home. That was the truth. Doty even stole from his
some of his cell mates and gave the loot as presents to other
prisoners.
It is also said that if you go to
his cave at night you will find a dead fox, and some black walnuts.
If you look real hard you will see the ghost of Silas Doty that is
said to haunt the cave, and he is smiling.
Congrats to Handyman & Fam + T-Hunter69 on the FTF from
Ohio!