Cave | Definition, Formation, Types, & Facts | Britannica
2024年11月15日 · Cave, natural opening in the earth large enough for human exploration. Such a cavity is formed in many types of rock and by many processes. The largest and most common caves are those formed by chemical reaction between circulating groundwater and bedrock composed of limestone or dolomite.
cave - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
A cave is a natural hollow space under the ground that has an opening large enough for a person to enter. Caves range in size from tiny passages to huge systems of connected “rooms” and tunnels. The world’s longest cave system is Mammoth Cave, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is more than 350 miles (560 kilometers) long.
Cave - Solution, Erosion, Formations | Britannica
2024年11月15日 · Most solution caves form at relatively shallow depths (from a few tens of metres to 1,000 metres) by the action of water rich in carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3) derived from recent rainfall. Some solution caves, however, appear to have been formed by deep-seated waters such as oil field brines.
Cave - Geomorphology, Solution, Formations | Britannica
2024年11月15日 · Branchwork caves develop where there are multiple inlets, each at the head of one of the tributary branches. Network caves are formed where flows are controlled by diffuse inlets; flow velocities remain low and solutional erosion takes place along all possible joint openings. A network cave is the underground equivalent of a swamp.
Cave - Formations, Ecosystems, Geology | Britannica
2024年11月15日 · There are three broad categories of sedimentary material found in caves: clastic sediments carried in by streams and infiltrated from the surface; blocks, slabs, and fragments of breakdown derived from the local bedrock; and chemical sediments deposited in the cave by percolating waters.
cave - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
A cave is any natural opening in the earth that is large enough for a human to enter. Caves are also known as caverns, but sometimes that term is reserved for large underground chambers. Caves are found throughout the world.
cave summary | Britannica
cave, Naturally formed underground cavity. A cave often consists of a number of underground chambers, constituting a series of caverns. An assemblage of such caverns interconnected by smaller passageways makes up a cave system.
Stalactite and stalagmite | Cave formations, Limestone caves ...
A drop on the tip of a growing stalactite leaves a deposit only around its rim. Downward growth of the rim makes the tube. The simplest stalactite form, therefore, is a thin-walled stone straw, and these fragile forms may reach lengths of 0.5 m (20 inches) or more where air currents have not seriously disturbed the growth.
Cave - Volcanic, Tectonic, Formations | Britannica
2024年11月15日 · Cave - Volcanic, Tectonic, Formations: Caves of various types and sizes occur where volcanic rocks are exposed. These are caves formed by flowing lava and by the effects of volcanic gases rather than by dissolution of the bedrock.
Sea cave | Coastal Erosion, Marine Ecosystems & Marine Life
Sea cave, cave formed in a cliff by wave action of an ocean or lake. Sea caves occur on almost every cliffed headland or coast where the waves break directly on a rock cliff and are formed by mechanical erosion rather than the chemical solution process that …