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 Caves
are formed by natural processes that, over millions of years, have sculpted
cavities extending sometimes miles into the earth.
Tunnels nearly too narrow to squeeze through may reach passages that are so wide you cannot even see from one side to the other. Shafts may reach up to let daylight in when you feel like you're miles underground. The floor may drop away at your feet in the darkness.
By studying rock formations in caves, scientists have found clues to geologic events that occurred millions of years ago.
But, as much as caves have given to science, they remain chiefly the domain of amateur explorers. Every year, thousands of cavers explore underground, seeking passages and chambers such as these.
"Imagine a world of near total silence, absolutely without light, of constant temperature and usually without much motion of air or water. That apparent isolation is the cave world to which many living organisms have adapted and by that adaptation have come to depend upon such darkness and quietude. Add to this the exquisite, inanimate, fragile stalactites, stalagmites - even deposits of mud - that have taken centuries to form. We explorers with our lights and noise and fumes and heavy feet are alien intruders. Happily, we can enjoy our visit in little time and then leave the cave world to its own slow, dark tempo - if we are careful. The dilemma of cave exploration is to enjoy our visits to what seems 'another world,' and to leave that world unaltered, unspoiled, for all time."
Rane L. Curl
President National Speleological Society, Ann Arbor
February 1973
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