cave systems
Subterranean passage complexes
Cave systems are networks of interconnected underground chambers and passages, typically formed by water dissolving rock over geological time.
The term emphasizes extent and complexity—a single cave is a hole; a cave system may run for miles with multiple entrances, levels, and branches.
Explorers mapped the cave system over several expeditions.
Such systems often contain unique ecosystems adapted to perpetual darkness.
- stalactiteHanging cave mineral deposit
- batsFlying nocturnal mammals
- cenoteLimestone sinkhole revealing groundwater
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- karstEroded soluble rock terrain
sump · speleology · flowstone · rock formations · lava tube · dripstone · water table · aquifer · caving · underground river · underground lake · guano · salamanders · damp · conservation · mapping · rescue team · formations
- cavescaves, caverns, grotto, grottos, grottoes
- Southeast AsiaVietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia
- coastal featuresshore, coast, beach, bay, cliff
- habitatsforest, ocean, lake, river, pond
- KentuckyLouisville, Lexington, Frankfort, Kentucky Derby, bourbon
- undergroundunderground, subterranean, tunnels, tunnel, underground passages
cave systemsmountain peaks
Highest elevations of ranges
mountaintops · summits · highlands · hilltops · sky
cave systemsopen plains
Broad, flat, treeless terrain
open sky · wide open spaces · prairies · savannas · steppes
cave, system, cavity, systematic, cavern