Forming of caverns begins when rainwater absorbs carbon dioxide as it falls through the atmosphere. Rain water must have carbon dioxide to become acidic. It must be acidic to chemically react to the limestone bedrock. Rainwater is absorbed by the soil into the ground. As rainwater comes through the soil it absorbs more carbon dioxide that is being produced by plants that are dead. This changes the ground water to a weaker form of carbonic acid(H2O + CO2 = H2CO3). As it travels down through the ground it comes to solid rock. When the rock is limestone or dolomite, caves can be formed. The water reacts chemically with limestone and falls slowly through the gaps and larger and larger space it will form. This happens because the rocks are made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). This is what you call CHEMICAL EROSION. As the space becomes larger and larger the water can flow through. As it flows it erodes .Sometimes when the water flows through the gaps makes sounding NOISES , from inside the cave when flood water is draining away, mixed with the air. It is similar to flatuence, and its also caused by vibration. PHYSICAL EROSION washes away rock and sand. The biggest erosion is usually on the end of a cave, where the biggest stream goes out. This erosion makes deep shafts, long tunnels and large chambers and it makes a cave larger and larger and forms an underground stream. Finally over hundreds of thousands of years or even millions of years the cave is formed.
Why The Flinstones? People from prehistoric times lived in caves, because there was a safe place and quite stabile temperature environment in any weather. "The last cave people" - ropemakers used to live here until 1915. They lived in cottages built in the massive entrance chamber of this cave. There was about seven houses there. but is no sign of houses in the present. Only the sign of ropemaking, what they used to make for local mines for more than 400 years.
When you walk from the village, around the miner´s cottages, where the road ends, narrow walk starts , the amazing scenery opens up - 280ft high vertical limestone cliffs, with the ruins of Peveril Castle towering above. The cave system , mostly from limestone is the largest in the Peak District and the entrance chamber of the cave is the largest in the Britain. The name of the cave was changed in 1880 during the Queen´s Victoria visit . There is a long tradition to make concerts in the Great concert hall inside the cave. Underground stream flows out of the cave. The walk starts in the Vestibule, continues with the Lumbago Walk to the Great cave with the Orchestra gallery with extraordinary acoustics. In the deepest part you can see a heavenly cascade of water stream at the Roger Rain’s House and next is the Pluto’s Dining Room where in the deep end you can hear the special sounds of the river Styx, while running through the gaps.
Only this part of the cave is open to the public, but the cave system is much longer / about 17 km / and continues through a system of gaps and amazing river tunnels, where sometimes you have to dive under the river to come through. Sometimes tunnels change to a large chambers with magnificent sceneries. The Peak cavern is also connected with the Speedwell cavern . Thanks to further exploration of local cavers was the deepest underground cave shaft in the Britain in the 1999 discovered. It is 464 ft / 141,5m/ deep and leads up from the cave ending on the field above the cave system, close to the Cave dale.
The cache tasks:
To answer don´t need to enter the cave nor shaft !!!
T1 Observe the cave entrance, the largest in Britain. Describe how it looks (colour, shape, texture and general appearance). How do you think it formed?
T2 Which two natural elements react with limestone and how has this helped shape the cave and the deepest cave shaft in Britain? How this reaction is called?
T3 Describe the sounds coming out of the deepest areas of the cave. How is it created?
T4. Send a picture of your GPS in front of the cave /optional/
To read more informations visit: http://en.wikipedia.org
To see more pictures visit: http://www.peakdistrictcaving.info/index.htm