Heavens Below - The Beauty of the Natural Wonders of Caves

Whoever said the underworld was a bad, scary place?! These formerly hidden natural wonders are finally revealing their beauty to those who always thought heaven was someplace above.

Lets get basic.  A cave is a cavity in rocks large enough for a person to enter.  

Most underground caves are formed by the action of water.  As rainwater seeps downward limestone rock is dissolved, while water flowing along joints and fractures widens them.  Other caves take shape when molten rock solidifies, or are formed from spaces between blocks of fallen rock.

Caverns deep below ground attract explorers and, once they are declared safe, visitors.  They may feature narrow tunnels that open into vast chambers, subterranean rivers and lakes, glittering crystals, and fantastic rock forms.  They are places of wonder and often of spectacular beauty. Many large limestone caves are still growing.

There are so many unbelievably amazing caves systems all over the world, some not even yet discovered, a few of the better known ones are:

Carlsbad Caverns, a world heritage site in New Mexico there are 300 known caves, of which 113 "rooms" comprise a national park.  Formed as acidic rainwater dissolved the Permian limestone, the caves include some of North America's largest.

Sea Cave, carved over centuries by waves and tides, create flowing shapes.

Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia is the worlds largest known single underground chamber, this cave is about 2,300 feet long and 1,300 feet wide, and about 230 feet high.

Maze Cave, also known as Optimistic Cave is a system in Ukraine that has up to 143 miles (230km) of mapped passages that form a dense network on several levels.  

My favourites - probably because they are the only one's that are nearby and can be visited regularly are The Margaret River region here in Western Australia.  They offer visitors some of the most unique and stunning cave experiences in Australia.  Along the spine of the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge and beneath soaring karri forest lie more than 150 caves. These caves belong to a series of complex and fragile karst systems which are landscapes formed by the rapid drainage of water underground. Karst systems are characterised most often by caves, dolines (large holes), blind valleys, sinking streams and springs. The main road that travels along the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge is aptly named Caves Road.

http://vimeo.com/63611049 This is an amazing video on the Devil's Eye Cave (Cave Diving in Florida), really worth a watch.

Here are some pictures from my last visit to the Margaret River Cave systems and I think you will agree that they are indeed stunning to look at, but so much better in 'real life'.