Show cave
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A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits.
Definition
A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to the public for guided visits,[1] where a cave is defined as a natural occurring void beneath the surface of the earth, per the International Show Caves Association.[2]
A show cave may be managed by a government or commercial organization and made accessible to the general public, usually for an entrance fee. Unlike wild caves, they may possess regular opening hours, guided group tours, constructed trails and stairs, color artificial illumination and other lighting,[3] musical/video/laser shows and concerts, elevators, small trains, and boats if they contain underground water features. Some caves (mainly in Asia) open to the public have temples, monasteries and religious statues or monuments. Some caves are visited by millions of tourists annually. [citation needed]
The term is used inconsistently between nations: many countries[
History
The oldest known show cave in the world is probably
The development of
The first cave in the world with electric light bulbs as we know them today was the Kraushöhle in Austria in 1883. But the light was abandoned after only seven years and then visited with carbide lamps for decades. Today the cave is guided with handheld LED lamps. In 1884, two more caves were equipped with electric light, Postojna Cave, Slovenia, and Olgahöhle, Germany.[7]
Because of the unwanted development of
Notable show caves (in alphabetical order)
- Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst,[9] Hungary/Slovakia
- Akiyoshidai Cave, Yamaguchi, Japan
- Hamedan, Iran (largest water cave)
- Angitis, near Prosotsani, Greece (longest underground river cave)
- Atta Cave, Attendorn, Germany
- Aven d'Orgnac, Orgnac-l'Aven, France
- Avshalom Cave (Absalom Cave, Soreq Cave), Israel
- Bacho Kiro cave, near Dryanovo, Bulgaria (the first show cave in Bulgaria inaugurated in 1937)
- Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Bears' Cave, Chişcău village, Bihor County, Romania
- Cuevas de Bellamar, Matanzas, Cuba
- Bing Cave in Bavaria, Germany
- Blanchard Springs Caverns in Arkansas, United States
- Blanche Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia, Australia
- Blue Grotto sea cave, in Biševo island, Dalmatia, Croatia
- Victoria, Australia
- Grottes de Calès, near Lamanon, France
- Cango Caves, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
- Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
- Castellana Caves,[9] near Bari, Italy
- Carlsbad Caverns[9] in New Mexico, United States
- Cascade Caverns, Boerne, Texas, United States
- Cathedral Caves, South Island, New Zealand
- Caverna da Tapagem, in Iporanga, Brazil
- Cave Without a Name, near Boerne, Texas, United States
- Craighead Caverns in Tennessee, United States
- Cross Cave, Slovenia
- Put-In-Bay, Ohio, United States (The world's largest known geode, a celestine geode 35 feet (11 m) in diameter at its widest point)
- Dan yr Ogof in Powys, Wales
- Dechen Cave, Iserlohn, Germany
- Deer Cave, near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
- Alepotrypa cave) with underground river, Pyrgos Dirou, Greece
- Devil's Throat Cave, Western Rhodope Mountains, near Gyovren, Bulgaria
- Dobšiná Ice Cave, Slovakia
- Pol an Ionain) in Doolin, Ireland
- Cuevas del Drach (Dragon Caves) on Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain (with concerts)
- Dupnisa Cave, Kırklareli, Turkey
- Eisriesenwelt, near Salzburg, Austria
- Erdmanns Cave near Lörrach, Germany
- Fantastic Caverns near Springfield, Missouri
- Frasassi Caves, Ancona, Italy
- Grotta Gigante, Trieste, Italy
- Guerrero, Mexico
- Gunns Plains Cave in Tasmania island, Australia
- Coves dels Hams on Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Caves of Han-sur-Lesse (Grottes de Han), Belgium
- Harrison's Cave, Barbados
- Hato Caves, near Willemstad, Curaçao
- Hazrat Daoud pilgrimage cave near Nurobod, Uzbekistan
- Caves of Hercules, Cape Spartel, Morocco
- Horne Lake Caves near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
- Caves of Hotton, Belgium
- Howe Caverns in New York, United States
- Huanglong Cave in Zhangjiajie-Wulingyuan, Hunan, China
- Ingleborough Cave, England
- Inner Space Cavern, Georgetown, Texas, United States
- Jeita Grotto, Lebanon
- Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia (oldest caves, with concerts)
- Kazumura Cave in Kīlauea Hawaiian Islands, United States (the largest and deepest lava tube system)
- Kartchner Caverns State Park near Benson, Arizona, United States
- Koněprusy Caves, Czech Republic
- Kungur Ice Cave in Kungur near Perm, Russia
- Cave of the Lakes, Kastria, Greece
- Lamprechtsofen, near Salzburg, Austria
- Ledenika, near Vratsa, Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria
- Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana, United States
- Linville Caverns in Marion, North Carolina, United States
- Luray Caverns in Virginia, United States
- Magura Cave, near Belogradchik, Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria (with concerts)
- , United States (longest caves system)
- Manjanggul in Jeju Island, South Korea (lava tube)
- Marble Cave, Crimea, Ukraine
- Marble Arch Caves in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
- Mark Twain Cave, near Hannibal, Missouri, United States
- Melissani Cave, underground lake in Cephalonia island, Greece
- Meramec Caverns, near Stanton, Missouri, United States
- Mladeč Caves, Czech Republic
- Moravian Karst, near Blansko, Czech Republic
- Caves of Nahal Me'arot, Wadi el-Mughara (four Caves Creek),[9] near Haifa, Israel
- Natural Bridge Caverns in Comal County, Texas, United States
- Neptune's Grotto sea cave near Alghero in Sardinia, Italy
- Caves of Nerja in Nerja, Málaga, Spain (with concerts)
- New Athos Cave, near New Athos, Georgia (with mini-metro)
- Ohio Caverns in Ohio, United States
- Orlova Chuka Cave, Danubian Plain, near Ruse, Bulgaria
- Galdar on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
- Quang Binh, Vietnam
- Poole's Cavern, England
- Caverne du Pont-d'Arc show cave replica of Chauvet Cave,[9] Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France
- Postojna Cave, Postojna, Slovenia (the longest show cave in Europe and the birthplace of speleobiology; with small trains and concerts)
- Reed Flute Cave (Lúdí Yán), Guilin, Guangxi, China
- Resava Cave, Serbia
- Saeva dupka, Pre-Balkan, near Lovech, Bulgaria
- Scărișoara Cave, Gârda de Sus, Alba County, Romania
- Seven-star Cave (Qīxīng Yán), Guilin, Guangxi, China
- Shaitan-Koba, Crimea, Ukraine
- Skelska Cave, Crimea, Ukraine
- Škocjan Caves,[9] Matavun, Slovenia
- Syrau Drachen Cave, Syrau, Germany
- Smoo Cave, Scotland
- Snezhanka Cave, Rhodope Mountains, near Peshtera, Bulgaria
- Caverns of Sonora, Sonora, Texas, United States
- Cave of El Soplao, Cantabria, Spain
- St. Michael's Cave, Gibraltar (with concerts)
- Tabon Caves, near Quezon, Palawan, Philippines
- Tapolca Caves with underground river, Tapolca, Hungary
- Thiên Đường Cave, Đồng Hới, Vietnam
- Uhlovitsa Cave, Rhodope Mountains, near Smolyan, Bulgaria
- Caves of Valeron, Santa María de Guía de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
- Cueva del Viento, on Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain (the largest lava tube system in Europe)
- Cueva de los Verdes, Haría on Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain (lava tube)
- La Verna cave in Sainte-Engrâce, France (with the largest chamber in a show cave)
- Verteba Cave, Ukraine
- Vilenica Cave, Slovenia (the oldest show cave in Europe)
- VjetrenicaCave, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Vorontsova Cave near Sochi, Russia
- Výpustek Cave, Czech Republic
- Waitomo Caves, New Zealand
- Wonder Cave, San Marcos, Texas, United States
- Wookey Hole Caves, Somerset, England
- cave pearls)
- Zbrašov Aragonite Caves, Czech Republic
See also
- List of caves in Austria
- List of caves in Bulgaria
- List of show caves in Germany
- List of caves in Italy
References
- ^ Jennings Joe N, Cave and Karst Terminology, in Matthews P. G. (ed), Australian Karst Index 1985, ASF Broadway, pp 14.1-13
- ^ Definition of show cave n.d. The International Show Caves Association (I.S.C.A.), accessed 24 July 2017
- ^ "Letter of Recommendation: Show Caves". The New York Times. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ "Sontheimer Höhle". showcaves.com. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Baumannshöhle". showcaves.com. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "First Caves with Electric Light". showcaves.com. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "First Caves with Electric Light". showcaves.com. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Limestone cave can now be seen in a new light". MeteorElectrical.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Subterranean World Heritage List". showcaves.com. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
External links
- International Show Caves Association (I.S.C.A.)
- Show Caves of the World showcaves.com
- United States show caves directory by state goodearthgraphics.com
- US National Caves Association cavern.com
- Show Caves of the World - list List of Show Caves in the World
- Karst and Cave Protection Commission