Cave

an underground chamber. Generally speaking it may be said that soaking, trickling, and running waters form caves by dissolving and removing rock material around some crack or fissure. In case of sandstone the cement is dissolved, and the stone falls into sand easily carried away. In limestone caves practically the same action takes place. Lava caves are due to the action of gas. Such are found near Naples, and in Iceland and Hawaii. For a basalt cave, see FINGAL'S CAVE. The Peak cave in Derbyshire, England, is half a mile in length and 600 feet below the surface. It is noted for marble formations in the form of cascades and trees. The deepest cave known is that of Frederikshall, Norway, 11,000 feet below the surface. Many of the European caves contain remains of the cave dwellers, the cave bear, the cave hyena, and of elephants all well preserved in deposits of lime. One of the most remarkable cave regions of the world is the limestone basin of the Ohio Valley. The various passageways of Wyandotte Cave in Crawford County, Indiana, have a total length of twenty-three miles. One stalagmite, called the Pillar of the Constitution, is 75 feet in circumference and 30 feet high. Monument Mountain is 175 feet high; and 75 feet overhead again is a vaulted dome, so lofty are some of the passages. See Mammoth Cave; Stalactite