What is a cave? A cave is an underground place large enough for a human to enter. The formation and development of caves is known as speleogenesis, which can occur over millions of years. Caves are formed by various geological processes and can vary in size. These can involve a combination of chemical processes, water erosion, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure and atmospheric influences. Isotopic dating techniques can be applied to cave sediments to determine the time scale on which geological events may have occurred and contributed to forming and shaping today's caves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay How exactly are caves formed? Caves are formed by the dissolution of limestone. Rainwater picks up carbon dioxide from the air and, when it seeps into the ground, turns into a weak acid. This slowly dissolves limestone along joints, bedding planes, and fractures, some of which enlarge enough to form caves. In some cases, there are objects called stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites are attached to the ceiling and stalagmites to the ground. A stalactite is a slender structure hanging like an icicle from the roof of a cave, formed from calcium salts deposited by flowing water. A stalagmite is a mound or tapering column rising from the bottom of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by drops of water and often uniting with a stalactite. The estimated maximum depth of a cave cannot exceed 3,000 meters or 9,800 feet due to the estimated maximum depth of a cave. pressure of overlying rocks. For karst caves, the maximum depth is determined based on the lower limit of karst formation processes, coinciding with the base of soluble carbonate rocks. Most caves are formed in limestone by dissolution. Caves are also classified in a variety of other ways, including active or relic. Active caves will have water flowing through them, unlike relic caves, although water may be retained there. Types of active caves include entrance caves, exit caves, and through caves. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Although caves are found worldwide only a small portion of them have been explored. Documented cave systems have been oriented toward countries where caving has been popular, such as France, Italy, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As global expanses of soluble bedrock have been studied, the distribution of documented caves is likely to change. For example, China contains about half of the world's exposed limestone, but has very few documented caves. Works Cited Hill, CA (2016). A Beginner's Guide to Cave Diving: A step-by-step guide for all recreational divers. Independently published. Palmer, A.N. (2015). Cave geology. Dayton, OH: Cave Books. Palmer, AN and Palmer, MV (2015). Caving: The study of caves. Dayton, OH: Cave Books. Schwartz, B.F. and Schwartz, HR (2018). Born to be Wild: The Caves and Karst of Texas. University of Texas Press. White, W. B. (2016). Karst hydrology: concepts of the mammoth cave region. CRC Press. Culver, D.C. and Pipan, T. (2019). The biology of caves and other underground habitats. Oxford University Press. National Society of.