A
cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human
to enter. The formation and development of caves is known as
speleogenesis. Caves are formed by various geologic processes. These may
involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion from water,
tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, atmospheric influences, and
even digging. Most caves are formed in limestone by dissolution.
The cave system with the greatest total length of surveyed passage is
Mammoth Cave (Kentucky, USA) at 591 kilometres (367 miles) in length.
The longest surveyed underwater cave is the Ox Bel Ha Cave System in
Yucatán, Mexico at 180 km (110 miles). The deepest known cave (measured
from its highest entrance to its lowest point) is Voronya Cave
(Abkhazia), with a depth of 2,191 metres (7,188 ft). This was the first
cave to be explored to a depth of more than 2 kilometres (1.2 miles).
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