This page is designed to give you a basic understanding on how caves
are formed. The main source of all cave development is water. Some shelter caves
may be developed by wind,  but for all intents and purposes we will talk about caves that
are developed in the limestone layers  of the earth. Limestone is a rock that is highly
souluble in water which is enriched with carbonic acid.  The water comes from rainfall
and when it enters the soil it mixes with plant material where it picks up carbon dioxide.
The mixture of carbon dioxide and water forms a carbonic acid. The carbonic acid
enriched water finds its way into the water table. This can be refered to as ground water.
The ground water finds it's way into tiny pores and cracks in the limestone layer and slowly
begins to dissolve the limestone. As time goes on the pockets and cracks enlarge to
form small chambers in the rock. There are occasions that the water table can create a
hydrostatic pressure which will erode the limestone rock away quicker. As time goes
on the erosion process creates larger crevices and passages for the water to flow in.
More ground water is able to enter the passages and erode away the limestone even
more quickly. The passage grows in size with each rainfall, but this is a slow process.
No one is able to predict how long it takes a cave to form. Some caves are formed faster
than others and this all depends on the geological layout of the area.
Eventually in geologic time passages are formed which are large enough to walk in.
All water that enters a cave must eventually leave the cave at some point due to the underlying
geology of the earth and these areas are called springs or resurgences. The areas where the water
enters the cave are called insurgences.

Passageways come in all shapes and sizes. Some are tight and narrow, while others
can be very low and wide. There are passages that are large enough to drive large trucks
through and there are chambers big enough to put an entire NFL football stadium into.
Each cave is unique to itself with a mixture of different shapes and sizes of passage.
The length  of a cave system is totally determined by the surrounding
geology. There are different names for different types of cave passages. A phreatic
passage, is formed when the passage is completly filled with water and under pressure
during the early development of the cave. Paleotrunk passages are large passages that were
eroded by water but the stream no longer follows them. Canyon passages are passages formed
by downward cutting moving water and the streams are present in these passages during normal
or wet conditions.These passages are generally taller than they are wide. Infeeder stream passages
are smaller stream passages that feed the larger main drainage of the cave. A siphon is an area
of the cave where the ceiling is very low and water usually fills the passage to the ceiling.
Sometimes siphons can be traversed during very dry weather. A near siphon is a place where the
ceiling and the water are very close to each other. These can usually be traversed during normal
conditions but  cannot be traversed during high water. A sump is a downstream terminus to a passage
where the water and ceiling meet. There are very rare conditions which will alow a caver to
pass a sump but these are far and few between. Almost in all cases a sump must be passed
using diving equipment. Cave diving is not the same as scuba diving because it takes special
training and certification to become a cave diver.  One should NEVER attempt cave
diving without proper training!  Even with extreme caution and skills cave diving
is a extreamly dangerous event.  Fatalities have occured even with the most
experienced of cave divers.
Pits are holes or openings in the cave floor which may lead to lower levels
in the cave, and require training in descending and ascending a rope with the proper
equipment. Ascending or descending a rope in a cave enviorment is different than
it's counter parts on the surface. Cave conditions are often wet, muddy and cold.
The enviorment alone is not as friendly to ropes and equipment so therefore it requires
different techniques and gear than one would use on the surface.

Remember every cave has an owner. This does not necessarily mean that they own the
cave but they do own the property which the cave entrance lies on. Entering a cave without
the permission of the landowner is trespassing. Caves are also protected by law whether it be
state or federal, and there are fines imposed on those who would destroy any part of
the cave enviorment.

The motto of a good caver is
to take only pictures, leave only footprints and kill nothing but time.