Creepy-Crawly Cave Dwellers

Creepy-Crawly Cave Dwellers
By: Cave Spelunking

When you first enter a dark and dank cave, it would be easy to think of it as devoid of life. It isn't. Dark, dank caves are places that many creepy-crawly creatures call home, sweet home.

You might expect to see bats hanging (pun intended) around inside a cave but you probably wouldn't expect there to be such an abundance of life.

Scientists study the insects in a cave with great interest. The environment of a cave changes as you descend into the earth. There are three major cave "zones": the entrance zone, the twilight zone, and the dark zone.

Different creatures live in each cave zone. Over millions of years, creatures have evolved that are perfectly suited to not only live, but thrive in caves. The cave zones are distinguished by the amount of sunlight each has. The entrance zone has a lot of light. The twilight zone has much less light, and the dark zone has no light at all.

In the entrance zone of a cave, the creatures and insects that live there can all live either inside the cave or outside the cave. They usually come and go from the cave. Some creatures that live in the twilight zone of the cave can also come and go, but they almost all leave the cave only at night. Those that live deep in the dark zone of the cave never leave the cave. They have evolved to the point that sunlight would be fatal to them. They don't have pigment, and they're blind.

Scientists see caves as "evolution in a bottle," so to speak. There are species of the same insect family that live in each zone of the cave. Each species has developed characteristics that have made life in different levels of the cave possible.

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Cave Spelunking.

Lighting For Caving

Lighting For Caving
By: Cave Spelunking

Caves are dark places. As a matter of fact, you might say that they are the darkest places on — or in — the Earth. The sun never shines in a cave. You have to take your light in with you. Going into a cave without reliable lighting would be foolish, to say the very least. There are safety headlamps, flashlights, torches, emergency strobe lights, and lamps available today for caving. Led, halogen, waterproof, and portable technologies are all used.

Every caver will have his or her own preference for lighting. Mine is the LED. The latest generation of the LED caving lights are really "state of the art" in cave lighting. This latest generation features an incredibly small maintenance-free rechargeable lithium ion battery in an anti-static housing. But there are other choices — lots of them.

Of course, different kinds of lighting are needed for different kinds of caving. Lighting that would be more than sufficient for a decent into a cave on dry land wouldn't be worth anything to cave divers.

For many years the typical recreational dive light consisted of a self-contained light head that contains the power supply and bulb. There would be a handle attached to the light head. Then, to attach the light to the user's wrist, there'd be a lanyard. It was the combination of the parts of a typical recreational dive light that made it basically unsuitable for serious cave divers.

Things have gotten better over the last few years. The new generation of cave-diving lights are made up of a waist-mounted battery canister that's connected by a power cord to a separate, very compact, light head. This newer design allows the use of larger power supplies so cave diving lights can burn brighter and last longer.

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Cave Spelunking.

Cave Formations

Cave Formations
By: Cave Spelunking

There are more than a dozen differently named cave formations. The collective term for all of them is "speleothems," much like the collective term for blooms is "flowers." The best-known cave formations are stalactites and stalagmites.

Stalactites are the icicle shaped rock-like formations that hang from the ceiling of cave chambers. All of them began ages ago with a single drop of water and all of them have a central hallow tube.

Stalagmites might be thought of as the children of stalactites. They are formed by water dripping off of the parent stalactite. Stalagmites are smoother than stalactites, and they don't have a hallow tube at their center.

A column is a speleothem that's formed when the stalagmite grows upward and the parent stalactite grows downward until the two meet and grow together to form a column.

Helictites are another speleothem, and the best minds in the scientific world still can't explain them. They remain a mystery. They look a great deal like a tree root that is growing in all directions in search of water. Helictites are the most delicate and most beautiful of the cave formations.

One of the more interesting speleothem is the Gypsum Flower. Gypsum is a mineral made up of calcium and sulfur. Gypsum forms in the dry areas of the cave. It forms a crust that reflects light and makes it appear to sparkle. Gypsum Flowers are twisted projections that don't require any support. Usually they are about a foot in length. They're very fragile and sometimes fall from their own weight. Native Americans harvested gypsum and used it as paint for their faces and body and also for medical purposes.

All of the apparent magic afforded to modern-day scientists still can't unlock many of the mysterious formations in caves.

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Cave Spelunking.

Cave Spelunking Google Profile

Check Out Cave Spelunking Google Profile
By Cave Spelunking

http://www.google.com/profiles/cavespelunking

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Cave Spelunking.

Alf Bolin's Outlaw Loot

Alf Bolin's Outlaw Loot
By: Cave Spelunking

The treasure isn't buried IN the cave, but it's buried near the cave using the cave entrance as a landmark. At least that's what legend tells us. Alf Bolin was an outlaw who terrorized Missouri and Arkansas in the 1800s. He built a fortune in stolen gold and silver over the years. Obviously, Alf couldn't just deposit his ill-gotten fortune in a bank, so he buried it.

Alf Bolin was a heartless outlaw, and he terrorized the people of Missouri and Arkansas. When he was tricked and killed by a Union soldier masquerading as a sick Confederate soldier, his head was cut off and placed on a pole, and all of Missouri and Arkansas rejoiced. Alf Bolin was only 21 years old when he was killed.

Caves were often used by outlaws in those days as hideouts and as safe resting places. Caves are easily guarded, so they make the perfect place for those who don't want to be found.

Many years ago, a man claiming that he had been told by a member or Bolin's gang where the treasure was hidden, came to a farm in Taney County, Missouri, and talked the farmer into letting him look for the treasure with a promise of dividing the loot when it was found. He didn't find the treasure, and nobody else has either over the years. Still, the rumor persists that there IS treasure and it IS buried near the mouth of the cave on Fox Creek.

Outlaws aren't known for being the most truthful of souls, however. The facts are: Alf Bolin DID steal a lot of gold and silver. He didn't have it with him when he was killed. He was known to hide out in or near the cave on Fox Creek. It stands to reason that the treasure is still buried there waiting to be found.

Rock On & Keep Spelunking...
Cave Spelunking.