Comment on Depth of the 10 deepest caves on Earth (2023)
OwOarchist@pawb.social 3 days ago
Interesting … what’s special about that one spot on earth that all 4 of the deepest caves would form there?
Anyway, I imagine this graphic is likely to change in the future, since the deepest parts of caves are often the least well-explored. When I was doing work as a cave explorer, we often did day trips to map parts of the upper cave, but trying to get to the deepest portions involved major multi-day expeditions. To get to the deepest unexplored frontier of one cave I worked in required a 4-day journey, one way.
whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
there’s a note in the middle
OwOarchist@pawb.social 3 days ago
Pretty much all caves are in karst topography. What’s so special about this area in particular?
valtia@lemmy.world 3 days ago
IIRC it’s because the caves start high up in the mountains and are mostly above sea level. Caves that start closer to sea level can’t be as deep, something about the water table. Or at least, we can’t explore caves as easily when they’re full of water. I think those caves in Georgia are mapped up to where the water table is and are theorized to be even deeper