Mammoth Cave: US | 17 Sep 2021
Why in News
Recently, the official length of Mammoth Cave has been extended to 420 miles.
Key Points
- The additional mileage (8 miles) was mapped and documented by the Cave Research Foundation.
- Mammoth Cave National Park, located in the state of Kentucky (US), has the world's largest network of natural caves and underground passageways, which are characteristic examples of limestone formations (karst topography).
- It is a World Heritage Site (designated in 1981).
- It became an International Biosphere Reserve in 1990.
Karst Topography
- It is a type of landscape where the dissolving of the bedrock has created sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, springs, and other characteristic features.
- Karst is associated with soluble rock types such as limestone, marble, and gypsum.
- In general, a typical karst landscape forms when much of the water falling on the surface interacts with and enters the subsurface through cracks, fractures, and holes that have been dissolved into the bedrock.
- After traveling underground, sometimes for long distances, this water is then discharged from springs, many of which are cave entrances.
