Kevin Bradshaw, age 11, of mooresville, Ind., for his question:
WHAT IS A SPELEOLOGIST?
When you mention the word speleology, you're talking about caves. The most extensive system of caves in the world is found at Mammoth Cave national Park in kentucky. It was discovered in 1799. Dr. John Wilcox and a group of explorers on Sept. 9, 1972, completed a connection between the Flint Ridge Cave system and the Mammoth Cave system, making a combined system with a mapped passageway 157 miles long.
Speleology is a word given to the systematic exploration of caves. A speleologist is a person who is engaged in this type of work.
Cave exploration is popularly called spelunking and those involved have been given the name of spelunkers. And it is a fascinating business! Included is the measuring and mapping of caves and recording information about the fauna and flora found in them. s between 1952 and 1956 of the deepest cave in the United States. At Neffs Canyon Cave in Utah they found it reached down 1,186 feet below its entrance.
The deepest cave in the world is 3,842 feet. It's called the Resea de 1a Pierre Saint Martin, and it is located in the Pyrennes between Spain and France. Second honors go to Gouffre Berger on the Sornin Plateau in Vercors, France. This cave is 3,743 feet deep. Close behind in third spot is Italy's Abisso Michele Gortani, going down 3,018 feet deep.
Spelunkers have discovered that the longest stalactite a column of stone that points downward from the roof of a cave is a wall supported column 195 feet long from roof to floor in the Cueva de Nerja in Spain. The longest free hanging stalactite they have low tensile strength because they are formed of calcium carbonate and never get too long can be seen in the 38 foot example in the Poll on Ionain cave in Ireland.
Speleologists have also come up with a record breaking stalagmite a column of stone that extends from the cave's floor and goes upward. Winner with a height of 98 feet is the La Grande Stalagmite in the Aven Armand cave in France, which was found in 1897.
The world's longest ice caves are the Eisriesenwelt located in Austria. They are 26 miles long.
Holding the record for staying down in a cave for the longest period of time is spelunker Milutin Veljkovic of Yugoslavia. He stayed in the Samnar Cavern, located in the Svrljig Mountains of northern Yugoslavia, for a total of 463 days. He started his stay on June 24, 1969, and emerged from the scientific study on Sept. 30, 1970.