"In Praise of Limestone"

2008 Mammoth Caves, Ky.

I found this quote while looking around for karst inspiration. In his article in the Geographical Bulletin, Michael F. Goodchild, PhD in karst geomorphology, McMaster University, quotes poet W.H.Auden: "if there is one landscape that we ... are constantly homesick for, this is chiefly because it dissolves in water." This curious statement will strike a chord instantly with those among us who love a cave (for claustrophobic me, the larger the better.) 

Its reference is to the karst limestone landscape which underlies much of the world, and yields its wonders due to water's action on rock. To create awe-inspiring sculpture, to carve whole worlds below the surface, or to dissolve completely - the magic of karst limestone. It's outside of the scope of my enthusiam to explain karst topology adequately, but here's a workmanlike description thanks to Wikipedia (yes, I donate.)

Here is Auden's poem. I love the lines "a secret system of caves and conduits...springs (t)hat spurt our of everywhere with a chuckle..." That expresses what we felt as we waiting for our tour, in the woods above the river that burbled innocently past.

The cave system was discovered in 1818 by cave lamplighter Luka Cec, who ventured further than the grand cave which his team were preparing (with lighting) for a visit of the Austrian Emperor Franz I. The comment attributed to him: "Here is a new world, here is paradise" pretty much sums it up.

A significant karst landscape stretches from northeastern Italy along the shore of the eastern Adriatic to Kosovo. Part of this region invites the world underground at the magnificent Postonja Caves nature preserve in northern Slovenuia,  

And now we come  to the point of all this rambling. Just recently I was there. The Lubljana Caves are very popular, and brilliantly managed. On a busy May Day Sunday, we were shuttled into and out of the depths by a little yellow train, and led by a guide along the perfectly smooth pathways through the indescribable wonders of the caves. 

As we moved steadily along, it was dificult to stop and fully take in the scene before us. We were in semi-darkness as well, as lighting focussed on specific monumental features. 

This, to explain my less than compelling photos, which obviously don't do the place full justice.

My own area of Ontario features a miniature version, Hell Holes, near Napanee. Sadly, the area closed in 2020 and I haven't heard it has, or will, reopen.   

We discovered that it was aptly named when my mosquito-phobic man and I visited ages ago. We entered the cave paths, joining clouds of mosquitoes that eventually saw Den running pell-mell out of the area, leaving me alone with the bugs who loved me less, and the little rock formations. 

Another, more salubrious journey to the centre of the earth came in Kentucky some years ago, as we returned from a vintage racing event at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham - the historic Mammoth Caves, the longest in the world. This video looks like the tour we took that day.

Here are some other cave wonders of the world, in Mexico, China and Ukraine.

 The ground under our feet is not as solid as we tend to believe. 

As our tour manager Michael said "the earth is beautiful, inside and out."