Cyclopaedia 34: Caves

Welcome to Cyclopaedia 34: CavesCyclopaedia is a monthly article on the InnRoads Ministries website. I have been researching for a future D&D campaign set in the Underdark. As part of that research, I wanted to better understand real world caves, their geology, and the life within them. I have visited numerous caves in the US as a tourist and been spelunking in two as a student scientist so I had some familiarity with caves. But, digging deep into these underground worlds has filled me with fascinating scientific information and mythological conjecture that expanded into this month’s Cyclopaedia. So go grab your head lamp and let’s step together into the dark and no always silent world below our feet.

If you have questions about this article or topics you would like me to consider researching for future Cyclopaedia articles, please leave a comment below.


Overview

Caverns. Sinkholes. Karst regions. Underground rivers. Subterranean worlds. Caves. What do you think of when you hear those terms? Spelunking? Mining? Absolute Darkness? Rock passages? Cold? Stalactites? Stalagmites? Bats? Blind Fish? Insects? Guano?

Caves fascinate and scare us. They are a world unlike our sunlit land we live in. From shallow caves used for paintings and dwellings, to massive tunnels delving deep below the surface of the earth, writers, scientists, and explorers are drawn to these subterranean worlds.

Horror and myth tell of unspeakable monsters and evil civilizations that live in the deep dark below. Speleology, speleogenesis, speleomorphology, and speleofauna ponder the creation and life of caves, studying the unique and wonderous animals, plants, fungi, and geology like nothing seen upon the surface. Spelunkers yearn to go deeper and further, to find what is around that next rock formation. Cave divers dare to explore both caves and the depths of subterranean rivers and lakes. Authors ponder what life and civilizations would be like in sunless, silent worlds.

Whether you are interested in bats, rare crystals, dwarven cities, goblin lairs, or a trail to the center of the earth, caves provide so much to explore and learn. Have you had a chance to visit a cave? The experience will alter your perception and appreciation of the sunlit lands we live in.

Can you mentally stand up to the absolute darkness and uneasy quiet punctuated by the faint drips of water for long?

Types of Caves

Caves are categorized based on their formation, with Solutional Caves being the most common. The other types are:

• Anchialine Cave
• Corrasional or Erosional Cave
• Fracture Cave
• Glacier Cave
• Littoral or Sea Cave
• Primary Cave
• Talus Cave

Following are sources of information pertaining to Caves to assist prospective game masters, game designers, writers, and storytellers in knowing where to start their research.

ARTICLES

The little known impact of bats and bat guano in the late stages of cave morphology
By Philippe, Audra
Source: Milestones and challenges in karstology Str. 14

National Speleological Society
http://caves.org/

BOOKS

Adventure is Underground
By Halliday, William

Beneath the Mountains
By Rose, David and Gregson, Richard

Beyond Mammoth Cave: A Tale of Obsession in the World’s Longest Cave
By Borden, James D.

Beyond the Deep: The Deadly Descent into the World’s Most Treacherous Cave
By Stone, William

The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats
By Culver, David C.

Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Cave on Earth
By Tabor, James M.

Cave Biology: Life in Darkness
By Romero, Aldemaro

Cave Geology
By Palmer, Art

Cave Minerals of the World
By Hill, Carol A.

Cave: Nature and Culture (Earth)
By Crane, Ralph and Fletcher, Lisa

Caverns Measureless to Man
By Exley, Sheck

Caves: Exploring Hidden Realms
By Taylor, Michael Ray

Caving: The Sierra Club Guide to Spelunking
By Larson, Peggy

The City of Ember
By DuPrau, Jeanne

Dark Elf Trilogy (Homeland/Exile/Sojourn)
By Salvatore, R.A.

The Darkness Beckons: The History and Development of Cave Diving
By Farr, Martyn and Stone, Bill

Depths of the Earth
By Halliday, William

Encyclopedia of Caves
By Culver, David C.

Entering the Stone: On Caves and Feeling Through the Dark
By Hurd, Barbara

Escape the Underdark: An Endless Quest Book
By Forbeck, Matt

Great Caves of the World
By Waltham, Tony

The Jewel Cave Adventure
By Conn, Herb and Jan

Journey to the Center of the Earth
By Verge, Jules

Les Abimes
By Martel, Édouard-Alfred

The Longest Cave
By Brucker, Roger W.

The Magic School Bus in the Bat Cave
By Lane, Jeanette

The Mines of Moria (Middle Earth Quest, No. 3)
By Mathews, Susan

The Oldest Enigma of Humanity: The Key to the Mystery of the Paleolithic Cave Paintings
By Bertrand, David

Spelology Caves and the Cave Environment
By Moore, George W.

Subterranean Climbers
By Chevalier, Pierre

Ten Years Under the Earth
By Casteret, Norbert

Underwater Potholer: A Cave Diver’s Memoirs
By Price, Duncan M.

Underground Worlds (Planet earth)
By Jackson, Donald Dale

Underground Worlds: A Guide to Spectacular Subterranean Places
By Farley, David

Vampire Bats, Giant Insects, and Other Mysterious Animals of the Darkest Caves
By Rodriguez, Ana Maria

GAMES

A0-4: Against the Slave Lords – RPG
A1-4: Scrouge of the Slave Lords – RPG
Above & Below – Tabletop Game
Catacombs: Cavern of Soloth – Tabletop Game
The Cave – Tabletop Game
The Cave – Video Game
Caverna: The Cave Farmers – Tabletop Game
Colossal Cave – Video Game
Colossal Cave: The Board Game – Tabletop Game
Dig Dug – Video Game
Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark – RPG
Drow of the Underdark – RPG
Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide – RPG
Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue – RPG
Menzoberranzan The Famed City of the Drow – RPG
Moria – RPG
Moria: The Dwarven City – RPG
Ruins of Undermountain – RPG
Small World Underground – Tabletop Game
Spelunker – Video Game
Underdark – RPG
Undermountain – RPG
Vast: The Crystal Caverns – Tabletop Game

CINEMA

Ace in the Hole
As Above, So Below
BBC The Secret Life of Caves
BBC Caves
Catacombs
The Cave
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
The City of Ember
The Descent
Journey Into Amazing Caves
Journey to the Center of the Earth
L’Abisso
Mysterious Life of Caves – NOVA
Mysteries Underground
Sanctum
What Waits Below

LOCATIONS

Batu Caves, Malaysia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves

Cave of Crystals/Naica Mine, Mexico
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Crystals

Derinkuyu, Cappadocia
http://www.cappadociaturkey.net/derinkuyu_underground_city.htm

Eisriesenwelt Cave, Austria
https://www.eisriesenwelt.at/en/

Great Blue Hole, Belize
https://www.belize.com/belize-blue-hole/

Mammoth Cave, USA
https://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm

Orda Cave, Russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orda_Cave

Pindaya Caves, Myanmar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pindaya_Caves

Puerto Princesa Underground River, Mexico
https://ppur.com.ph/

Reed Flute Cave, China
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_Flute_Cave

Sistema Ox Bel Ha
https://www.gue.com/ox-bel-ha-charismatic-mexican-giant

Škocjan Caves, Slovenija
http://www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/en/read/the-skocjan-caves/explore-the-caves

Soon Doong Cave, Vietnam
http://www.sondoongcave.org/

Tham Lod Cave, Thailand
https://mychiangmaitour.com/tham-lod-cave/

Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand
http://www.waitomo.com/Waitomo-Glowworm-Caves/Pages/default.aspx

PEOPLE

Norbert Casteret
Pierre Chevalier
Floyd Collins
Bill Cuddington
Bruno Dressler
Robert de Joly
Guy de Lavaur
Édouard-Alfred Martel
Charles Petit-Didier
Fernand Petzl
Othniel C. Marsh
Henry Fairfield Osborn
Richard Owen
Paul Sereno
Patricia Vickers-Rich
Dong Zhiming


I hope you find these resources informative and inspiring for your adventures, storytelling, or game design.

Stay Creative!

T.R. Knight

( If you would like to save this list of resources as a convenient PDF for later reference, you can find that HERE )

WHO IS T.R. KNIGHT?
He is a freelance editor, proofreader, and writer in the game industry. He is also a Husband and Caregiver to his wife Angie, Father of Twins Emily and Rachel, Gardner and Hobby Chef, and Director of Academic Technology and User Services at Taylor University. You can learn more about T.R. at his blog http://www.thomasrknight.com.

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