Sea Caves

Sea Caves

Sea caves are mostly formed near the coasts. The process by which sea caves occurs is where waves break directly on a rock cliff and essentially erosion occurs, causing the cliff to give way under the force of the waves. This leaves behind supporting pillars and arches. One of the largest concentrations of large sea caves is found on Santa Cruz Island in California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave). A few other examples of sea caves occur at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, they are the Sand Island, Devils Island and Mainland sea caves (http://www.nps.gov/archive/apis/seacaves.htm).

Lava Tube Caves

Lava tube caves form near volcanoes. The process by which they form is when lava flows down the sides of volcanoes during an eruption, the upper layer begins to cool, and the lava beneath continues to flow beneath the surface. This will cause an insulating effect of the hardened lava above, the molten lava is able to travel a great distance underground with very little cooling. When the source of lava is cut off, the lava flows out the end of the tube and leaves a cave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_tube). Two examples of lava tube caves are in Hawaii, they are the Kazumura and Huehue caves (http://www.showcaves.com/english/explain/Speleology/LavaTube.html).

Solution Caves

Solution caves may form anywhere with rock which is soluble, and are most common in limestone. Solution caves are formed by the removal of bedrock by circulating groundwater and by underground streams. The water transports the bulk of the rock material right out of the cave in solution. The action of slowly moving ground water that dissolves the rock forms tunnels, irregular passages, and even large caverns along joints and bedding planes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave). Two examples of solution caves are the Jewel Cave in South Dakota and the Russell Cave in Alabama (http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/caves/tour_solution.htm).