AUSTRALIAN CAVES AND CAVING was first published in 1972 by Lansdowne Press Pty Ltd, Melbourne. The author, Wolfgang Kahrau, is a foundation member of the Victorian Speleological Association Inc.. VSA was formed in June 1967 by the amalgamation of the Victorian Cave Exploration Society (1957) and the Sub-Aqua Speleological Society (1960). He was the Librarian in the first Committee.
This page is a reproduction of the Glossary of 82 terms which appears on pages 105 to 109 of the Periwinkle Books softcover edition (111 pages). The spelling is exactly as it appears in the book.
Glenn Baddeley
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© Wolfgang Kahrau 1972
| Aven | A vertical shaft rising from a cave or cave system but not reaching the surface, though it may meet an upper passage. |
| Bacon | A thin sheet of dripstone hanging from the roof or wall of a cave, translucent and with alternating coloured bands. |
| Bed | A layer in sedimentary rock. |
| Bedding Plane | A surface separating two beds of rock. |
| Belay | The attachment of a man or a ladder to a securely fixed object. To attach in this manner. |
| Belay Point | Fixed object used in a belay. Belay Rope Rope used to belay. |
| Bioherm | A body of rock built up by, or composed mainly of, sedentary organisms, as corals, algae, molusks, etc. and enclosed or surrounded by rocks of different origin. |
| Blanket | A thicker type of dripstone curtain (bacon) which is not translucent. |
| Blow hole | A hole with a surface origin through which air or sea water blows in and out strongly. |
| Calcite | The most common mineral form of calcium carbonate and the main constituent of limestone. Has different crystal forms in the rhombohedral line. |
| Cave Fill | Transported material such as sand or gravel mud, which covers the bedrock floor or partially or wholly blocks in part of a cave. |
| Cave Group | A number of caves or cave systems, not interconnected but geographically associated in some relief features or a particular geological outcrop. |
| Cave Pearl | A smooth polished and round concretion of calcium carbonite found in and around shallow holes in cave floors. Also known as 'O'olites. |
| Cave System | A collection of interconnected caves or a cave with a complex pattern of chambers and passages. |
| Caving | The entering and exploring of caves. |
| Chamber | Large cavity in a cave or cave system. |
| Chimney | A vertical or near vertical opening in a cave, narrow enough to be climbed by means of opposed pressure holds. Chimneying Ascent or descent by means of body and/or limb pressure against two walls. |
| Chockstone | A rock wedged between two walls of a passage. |
| Choke | Rock debris or cave fill completely blocking a passage. |
| Claustrophobia | A morbid fear of being in enclosed spaces. |
| Column | A dripstone decoration formed by the jointing of a stalactite and a stalagmite. |
| Corridor | A comparatively level and straight passage which links two or more rooms or chambers. |
| Crawl | A passage which must be negotiated on hands and knees. |
| Crystal Pool | A pool, generally with little or no overflow, containing crystal-like calcium deposits. |
| Current Marking | Shallow asymmetrical hollows distributed in rather regular fashion over limestone surfaces and caused by turbulent water flow. |
| Curtain | A wavy folded sheet of dripstone hanging from a roof or projecting from a wall, often translucent. |
| Dead Cave | A dry cave in which there are neither flowing streams, pools, nor dripping formation. |
| Doline | A closed hollow in a Karst region formed by the solution of the limestone near the surface. It is often rounded and sometimes has a sink hole into which surface water flows. |
| Dolomite | A semi-transparent crystalline mineral consisting of double carbonite of calcium and magnesium. CaMg(CO3)2. |
| Dolomite Cave | A cave developed in dolomite. |
| Dripstone | A formation built up from falling drops, or water running down walls, depositing calcite. Sometimes it can also be aragonite or gypsum. |
| Duck-under | A place where water reaches the roof for a short distance, but can be passed by quick submersion without swimming under water. |
| Dune Limestone | Coastal dune sands including a substantial proportion of shell sand. Partially consolidated by calcium deposits. |
| Fault | A fracture in rocks with relative displacement of two parts of the mass. |
| Fault Cave | A cave developed along a fault or fault system. |
| Flattener | A passage which, though wide, is so low that movement is only possible in a prone position. |
| Flowstone | A continuous sheet of calcite on floor or wall formed by calcium deposits from films of flowing water. |
| Fluorescein | An organic chemical, which fluoresces green in water, detectable even when present in minute quantities. Used in tracing underground water flow. |
| Gallery | Remnants of an upper level of a stream passage. |
| Guano | Excrement, as of bats. In certain bat caves guano can accumulate in such vast quantities that it is mined commercially for fertilizer. |
| Gypsum | Hydrated calcium sulphate; the mineral often appears as outward-curving flowers which have the shape of a petal. The rock is softer than limestone. |
| Hall | A lofty chamber which is much longer than its width. |
| Helictite | A small, twisted formation projecting at an angle other than the vertical. |
| Habitat | The immediate surroundings of a plant or animal. |
| Joint | A plane or gently curving crack, separating two parts of once continuous rock which, however, have not moved relative to one another. |
| Karabiner | A link of steel with one side formed into a spring clip. Used by climbers and cavers for quick attachment to a ladder while resting. |
| Karst | The typical surface terrain of a limestone region, characterised by an abundance of sinkholes and exposed rock outcrops. |
| Lake | A large underground body of standing water. |
| Lava Cave | A cave in a volcanic lava flow. |
| Leaching | A process by which soluble substances, such as organic matter, mineral salts etc., are washed out of the upper layer of a soil into a lower layer by percolating rain water. |
| Life-line | A safety rope attached to a caver negotiating a difficult or risky situation. |
| Life-line Man | The person in control of the life-line (see belay). |
| Limestone | A sedimentary rock consisting primarily of calcium carbonate. It usually originates through the accumulation of calcerous remains of marine life. As carbon dioxide (C02) easily dissolves limestone, caves are more common in limestone than in any other rock. |
| Mammals | Class of back-boned animals. They give birth to living young which are nursed on the mother's breast, the mammary glands. |
| Passage | A straight, winding or angular cave path of narrow width compared with other parts of the cave system. This path does not have to be high, as only the length matters. |
| Pitch | A vertical or nearly vertical ascent or descent. |
| Pool Deposit | Crystalline deposits formed inside a pool. |
| Pot | A natural vertical shaft open to the surface. |
| Precipitation | A solid substance from a saturated liquid solution. |
| Resurgance | A point of emergence from an underground stream which had a sub-aerial course. |
| Rimstone | Formed by calcium deposits from slowly overflowing water at the rim of a pool or stream. |
| Rimstone Pool | A pool held up by a rimstone barrier. The barrier consisting of calcium deposits from water overflowing on obstruction. This barrier is mostly curved in plan. |
| Rock Shelter | A shallow cavity under an overhanging cliff, which has no part completely beyond the reach of daylight. |
| Rockpile or Rockfall | A confused mass of boulders on the surface or in the cave. |
| Salinity | The degree of saltness of the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers, usually expressed as the number of parts per thousand, or the weight of salt dissolved in 1,000 parts of water. |
| Scaling Pole | Light-weight metal pole in short sections for transport fastened together for use and supported by strains of steel cable. This pole is used to support ladders to points which cannot be reached by climbing. |
| Shaft | A vertically developed opening in a cave, wider than a chimney. |
| Shawl | A simple shaped type of curtain, often with a fringe of coarse appearance. |
| Sinkhole | A depression on the surface, mainly in cave country. This is developed by a roof collapse in a cave or when the limestone which underlays the soil is slowly dissolved by water. |
| Species | A group of animals or plants, whose members breed naturally only with each other. |
| Speleology | The scientific study of caves. |
| Speleologist | A person who studies caves in any of their scientific aspects. |
| Squeeze | Any place in a cave which has to be passed with the body in its narrowest position, which is one arm raised above the head and the other near the body. |
| Stalactite | A calcium carbonate deposit which grows downward from the ceiling of a cave. |
| Stalagmite | A calcium carbonate deposit which builds upward from the cave floor as a result from water dripping on the floor. |
| Straw | A thin-walled stalactite which increases as calcium is deposited at the tip of the formation by water dripping through the inside of the same. |
| Topography | A detailed description or representation of the features, both natural and artificial, of an area. |
| Tectonic | Relating to the process which tends to build up the various features of the earth's crust. |
| Trace | A short length of wire with fasteners used with wire ladders. |
| Traverse | Movement a ledge above the normal passage floor or along a vertical drop. |
| Tunnel | A fairly level underground passage open to the surface at both ends. |
| Window | A hole in a wall like a porthole, only larger and more irregular. |