How are caves different?

There are several fundamentaldifferent types of cave by mode of formation:

• Karst caves (in limestone & by far the most numerous)
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• Lava tubes (in basalt lava flows)
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• Sea-caves (eroded out of cliffs by wave action)
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• Mass-movement fissures (a type of land-slip feature)
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• Talus caves (voids between rockfalls and the face)
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• Rock Shelters (shallow niches eroded into cliffs)

Then although each andevery cave may have features in common with many others in its class, all caves are individual in character; and caves in limestone are extremely varied.