Product Description
Cave Geology is the definitive book on the subject by an internationally recognized authority. It can be easily understood by non-scientists but also covers a wide range of topics in enough detail to be used by advanced researchers. Illustrated with more than 500 black-and-white photographs and 250 diagrams and maps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

the best cave geology book
I was looking forward to this book during all the years it was rumored to be forthcoming, because even Palmer's journal articles are unusually lucid. I am not disappointed. This is a very nice book.

In the first nine chapters, Palmer leads the reader through all the principles of the geology of solution caves, from elementary concepts of geology through difficult topics like the chemistry and dynamics of limestone dissolution. To have done all this in a way that should be understandable to a high-school senior is a considerable feat of organization and ability to anticipate students' questions. There is no calculus, and where algebraic equations are used, he generally walks the reader through a numerical example. He is careful to clarify things that might be misunderstood, such as that by lower, applied to a negative quantity such as 34S, he means more negative, not closer to 0. He is careful to define technical terms he uses, and he even footnotes the pronunciation of things like gneiss, polje, and Cvijic, a boon to those of us who learn our geology from books instead of lectures. When a mechanism is of possible theoretical interest but unlikely to be significant except in unusual circumstances, he is careful to point that out. In some of the later of these chapters, his enthusiasm for giving examples from around the world does result in a few that are just curiosities and others that are not explained very clearly or completely. This and a certain amount of gratuitous citing of references are symptoms of some indecision about whether the book was to be a textbook or a scholarly monograph, but at least the reader is exposed to the full diversity of solution caves.

Subsequent chapters discuss cave minerals, lava caves, airflow and weathering in caves, and dating of passages and speleothems. A chapter on research techniques describes Palmer's methods for making careful and accurate vertical surveys of passages in order to study the effect of geologic structure on a cave, a specialty of his, and also briefly mentions geophysical techniques, although even a professional geologist will need specialist help with those. The fifteenth chapter briefly surveys applications of cave geology to other fields like land management and water supply. There are over 750 figures, nearly two per page. The roughly one thousand references listed are almost all in English and almost all from books or academic journals on paper (the scholarly monograph won out here).

The layout by the author is fully professional, and there are only a very few typos or editing glitches.

"Cave Geology" is not only the best major book on the subject available, it is also the cheapest. The main text is 405 large pages with two columns of fairly small type, so there is a lot there, and you won't read it in a couple of days or even a week. And, while you should understand most of it while you're reading it, you won't have learned it all. I still haven't, even with the help of the other ten thousand pages of cave geology I've read over too many years. But you will absorb the general ideas, and this is the book you will go back to later for the details.--Bill Mixon

cave geology
This is an excellent book written by one greatest cave and karst geologists in the world.It contains information that is useful for cavers, geology students and anyone interested in cave geology.It is fully understandable with no background in the subject.A must have for any caver. ... Read more

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Ghar Hasan is a natural cave system in Malta which excellently demonstrates the geological processes involved in limestone cave formation. The book further describes the ecology pertaining to the cave system. ... Read more

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Hidden Beneath the Mountains: The Caves of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is a new book about the amazing caves in this mountainous region of California by National Park Cave Specialist Joel Despain. The 128 page, large-format volume focuses on the larger caves of the parks and describes their fascinating human history, the rare and strange animals that live in the caves, and the role of these caves in science.

The book is richly illustrated with color photos of beautiful cave formations, stunning marble banding, and the wonderful mountains that contain the caves. Hidden Beneath the Mountains also includes many cave maps and graphics illustrating the geology that makes caves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great cave book!
The book is great! It has a lot of history of some of the major caves in the park. It has maps of the caves, but does not give the location of the caves. So unless you previously know how to get to a cave, this book will not help you get there. But once you ARE there it has lots of fun tidbits about the geology, cave life and history of these remarkable areas.

Amazing photos, Great history and natural science
I was fortunate to meet Joel Despain at his presentation of a recent expedition to Chile. This book was available for purchase at the presentation.

The book has some amazing photos from some of the big names in cave photography; Dave Bunnell and Peter and Ann Bosted, among others. This book is easily worth the price simply for the photography.

But once you stop browsing the pictures, you discover Joel's text is interesting and enjoyable. The book profiles several cave systems in Sequoia National Park. It covers the history of man's discovery and exploration of the caves. It also explains the geological history of the caves in clear layman's terminology.

This book is appropriate for school projects and experienced cavers alike. It also will make a great souvenir for visitors to Sequoia National Park. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Caves Of Tennessee
Although this book was printed in 1961, it is still considered the "Bible" of Tennessee cave exploration.Approximately 700 different caves are located and described.Maps and photographs accompany many of these cave descriptions.

Many people are surprised to learn that this book is still in print after 47 years.It was published by the Tennessee Division of Geology and, whenever stocks run low, it is reprinted.It is availabe from the Tennessee Division of Geology and most book dealers who specialize in cave books.One such source is the National Speleological Society's bookstore.

Special sections at the beginning of this book give information on the origin and development of caves, cave speleothems, and the variety of animal life found in caves.

This book is a wonderful source of information for both begining cavers and experienced cavers.Every serious Tennessee caver has a copy of this book in his/her library. ... Read more

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A detailed account of the geology shown on the complementary 1: 50 000 (or earlier 1: 63 360) geological map(s) ... Read more

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A detailed account of the geology shown on the complementary 1: 50 000 (or earlier 1: 63 360) geological map(s) ... Read more

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Atlas of the Great Caves of the World is an almanac, encyclopedia, and book of records all under one cover. It is an invaluable reference book for cave explorers and cave enthusiasts of all levels.

Contained in its 376 pages are:
Descriptions of over 2,000 caves from all over the world. 540 in America, 310 in Asia, 950 in Europe, 190 in Africa, and 169 others.
Maps of 200 caves that are either more than 700m deep or over 30km long or of special interest.
Caves and maps are listed for 118 countries, arranged in descending order of depth and length within that country.
Special section on deep pits with profiles of pits over 300m deep.
World's Longest Caves List.
World's Deepest Caves List.
Chronology of World Depth Record.
Record Cave Dives.
Longest Cave Chambers.
Non-limestone Caves.
Complete index of all caves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Depths Of The Earth
This book is a wonderful introduction to the history of cave exploration in the United States of America.It chronicles exploration by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in Virginia (Chapter 3), slave Steven Bishop in Mammoth Cave (Chapter 1), and the infamous Floyd Collins who died trapped in a Kentucky cave in 1925 (Chapter 2).(The Death of Floyd Collins was the FIRST record to sell one million copies!)

All major cave regions of the country are included and both wild caves and commercial caves are featured.Some of these caves will either be near where you live or where you will go on vacation.

All types of caves are mentioned, including limestone caves (the most common), lava tube caves, and glacier caves.Chapter 15 discusses the beginings of exploring completely flooded caves with scuba gear and Chapter 13 chronicles the history of the development of modern vertical caving techniques.

If you have any interest at all in caves, you should enjoy this book. It includes many interesting black-and-white photographs and maps.

Bill Halliday's books were translated into Russian and he is regarded as having sparked the Russian's interst in their own caves.Some people have referred to him as the "Father Of Russian Speleology". ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This fascicle describes the background of the Franchthi project and the excavation history and methodology. ... Read more