Cheddar Gorge and Caves

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This article is about a geographical feature in Somerset, England. For the game, see Cheddar Gorge (game).

Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom

Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom, near the village of Cheddar in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton at 9,000 years old, Cheddar Man, was found. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era (12,000 - 13,000 years ago) have been found. The caves have spectacular rock formations. Jacob's Ladder is a public path of 274 steps, built up the side of the gorge.

The gorge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest now called Cheddar Complex, and a tourist site. The rocks of the gorge are Carboniferous Limestone on top of Old Red Sandstone. The river at the bottom of the gorge is the Cheddar Yeo, rising in the gorge in Gough's Cave. The maximum depth of the gorge is 113 m (370 ft).

The gorge, which has no river for most of its length, has near-vertical sides and shows characteristics of a river-formed valley. The lack of water is expected since limestone is permeable. The gorge was formed in the ice age when any water in the limestone froze, making the rock temporarily impermeable. Torrents of melt water gradually eroded the rock away to form the gorge. After the ice age the limestone thawed and became permeable again so that any water on the surface seeped into the rock, leaving behind a dry valley.

The Gorge's many caves are home to colonies of Greater Horseshoe Bats and Lesser Horseshoes.

[edit] Tourism

There are excellent walks on top of the gorge. Gough's Cave & Cox's Cave are tourist attractions for their spectacular geology. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, Cheddar Gorge was named as the second greatest natural wonder in Britain (surpassed only by Dan yr Ogof caves).

Authentic Cheddar cheese is made in the lower part of the gorge, known as "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar".