Glossary of caving and speleology

There are a number of terms that are used in caving and speleology. The following is an incomplete list.

A

• Anthodite - a speleothem (cave formation) composed of long needle-like crystals situated in clusters which radiate outward from a common base.

B

• Biospeleology - a branch of biology dedicated to the study of organisms that live in caves and are collectively referred to as troglofauna.

• Boulder choke - a collection of large rocks or rubble that obstructs the passage of a cave or mine. In order to progress through passages cavers often need to negotiate or clear boulder chokes.

• Buffoon, speleo-buffoon or cave-buffoon - a derogatory term referring to cavers who are unprepared and make poor decisions.^[1]

C

• Cave conservancy - a specialized land trust that primarily manages caves or karst features in the United States.

• Cave digging - the practice of enlarging undiscovered cave openings to allow entry.

P

• Pit - a vertical space for which ascending or rappelling equipment is required.^[2]

R

• Cave rescue - a highly specialized field of wilderness rescue in which injured, trapped or lost cave explorers are medically treated and extracted from various cave environments.

S

• Speleogen - a geological formation within a cave that has been created by the removal of bedrock, rather than as a secondary deposit.

• Speleogenesis - the origin and development of caves, the primary process that determines essential features of the hydrogeology of karst and guides its evolution.

• Spelunker - someone who explores caves as a hobby^[3]

• Spelunking - exploring caves as a hobby^[4]

• Sump - a cave that is submerged under water. A sump may be static, with no inward or outward flow, or active, with continuous through-flow. Static sumps may also be connected underwater to active stream passage. When short in length, a sump may be called a duck.

• Suspension trauma - also known as harness hang syndrome (HHS), or orthostatic intolerance, is an effect which occurs when the human body is held upright without any movement for a period of time.

See also

• Glossary of climbing terms

References