Bullita Cave facts for kids

Bullita Cave, also called Burkes Backyard Cave, is a huge cave system in Gregory National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. It's one of the longest caves ever explored in Australia and even in the whole world!

Where is Bullita Cave?

Bullita Cave is found within Gregory National Park. It's not alone; many other caves are nearby. For example, the Dingo Cave System is about 38.5 kilometres (23.9 mi) away. The Prometheus Cave System is about 46.5 kilometres (28.9 mi) from Bullita Cave.

This amazing cave has many ways to get in. It lies under a huge area of limestone pavement. This is a type of rock surface that looks like a paved road. This rocky area is more than 30 kilometres (19 mi) long!

Inside the cave, you can find many holes. These holes open up to the surface, letting in daylight. Some parts of the cave are completely open to the sky. There are also deep cracks, called fissures, in its tunnels. One book, Beneath the Surface: A Natural History of Australian Caves, calls Bullita Cave a "complex, close-spaced maze system." This means it's like a giant, tricky puzzle of tunnels!

Exploring the Cave

People didn't really explore Bullita Cave until 1990. That year, a group called Operation Raleigh led the first big expedition. They went deep into the cave to learn more about it.

In 1992, even more parts of the cave were found. A caver and educator named John Dunkley spent many years studying Bullita Cave. He is a member of the Australian Speleological Federation. John started mapping the cave in the 1990s. He kept working on it until 2008. He said that a cave as big as Bullita would take a very long time to map completely. During his explorations, he discovered many interesting things about the cave. He also helped figure out how long it is.

How Long is Bullita Cave?

Bullita Cave is one of the longest known caves in Australia. Some older reports even said it was the longest cave in the country. The exact length of the cave can be a bit tricky to pin down. Different sources sometimes give slightly different numbers.

For example, in March 2003, the Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science said the cave was 81.9 kilometres (50.9 mi) long. Another book from 2003, Beneath the Surface: A Natural History of Australian Caves, said it was a bit longer, with 88 kilometres (55 mi) of tunnels.

Later studies showed the cave is even bigger! It has more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) of tunnels. Still, the exact number can change. The book Caves for the Uninitiated stated that in August 2011, the known length was 120.4 kilometres (74.8 mi). John Dunkley's work showed it was more than 122 kilometres (76 mi) long. A journal article from 2016 reported the cave to be 123 kilometres (76 mi) in length.

Bullita Cave is also one of the longest caves in the entire world. Its exact rank on the list of longest caves also varies. The Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science listed it as the 18th longest. However, Caves for the Uninitiated claimed it was the 15th longest. The cave covers a total area of about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi).