Canelobre Cave facts for kids
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Canalobre Cave (which is Cueva de Canelobre in Spanish) is an amazing natural cave found in a small town called Busot. This town is in the Alicante Province in Spain, part of the Valencian Community. It's a really big cave, covering an area of about 18,950 square meters. It's one of the largest and most popular caves in the whole Valencian Community!
Exploring Canalobre Cave
The entrance to Canalobre Cave is quite high up, about 700 meters (or 2,300 feet) above sea level. It's located on the northern side of a mountain range known as Cabezón de Oro, which means "big golden head."
Inside the cave, you'll find a giant open space that looks a lot like a huge cathedral. This main area is about 70 meters (or 230 feet) tall! It's so impressive that it's often used for concerts because of its amazing acoustics.
Cool Rock Formations
The cave is filled with many different kinds of cool rock formations, which scientists call speleothems. These are natural structures that grow over thousands of years as water drips and leaves behind minerals.
You can see:
- Stalactites: These hang down from the cave ceiling, like icicles made of rock.
- Stalagmites: These grow upwards from the cave floor, meeting the stalactites to form columns.
- Columns: When a stalactite and a stalagmite meet and join together.
- Flowstones: These look like frozen waterfalls, formed by water flowing over the cave walls.
- Draperies: Thin, wavy sheets of rock that look like curtains.
- Coralloids: Small, bumpy formations that look like coral.
- Helictites: These are really unique because they grow in all sorts of twisted directions, seemingly defying gravity!
- Gours: Small, natural dams that form pools of water.
Most of these formations are made of a mineral called calcite. However, in some of the lower parts of the cave, you might find formations made from sulfate minerals instead.
Studying the Cave
Scientists have studied Canalobre Cave to learn more about its special environment. They look at things like the cave's microclimate (the tiny weather system inside the cave) and the drip water that helps create all the amazing rock formations. This helps them understand how caves form and change over time.
