List of caves in Trinidad and Tobago

A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, ^{[1] [2]} specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word cave can also refer to much smaller openings such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos, though strictly speaking a cave is exogene, meaning it is deeper than its opening is wide, ^[3] and a rock shelter is endogene. ^[4]

List of Caves in Trinidad and Tobago

Name	Location	Notes
Aripo Cave	Northern Range	Aripo Cave is a cave in the Northern Range, in Trinidad and Tobago. This is the longest accessible cave in Trinidad and Tobago, with 862 m length and 160 m depth. [5] It is one of several caves created by recrystallised limestone. [6] The cave is a notable bat roost, and that bats contribute considerable amounts of guano, which in turn support vast numbers of cave-dwelling invertebrates. One of the caves more notable inhabitants are the Oilbirds. These are the only nocturnal fruit-eating birds in the world. They forage at night, navigating by echolocation in the same way as the bats.
Crusoe Cave	Tobago	Crusoe Cave is a sea cave on Crown Point, [7] on the island of Tobago in Trinidad and Tobago. The cave is named for the titular main character of the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by English writer Daniel Defoe. [8] In the novel, Crusoe is shipwrecked on an unnamed island described as within sight of Trinidad; it is believed by some that Crusoe's island was based on Tobago. [9] [10] The cave has been referred to by this name as early as 1890. [11] The cave can be visited on foot. [9] It fills with water during high tide, and is therefore best viewed during low tide. [9] There are some fossils found in the limestone of the cave. [12] [13] The land where the cave sits is privately owned, but can usually be accessed for a nominal fee. [10] [14]
Cumaca Cave	northern of Trinidad	Cumaca Cave is a large cave system located in northern of Trinidad, in the southeastern area of the Northern Range. This cave is sometimes also called Oropouche. The caves are home to bats and Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis). These are the only nocturnal fruit eating birds in the world. They forage at night, navigating by echolocation in the same way as bats, but with a high-pitched clicking sound audible to humans. [15] The cave is also home to hypogean fishes. Most notably the semi-blind catfish, Rhamdia quelen or South American Catfish, which was at first believed to be a distinct cave species and was named Caecorhamdia urichi. But it is now known as a troglobite form of Rhamdia quelen, with reduced eye size and reduced pigmentation.[ citation needed ]
Dunston Cave	Northern Range	Dunston Cave is an igneous cave on the Northern Range of Trinidad and Tobago. The cave is located on the grounds of the Asa Wright Nature Centre. Originally named Guacharo Cave, it was renamed Dunston Cave in 1972 [16] in honour of engineer John Dunston. [17] The caves are home to an Oilbird colony. These are the only nocturnal fruit eating birds in the world. They forage at night, navigating by echolocation in the same way as the bats.
La Vache	Northern Range	La Vache is a cave in located in the Northern Range, on the north coast of Trinidad. The Caves are home to the Oilbirds, These are the only nocturnal fruit eating birds in the world. They forage at night, navigating by echolocation in the same way as bats.
Lopinot Cave	Northern Range	Lopinot Cave is a large cave in the Lopinot Valley in the Northern Range of Trinidad and Tobago. The Caves are home to the Oilbirds. These are the only nocturnal fruit eating birds in the world. They forage at night, navigating by echolocation in the same way as bats. It is a 1.5 hour drive from the capital The cave is a large bat roost and has been used to study the behaviour of the Greater Spear-nosed Bat Phyllostomus hastatus
Tamana caves	eastern Trinidad and Tobago	Tamana caves (or Tamana cave) is a cave system located on the northern slope of Mount Tamana in eastern Trinidad. [18] Mount Tamana is a 307-metre flat topped hill of Miocene Guaracara Limestone of the Tamana Formation in the eastern Central Range. [19] Julian Kenny [18] described the main cave as consisting of 18 separate sections. He documented two chimneys and a "walk-in chamber". The walk-in chamber connected to a "boulder chamber" that was heavily used by bats, and to a crawl hole which connected to the remainder of the cave system. Beyond the crawl hole was a subterranean stream and a passage which connected to the chimney area. Beyond that the passages descended further, ending in what Kenny called the "New Deep" and the "Far Deep", areas which had not been explored at the time of his publication. [18]

References

1. Whitney, W. D. (1889). "Cave, n.1." def. 1. The Century dictionary: An encyclopedic lexicon of the English language (Vol. 1, p. 871). New York: The Century Co.
2. "Cave" Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009
3. Moratto, Michael J. (2014). California Archaeology. Academic Press. p. 304. ISBN   9781483277356.
4. Lowe, J. John; Walker, Michael J. C. (2014). Reconstructing Quaternary Environments. Routledge. pp. 141–42. ISBN   9781317753711.
5. "Aripo Main Cave, Trinidad". Wondermondo.
6. "Aripo Cave". wecaribbean.net. Archived from the original on 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
7. Ottley, Carlton Robert (1969). Tobago: Robinson Crusoe's Island in the West Indies. Printers: P.N.M. Publishing Company.
8. Islands Magazine. January–February 2004.
9. Bissessarsingh, Angelo (2013-10-01). "Top 10 attractions in Tobago". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-01-21.
10. De-Light, Dominique; Thomas, Polly (2001). The Rough Guide to Trinidad and Tobago. Rough Guides. ISBN   978-1-85828-747-8.
11. United States Consular Reports: Reports from the Consuls of the United States on the Commerce, Manufactures, Etc., of Their Consular Districts. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1890.
12. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society. Maryland Herpetological Society, Department of Herpetology, Natural History Society of Maryland. 1982.
13. Society (U.S.), National Geographic (1980). Research Reports - National Geographic Society. National Geographic Society. ISBN   978-0-87044-608-5.
14. O'Donnell, Kathleen (March 2001). Adventure Guide to Trinidad and Tobago. Hunter Publishing, Inc. ISBN   978-1-58843-257-5.
15. Snow (2008), pp. 137–143.
16. History. William Beebe Tropical Research Station
17. Anne, Hilton (November 12, 2007). "An ecotourism success story". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday . Retrieved 2007-12-05.
18. Kenny, Julian S. (1978–1979). "Floor plan, environment, and fauna of Tamana caves". Living World, Journal of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club.
19. Day, Michael J.; M. Sean Chenoweth (2004). "The karstlands of Trinidad and Tobago, their land use and conservation". The Geographical Journal. 170 (3): 256–266. doi:10.1111/j.0016-7398.2004.00124.x.