Metro Cave / Te Ananui Cave

Last updated
Ananui Creek entrance Metro Cave Te Ananui Cave entrance with reflection in water.jpg
Ananui Creek entrance

The Metro / Te Ananui Caves are a maze of limestone caves formed by the underground capture of Ananui Creek, a tributary of the Waitakere or Nile River. The caves are located in the Paparoa National Park in New Zealand, managed by the Department of Conservation. Parts of the cave system are accessible by cave tours and rafting, operated by a commercial tour operator out of Charleston. [1]

Limestone Sedimentary rocks made of calcium carbonate

Limestone is a carbonate sedimentary rock that is often composed of the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera, and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). A closely related rock is dolostone, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2. In fact, in old USGS publications, dolostone was referred to as magnesian limestone, a term now reserved for magnesium-deficient dolostones or magnesium-rich limestones.

Paparoa National Park national park

Paparoa National Park is on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

New Zealand Country in Oceania

New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Contents

History

The karst landscape in the area was under the sea some 30 million years ago, then pushed upwards over time. Over the past 200,000 years, weathering and water have been dissolving the limestone and shaping both the surface as well as the underground. Te Ananui Cave contains fossils and bones carbon-dated to between 300 and 25,000 years old, as well as shellfish fossils in the limestone itself. [2]

Karst Topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks

Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes. However, in regions where the dissolved bedrock is covered or confined by one or more superimposed non-soluble rock strata, distinctive karst features may occur only at subsurface levels and be totally missing above ground.

Geography

Tours from Charleston access Te Ananui Caves via a 3 km narrow road, followed by a bush tram ride and a short walk. The walking track crosses the Waitakere or Nile River on a suspension bridge to reach the Triclops entrance halfway up the side of the Nile River valley.

Metro Cave / Te Ananui Cave Cavern full of stalactites and stalagmites in Metro Cave Te Ananui Cave.jpg
Metro Cave / Te Ananui Cave

The passages of the 8 km Metro complex get younger from west to east, following the pattern of cave development. Over time as the land has lifted, the upper levels of the cave system have become dry and have grown various cave formations, while the lower levels continue to be shaped and changed by the underground streams flowing through them. An easily navigable dry passage leads from the Triclops entrance to the Ananui Creek entrance.

Speleothem A structure formed in a cave by the deposition of minerals from water

Speleothems, commonly known as cave formations, are secondary mineral deposits formed in a cave. Speleothems typically form in limestone or dolostone solutional caves. The term "speleothem" as first introduced by Moore (1952), is derived from the Greek words spēlaion "cave" + théma "deposit". The definition of "speleothem" in most publications, specifically excludes secondary mineral deposits in mines, tunnels and on man-made structures. Hill and Forti more concisely defined "secondary minerals" which create speleothems in caves as;

A "secondary" mineral is one which is derived by a physicochemical reaction from a primary mineral in bedrock or detritus, and/or deposited because of a unique set of conditions in a cave; i.e., the cave environment has influenced the mineral's deposition.

Recreation

A tour company based in Charleston offers several options for exploring the Te Ananui Caves, ranging from a guided walking tour of the upper levels including the Nile River Glowworm Cave, to underground rafting and adventure caving. A bush tram track was commissioned in 2002 for transport of visitors from the road end to near the cave entrance. [3]

The caves themselves are left in their natural state, with no ladders or suspended walkways, however, the terrain of the upper levels is easy to walk on, comparable to a tramping track. The cave system features several caverns containing stalactites, stalagmites and drapery and can be walked through from one entrance to the other in one hour at a leisurely pace. Near the Ananui Creek entrance, a partially submerged grotto is inhabited by glowworms and cave weta. The grotto can be accessed by foot on dry ground along the edges.

Tramping in New Zealand

Tramping, known elsewhere as backpacking, rambling, hill walking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand.

<i>Arachnocampa</i> genus of insects

Arachnocampa is a genus of five fungus gnat species which have a luminescent larval stage, akin to the larval stage of glowworm beetles. The species of Arachnocampa are endemic to New Zealand and Australia, dwelling in caves and grottos, or sheltered places in forests.

Rhaphidophoridae Family of insects

The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include the cave weta, cave crickets, camelback crickets, camel crickets, spider crickets and sand treaders. Those occurring in New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania are typically referred to as jumping or cave weta. Most are found in forest environments or within caves, animal burrows, cellars, under stones, in wood or in similar environments. All species are flightless and nocturnal, usually with long antennae and legs. There are more than 1100 species of Rhaphidophoridae described.

Cave rafting tours explore the wetter parts of the cave system on inflatable tubes, continuing down the gentle rapids of the Nile River.

See also

Related Research Articles

Waitomo Place in Waikato, New Zealand

Waitomo is a rural community in the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It includes Waitomo Caves, a solutional cave system and popular local tourist attraction. Two villages, Waitomo and Hangatiki/Hangātiki, service visiting tourists.

Nettlebed Cave cave in New Zealand

Nettlebed Cave is a limestone cave located in the Mount Arthur region of the northwest South Island of New Zealand. The presence of ongaonga, an endemic tree nettle, near the bottom entrance gives the cave its name.

Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park national park in Vietnam

Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Bố Trạch and Minh Hóa districts of central Quảng Bình Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam, about 500 km south of Hanoi. The park borders the Hin Namno Nature Reserve in Khammouane Province, Laos to the west and 42 km east of the South China Sea from its borderline point. Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park is situated in a limestone zone of 2,000 km2 in Vietnamese territory and borders another limestone zone of 2,000 km2 of Hin Namno in Laotian territory. The core zone of this national park covers 857.54 km2 and a buffer zone of 1,954 km2.

Charleston, New Zealand Place in West Coast, New Zealand

Charleston is a village in the South Island of New Zealand located 30 km south of Westport. It was founded as a goldmining town after a major goldrush in 1867, and is now an adventure tourist village noted for its extensive limestone caves and caving experiences. Guided tours of the nearby Metro Cave / Te Ananui Cave are operated out of Charleston and travel up the Nile River valley.

Grizzly River Run Attraction at Disney California Adventure

Grizzly River Run is located at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is similar to Kali River Rapids in Disney's Animal Kingdom but distinctive as the rafts are engineered to spin as they descend chutes. The attraction's name comes from Grizzly Peak, the bear shaped mountain that the rapids flow around. It was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and constructed by Intamin.

Jeita Grotto Cave

The Jeita Grotto is a system of two separate, but interconnected, karstic limestone caves spanning an overall length of nearly 9 kilometres (5.6 mi). The caves are situated in the Nahr al-Kalb valley within the locality of Jeita, 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Though inhabited in prehistoric times, the lower cave was not rediscovered until 1836 by Reverend William Thomson; it can only be visited by boat since it channels an underground river that provides fresh drinking water to more than a million Lebanese.

Wyandotte Caves park and its caverns in southern Indiana

Wyandotte Caves, a pair of limestone caves located on the Ohio River in Harrison-Crawford State Forest in Crawford County, 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Leavenworth and 12 miles (19 km) from Corydon in southern Indiana, is a popular tourist attraction. Wyandotte Caves were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972. They are now part of O'Bannon Woods State Park. The cave system is the 5th largest in the state of Indiana.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves cave in New Zealand

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves attraction is a cave at Waitomo on the North Island of New Zealand. It is known for its population of Arachnocampa luminosa, a glowworm species found exclusively in New Zealand. This cave is part of the Waitomo Caves system that includes the Ruakuri Cave and the Aranui Cave.

Stoke Lane Slocker

Stoke Lane Slocker is a cave near Stoke St Michael, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip Hills, in the English county of Somerset.

Gardners Gut cave in New Zealand

Gardner's Gut is an extensive cave system in the Waitomo area of New Zealand. It is located in the Ruakuri Caves & Bush Scenic Reserve, an area that also contains a number of other natural features of note. The reserve is administered by New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC). With a length of over 12 km of explored passages, it is New Zealand's 6th largest known cave system, and the largest in the North Island.

Green Grotto Caves

The Green Grotto Caves are show caves and a prominent tourist attraction on the north coast of Jamaica. Named for the green algae that cover its walls, the structure of the cave is strikingly different from inland systems; the cave is a Flank Margin Cave with two well-defined levels apparently indicating two periods with differing sea-levels. The innermost cavern contains a crystal-clear underground lake.

Scotts Gulf

Scott's Gulf is a canyon situated along the Caney Fork in White County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The canyon stretches for approximately 18 miles (29 km) as the Caney Fork drops from the top of the Cumberland Plateau down to the eastern Highland Rim. This remote section of the river is home to a wilderness area consisting of a largely undisturbed deciduous forest, numerous waterfalls, caves and other geological formations, and Class IV and Class V whitewater rapids.

St. Michaels Cave Caves in Gibraltar

St. Michael's Cave or Old St. Michael's Cave is the name given to a network of limestone caves located within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, at a height of over 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. According to Alonso Hernández del Portillo, the first historian of Gibraltar, its name is derived from a similar grotto in Monte Gargano near the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo in Apulia, Italy, where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared.

Phong Nha Cave cave in Vietnam

Phong Nha Cave is a cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam. It is 7,729 metres long and contains 14 grottoes, as well as a 13,969 metre underground river. While scientists have surveyed 44.5 kilometres of passages, tourists are only allowed to explore the first 1500 metres.

Jeita Municipality in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon

Jeita is a town and municipality located in the Keserwan District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. The town is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Beirut. It has an average elevation of 380 meters above sea level and a total land area of 290 hectares. Jeita's inhabitants are Maronites.

Parque Nacional de las Cavernas del Río Camuy Cave system in Camuy, Puerto Rico (U.S.)

The Parque Nacional de las Cavernas del Río Camuy is a cave system in Puerto Rico. It is located between the municipalities of Camuy, Hatillo, and Lares in northwestern Puerto Rico, but the main entrance to the park is located in Quebrada, Camuy. The caverns are part of a large network of natural limestone caves and underground waterways carved out by the third-largest underground river in the world, the Río Camuy. The cave system was "discovered" in 1958 and was first documented in the 1973 book Discovery At The Río Camuy (ISBN 0-517-50594-0) by Russell and Jeanne Gurnee, but there is archaeological evidence that these caves were explored hundreds of years ago by the Taíno Indians, Puerto Rico's first inhabitants. Over 10 miles of caverns, 220 caves and 17 entrances to the Camuy cave system have been mapped so far. This, however, is only a fraction of the entire system which many experts believe still holds another 800 caves. Only a small part of the complex is open to the public. The 268-acre park built around the cave system features tours of some of the caves and sinkholes, and is one of the most popular natural attractions in Puerto Rico. As of January 2019, the park is still closed for Hurricane Maria recovery.

Ruakuri Cave Cave site and burial site in New Zealand

Ruakuri Cave is the largest cave in the Waitomo area of New Zealand. It was first discovered by local Māori between 400 and 500 years ago. The name Ruakuri, or "den of dogs" was created when wild dogs were discovered making their home in the cave entrance some 300 years later.

Zalomka river in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Zalomka is a karstic river in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one of the largest sinking rivers in the country and the world. It collect its waters from Gatačko Polje.

References

  1. "Paparoa National Park: Places to go in the West Coast". Department of Conservation NZ . Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  2. Information contained on a DoC information panel at the cave entrance
  3. "Cave Rafting". UnderWorld Adventures. Retrieved 2013-09-10.

Coordinates: 41°56′3″S171°29′0″E / 41.93417°S 171.48333°E / -41.93417; 171.48333

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.