Wookey hole, Somerset, England UK Unusual geographic phenomenon -on energy/ley lines heart of the Mendip hills
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Barrey / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
EAF00AFile size:
34.4 MB (976.4 KB Compressed download)Releases:
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2832 x 4240 px | 24 x 35.9 cm | 9.4 x 14.1 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
August 2014Location:
Wookey Somerset England UKMore information:
Wookey hole, Somerset, England UK Unusual geo phenomenon -on energy/ley lines heart of the Mendip hills last visited in 1958 School Geography trip' changed a lot stalactites & Stalagmites - what is the difference? in sight of Glastonbury tor (famous for festival) Wookey Hole Caves are a series of limestone caverns, show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of theMendip Hills near Wells in Somerset, England. The River Axe flows through the cave.[2] It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for both biological and geological reasons.[3] Wookey Hole cave is a "solutional cave", one that is formed through a process of weathering in which the natural acid ingroundwater dissolves the rocks. Some of the water originates as rain that flows into streams on impervious rocks on the plateau before sinking at the limestone boundary into cave systems such as Swildon's Hole, Eastwater Cavern and St Cuthbert's Swallet; the remainder is rain that percolates directly through the limestone. The caves are at a constant temperature of 11 °C (52 °F). The caves have been used by humans for around 45, 000 years, demonstrated by the discovery of tools from the Palaeolithic period, along with the fossilised animal remains. Evidence of Stone and Iron Age occupation continued into Roman Britain. A corn grinding mill operated on the resurgent waters of the River Axe as early as 1086. The waters of the river are used in a handmade paper mill, the oldest extant in Britain, which began operations circa 1610.[4] The low temperature of the caves means that they can be used for maturing Cheddar cheese. The caves are the site of the first cave dives in Britain which were undertaken by Jack Sheppard and Graham Balcombe. Since the 1930s divers have explored the extensive network of chambers developing breathing apparatus and novel techniques in the process. The full extent of the cave system is still unknown with approximately 4, 000 metres (13,