The Jenolan Caves
The Jenolan Caves are situated in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales about 175 kilometres west of Sydney and in my opinion are one of Australia’s most spectacular and breathtaking geographic features. The Jenolan Caves are formed of Limestone due material build-up which gradually cemented together over the past 340 million years. The Jenolan Caves have numerous geographic features such as underground rivers and natural archways within the caves which categorise the landform as ‘Karst’. This means that the Jenolan Caves occurred where rock is easily dissolved in fresh water ways, receiving most of their water from nearby insoluble rocks. With the caves name originating from the Aboriginal word Jenolan meaning ‘High Mountain’ the Jenolan Caves are extremely significant for the Aboriginal peoples of the area whose dreamtime story recounts the creation the caves. The Jenolan Caves are home to numerous animals including bats, Spiders, cave crawdads and fresh water shrimp as well as vast range of native wildflowers which bloom outside and around the caves. I believe the Jenolan Caves are one of Australia’s top five geographic features as not only are they one of Australia’s oldest and spectacular landforms, They also hold great historical and cultural value to the Indigenous people of the area and European discovers alike. The Jenolan caves are one of Australia’s most widely used landforms with everything from caving, corporate tours, weddings to functions occurring within the caves!
Vinnytt: http://www.vinnytt.com.au accessed 6/08/14.
Pic photos: funny-pictures.picphotos.net accessed 6/08/14.