GB Cave
| GB Cave | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Charterhouse |
| Coordinates | 51°18′09″N 2°45′08″W / 51.30252°N 2.752199°W |
| Depth | 134 m (440 ft) |
| Length | 1.95 km (6,400 ft) |
| Discovery | 1939 |
| Geology | Limestone |
| Access | locked |
| Cave survey | Geological Conservation Review/UBSS, Mendip Cave Registry and Archive |
GB Cave (grid reference ST47595623) is a cave between Charterhouse and Shipham in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave is located within the GB Gruffy nature reserve and is close to Charterhouse Cave, the deepest cave in the region.[1]
GB Cave is 1.95 km (6,400 ft) in length and reaches a depth of 134 m (440 ft).[2] It contains the largest underground void on Mendip.
History
GB Cave was discovered by the University of Bristol Speleological Society in 1939, and it was named after the two disocverers, Francis Goddard and Charles Barker [3]
Access
The entrance is housed within a concrete blockhouse. Novices are not permitted to enter this cave.[4]
Description
GB Cave is remarkable for the Gorge, a river-passage up to 6 metres (20 ft) wide, 12 metres (39 ft) high and 90 metres (295 ft) long, which opens into the even larger Main Chamber (20 metres (66 ft) wide, 23 metres (75 ft) high, 122 metres (400 ft) long). Together these two form the largest known space under the Mendip Hills.[4] Further into the cave is the Great Chamber, another large space, and a number of other chambers in the cave are well-decorated.
The trace elements Magnesium, Strontium and Barium have been found by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) from three Holocene speleothems taken from Great Chamber.[5]
References
- ^ "GB Gruffy". Wildlife Trusts Somerset. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ "Mendip". UK and Ireland Cave Lengths and Depths. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
- ^ Johnson, Peter (1967). The History of Mendip Caving. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ASIN B0000CNIE0.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Irwin, David John (1999). Mendip Underground: A Cavers Guide. Bat Products. ISBN 0953610306.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) – which also contains a detailed description of the cave. - ^ Roberts M. S., Smart P. L., Hawkesworth C. J., Perkins W. T. and Pearce N. J. G. (1999). "Trace element variations in coeval Holocene speleothems from GB Cave, southwest England". The Holocene. 9 (6): 707–713. doi:10.1191/095968399672615014.
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