Karst Cave Tourism Landscape

Cave landscapes formed by dissolution are attractive to tourists. A karst cave is a complex hollow formed by the dissolution of carbonate rocks or other rock layers composed of soluble salts. Inside the caves, features such as stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, stone flags, stone drapery, stone flowers and relics of ancient human, palaeo-biotic and cultural activities make up the karst cave tourism landscape. Karst caves usually develop along a specific rock layer and faults and fracture zones, and they form due to dissolution and corrosion by groundwater flow. The caves can be horizontal, inclined, near-vertical, multi-layered and inter-connected, and they include small, medium and large chambers. Some caves are dry and are above the groundwater level, while others have subterranean streams, underground waterfalls, or are completely submerged below the groundwater level. The caves and cave systems can vary from dozens of metres to several tens of kilometres long, and some are...