Cathedral Caves
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Location
The Cathedral Caves is a large V shaped limestone sea cave located on Waipati Beach, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Papatowai, on the Catlins Coast in the southeast corner of New Zealand's South Island. Source : * Article "Cathedral Caves" in The Free Encyclopedia Wikipdia, in English: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Caves
Description
General description
The two main entrances join together within the cliff to form one big cave. One arm of the cave has a 30 metres (98 ft) high ceiling. The 199m-long cave is formed in Jurassic sandstone (about 160 million years old) of the Murihiku Terrane, though the cave itself is much younger, ten to hundreds of thousands of years old. Source : * Article "Cathedral Caves" in The Free Encyclopedia Wikipdia, in English: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Caves
History
Known to Maori for centuries, Cathedral Caves received their name from a leading Dunedin physician, ethnologist and collector, Dr T.M. Hocken and his companions raised their voices and reported a 'reverberating' sound and their resemblance to European cathedrals.. Sources : * Cathedral Caves official website > The Caves: www.cathedralcaves.co.nz/the-caves * Article "Cathedral Caves" in The Free Encyclopedia Wikipdia, in English: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Caves
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 422.4 | Broken River Cave | 594 | |
| 688.5 | Harwoods Hole | ||
| 695.1 | Rawhiti Cave | ||
| 911.2 | Limestone Creek Glow Worm Caves | 0 | 0 |
| 945.9 | Waipuna Caves [Moa Bone Cave] | 3560 | 20 |
| 1031.2 | Piripiri Cave | 0 | 0 |
| 1038.1 | Gardner's Gut | 12000 | |
| 1039.4 | Waitomo Caves |