Glossary of caving and speleology

A

• Airbell - An enclosed air space in a flooded tube between the water and the roof
• Anthodite - A speleothem composed of long needle-like crystals situated in clusters which radiate outward from a common base.

  B

• Belly crawl - A passage that is very low
• Biospeleology - A branch of biology dedicated to the study of organisms that live in caves and are collectively referred to as troglofauna.
• Boneyard - An intricate maze of limestone with many holes where material has dissolved away.
• Boulder choke - A collection of large rocks or rubble that obstructs the passage of a cave or mine. In order to progress through passages cavers often need to negotiate or clear boulder chokes.
• Buffoon - Also called a speleo-buffoon or cave-buffoon, a derogatory term referring to cavers who are unprepared and make poor decisions.

  C

• Cave conservancy - A specialized land trust that primarily manages caves or karst features in the United States.
• Cave digging - The practice of enlarging undiscovered cave openings to allow entry.
• Caver - Someone who explores caves for recreation, a synonym for spelunker
• Caving - the sport of exploring caves, a synonym for spelunking
• Cupola - recess, indentation, or cavity in the ceiling of a lava tube, a kind of cave formation.

  K

• Karst - A landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks.

  P

• Pit - A vertical space for which ascending or rappelling equipment is required.
• Pseudokarst - Similar to Karsts, but created by different mechanisms.

  R

• Cave rescue - A highly specialized field of wilderness rescue in which injured, trapped or lost cave explorers are medically treated and extracted from various cave environments.
• Resurgence - The point where water emerges from an aquifer

  S

• Speleogen - A geological formation within a cave that has been created by the removal of bedrock, rather than as a secondary deposit.
• Speleogenesis - The origin and development of caves, the primary process that determines essential features of the hydrogeology of karst and guides its evolution.
• Spelunker - Someone who explores caves as a hobby, a synonym for caver
• Spelunking - Exploring caves as a hobby, a synonym for caving
• Squeeze - A tight passage
• Stygofauna - Small aquatic animals living in caves and aquifers
• Sump - A cave that is submerged under water. A sump may be static, with no inward or outward flow, or active, with continuous through-flow. Static sumps may also be connected underwater to active stream passage. When short in length, a sump may be called a duck.
• Suspension trauma - Also known as harness hang syndrome, or orthostatic intolerance, is an effect which occurs when the human body is held upright without any movement for a period of time.
• Swallow-hole - The point where water drains from the surface into a cave system

  T

• Terrace - A series of dams made of rimstone that slopes gently.
• Troglobite - An animal that lives entirely in the dark parts of caves
• Troglofauna - Small, non-aquatic cave-dwelling animals

  W

• Whaletail - A type of descender produced from a block of aluminium block applies a variable degree of friction.
• Window - A hole in a thin wall that connects two chambers or passages.