The Echo Caves in

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, are set in

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...

dolomite rock, which was first laid down about 3800 million years ago, when Africa was still part of

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final st ...

. The caves are considered some of the oldest in the world. The Echo Caves are about 92 km north of the similar Sudwala Caves. There are a number of

speleothem A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending o ...

structures in the cave; two of these are hollow stalactites which when hammered create echoes audible throughout and even outside the caves, thus the name of the caves. The caves are over 40 km long; regular tours are available for about 2 km of the tunnels and chambers. The caves were used for shelter in recent centuries by the

Pedi people The Pedi or (also known as the Northern Sotho or and the Marota or ) – are a southern African ethnic group that speak Pedi or ''Sepedi'', a dialect belonging to the Sotho-Tswana enthnolinguistic group. Northern Sotho is a term used to ...

; they slept in what is now called the Samson chamber (due to the limestone columns which appear to hold the low roof of the cave up).

History

In the nineteenth century the Pedi lived in the Echo Caves. They used the hollow stalactites as a warning system to warn their people of attacks by neighbouring Swazi tribes. Many archeological artefacts and bones from those times are on display at the nearby Museum of Man. In 1923, the caves were rediscovered by the owner of the farm Klipfonteinhoek, near

Ohrigstad Ohrigstad (Afrikaans for ''Ohrig city''), formerly Andries Orieg Stad, is a small town to the north of Lydenburg in the Limpopo province, South Africa. History A fort was established by a group of Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Hend ...

, who was looking for missing cattle. The caves were opened in 1959 as a tourist attraction. In the 1980s, more sealed caverns were discovered, and entrances created both into the existing caves and out to the hillside; the new discovery included the enormous Madonna chamber.

Tourism

The Echo caves were opened as a tourist attraction in 1959, and have been declared a National Monument.History of the Echo Caves
/ref> The additional caves have been included in the tours since the 1980s. Some of the chambers (up to 60m high, in places) and formations include the Madonna chamber, the Samson chamber, the Rhino Horn, the Ostrich, the hollow stalactites, and Crystal Palace.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Echo Caves WebsiteEcho Caves on Show Me
Caves of South Africa Limestone caves Landforms of Limpopo

History

Tourism

See also

References

External links