There has ought to be somewhere -- a range of mountains, or a forested island -- near every city, where city people take walks in the forest, or see interesting attractions from wonderful views, or go fly fishing, or canoeing, or simply tour around and see all the sights. For New York, the place is -- I don't know, where do you New Yorkers go for a day out -- maybe the Appalachians or something -- anyway, Sydney has such a place, and it's called the Blue Mountains.
I have already introduced the mountain range on several occasions. It's a gigantic mountain range, and backs up the suburbs of Sydney. It's about five times the size of Sydney itself. The Blue Mountains are not mountains, but a plateau dissected by deep, cliff-lined gorges and valleys, and box canyons half a kilometer high. The southern reach of the Blue Mountains is made of granite and slate, and is composed of deep gorges with steep slopes topped with ranges.
In this southern part is a layer of limestone, a hard kind of rock, made of animal remains, in which beautiful caves form. Some of the oldest and largest caves in the world are located in the southwestern Blue Mountains, including the Jenolan Caves, an immense and spectacular cave system.
Legend has it that the Jenolan Caves were discovered when an English settler was trying to track down an escaped convict who had stolen his horse. The settler found the escaped convict, and walked further down the valley to find himself surrounded by towering limestone arches. A road was hastily constructed from the farming village of Oberon to get tourists to this new attraction.
Soon enough, a dip in the ground was uncovered near Carlotta Arch, one of the grander limestone arches. At the same time, caves, namely the Nettle cave and the Arch cave, were found in an arch called the Devil's Coach House. These caves were covered in dirt, however, and did not have stalactites or stalagmites. In the dip in the ground, pioneers found the entrance to what they called the Elder cave. This cave was very deep, and covered in limestone formations.
One of the explorers found out the cave was a passageway down to an underground river and an arch called the Grand Arch. After this discovery, more caves were found, including the River, Orient, Ribbon, Temple of Baal, Pool of Cerberus, Imperial, Chifely, Jubilee, Lucas, Red, Aladdin, and Mammoth caves. More caves are found all the time.
All the caves above are toured regularly. The Orient is the most beautiful cave. The River cave is the longest. The Elder, Mammoth, and Aladdin caves are used for adventure tours. The Lucas cave is the biggest. And so on.
The Jenolan caves are the largest cave system I have ever been to. Not that I have been to many caves; there are caves in America that are bigger. However, the Jenolan caves is also the largest cave system in Australia, and that's saying something.
I have already introduced the mountain range on several occasions. It's a gigantic mountain range, and backs up the suburbs of Sydney. It's about five times the size of Sydney itself. The Blue Mountains are not mountains, but a plateau dissected by deep, cliff-lined gorges and valleys, and box canyons half a kilometer high. The southern reach of the Blue Mountains is made of granite and slate, and is composed of deep gorges with steep slopes topped with ranges.
In this southern part is a layer of limestone, a hard kind of rock, made of animal remains, in which beautiful caves form. Some of the oldest and largest caves in the world are located in the southwestern Blue Mountains, including the Jenolan Caves, an immense and spectacular cave system.
Legend has it that the Jenolan Caves were discovered when an English settler was trying to track down an escaped convict who had stolen his horse. The settler found the escaped convict, and walked further down the valley to find himself surrounded by towering limestone arches. A road was hastily constructed from the farming village of Oberon to get tourists to this new attraction.
Soon enough, a dip in the ground was uncovered near Carlotta Arch, one of the grander limestone arches. At the same time, caves, namely the Nettle cave and the Arch cave, were found in an arch called the Devil's Coach House. These caves were covered in dirt, however, and did not have stalactites or stalagmites. In the dip in the ground, pioneers found the entrance to what they called the Elder cave. This cave was very deep, and covered in limestone formations.
One of the explorers found out the cave was a passageway down to an underground river and an arch called the Grand Arch. After this discovery, more caves were found, including the River, Orient, Ribbon, Temple of Baal, Pool of Cerberus, Imperial, Chifely, Jubilee, Lucas, Red, Aladdin, and Mammoth caves. More caves are found all the time.
All the caves above are toured regularly. The Orient is the most beautiful cave. The River cave is the longest. The Elder, Mammoth, and Aladdin caves are used for adventure tours. The Lucas cave is the biggest. And so on.
The Jenolan caves are the largest cave system I have ever been to. Not that I have been to many caves; there are caves in America that are bigger. However, the Jenolan caves is also the largest cave system in Australia, and that's saying something.
