Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

Fictional underground river rides tend to be
through exhilarating whitewater laced with
menacing boulders. To protract the plot,
there are also beaches upon which to
recover after close calls.
As we'll note in Chapter 39, Karstology, realworld
underground rivers indeed can be
steep, and as suggested the photograph of
Grotte de Vallorbe, Switzerland, rough.
Cave river fiction is not totally fictional, other
than the explorers always emerge.
Cave Lakes
Chapter 26 -- Subterranean Water Bodies
What differentiates a "cave river" from a "cave lake?"
The distinciton tends to be one of perception: the former moves quickly and the latter moves
imperceptably. But as cave waters are more often quiescent than running, it's not uncommon for
a still body to be called a "river" because of its narrowness.
For tourist draw, "river" also sounds more
exciting.
We didn't illustrate an admission booth at
the cave mouths, but as noted in Chapters
51 and 52, there's often a fee for the
rowboat.
Cave lakes (as do all lakes) have one or more inflows, sometimes from the cave mouth, but more
often as infiltration from above. Cave lakes likewise have one or more outflows. Those higher
than the surrounding terrain can drain through the cave mouth, but most maintain water balance
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