Virginia Maine's Photo Gallery
Lake
The boats give a sense of scale to the lake and also the abundance of the stalactites.
View across the lake from one of the boats
The tour culminates with a brief performance by musicians afloat on the lake. The boats enter the auditorium from here which indicates that the lake extends for some distance in this direction.
Underground Lake
The guide claimed this to be the largest cave lake in Europe.
When I visited in the mid 1970s this was the extent of the tour.
Now however there is an option to either exit along the walkway beside the cave wall, or, take a boat trip across the lake. I didn't need asking twice.
General View
A further view that demonstrates the gently dipping 'slot' nature of the cave system.
Speleothems
Speleothems (mainly draperies and flowstone) in the cave.
Like the 'Fan', this is another distinctive zone where iron (presumably an oxide / hematite) has produced a rose pink tint where almost everywhere else the structures are off-white cream coloured.
back to the entrance
Whilst the urge is primarily to look forward to the next 'reveal', looking backwards to where there are now no people is often highly rewarding.
Lake
It is notable that whilst the stalactites and stalagmites have taken 1000s of years to develop, during which time there has been significant change to sea level due to ice age glacial episodes, which in turn would presumably have led to draining of this lake if it is directly connected to the sea as suggested by the guide, there are no stalagmites on the cave floor below contemporary water level, in turn suggesting that any there once were have been dissolved by the water.
cave roof
Illustrating how the stalactites are formed where the cave roof is fractured which allows water seepage whilst adjacent conforming blocks remain bare.
Stalagmites
There is a disparity between the fine roof stalactites and the massive pillars created beneath.
