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270:, involves driving wedges into lines of small diameter holes that have been drilled in the rock. As the wedges are driven into the holes, a crack forms along the line of holes and the rock is eventually broken. A more recently developed technique is known as "capping", where a hole is drilled into the rock using a battery-powered drill, a small charge (commonly designed for use with a
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156:, with the goal of creating accessible entrances. Whether outside an inaccessible cave or inside an already accessible cave, when spaces are evident on the other side of blocked passages, many strategies can be used to widen entrances from rearranging rocks to using explosives.
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Where the main impediment is solid rock, entry may involve the practice of rock shaving. This method consists of drilling holes in the rock, filling them with a small amount of gunpowder, and then igniting it to fragment the rock in thin layers. A similar technique, called
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Cave digging can damage the cave by exposing it to the outside world or through the force needed to enter. This can harm the ecology within the cave. Careless cave digging can also lead to destruction or irresponsible removal of items with archeological significance.
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On occasion, a newly discovered opening will be large enough for the average person to enter, but often they are too small and must be enlarged to allow entry. When the entrance is too small, it is enlarged using cave digging techniques.
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Sometimes, the use of equipment and brute force is not enough to gain entry into the cave. In cases such as these, serious diggers resort to more intensive means of opening the cave. Many "digs" become large group projects, involving
274:) is inserted, and tapped with a long steel rod in order to cleave off pieces of rock. An environmental and safety assessment should be conducted before blasting to ensure minimal impact to the cave environment.
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The area around digs may be unstable and often need to be shored up with scaffolding or concrete to prevent re-collapse. It can be a dangerous activity.
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Most of the obvious caves in countries with a well-established caving community have already been discovered and explored, so
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either in or out, it is an encouraging indication that there is potential for a large or extensive cave beyond.
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in areas with cave potential for previously undiscovered openings to the underground. These may be found in
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to haul the buckets if the opening is being enlarged in a downward direction. Large tamping tools and
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are also useful in dislodging the rocks and soil as the digging progresses.
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must search for new caves. This is most commonly accomplished by scouring the
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Looking up the entrance shaft of
Committee Pot entrance to Notts II Cave on
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527:. National Cave and Karst Management Symposium. Albany. pp. 88–91
499:. National Cave and Karst Management Symposium. Albany. pp. 88–91
471:. National Cave and Karst Management Symposium. Albany. pp. 88–91
334:. National Cave and Karst Management Symposium. Albany. pp. 88–91
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which was dug after divers had accessed an extensive cave system below
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548:"Cave team details nine-hour rescue of man stuck in Ogof Ffynon Ddu"
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405:"How do caves breathe: The airflow patterns in karst underground"
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Sometimes digging simply involves moving a few rocks and some
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to allow entry. Cave digging usually begins with a survey of
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If the discovered feature is significantly draughting
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is the practice of enlarging openings of undiscovered
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DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS
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DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS
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DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS
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DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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183:outcrops or anywhere the ground is underlain by
601:"Anthropological and Cultural Values of Caves"
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258:shoring, and even the use of large diameter
605:Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society
218:. This can be accomplished with the bare
187:or other soluble rock. Areas underlain by
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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222:or may involve the use of folding army
16:Enlarging of undiscovered cave openings
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195:are found may also contain new caves.
518:Jones, William K. (31 October 2005).
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599:Ronquillo, Wilfredo P. (June 1995).
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575:"Best Practice Capping Techniques"
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41:Please help
36:verification
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584:17 December
262:methods.
173:countryside
287:References
193:lava tubes
69:newspapers
206:Technique
185:limestone
177:sinkholes
142:mountains
127:Leck Fell
638:Category
622:28 April
617:29792183
579:Braemoor
554:. grough
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409:PLOS ONE
388:29 April
363:29 April
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310:29 April
272:nail gun
252:backhoes
244:crowbars
417:Bibcode
236:buckets
232:chisels
224:shovels
146:valleys
83:scholar
644:Caving
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558:14 May
552:grough
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278:Impact
256:timber
169:cavers
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332:(DOC)
220:hands
179:, in
154:caves
138:caves
90:JSTOR
76:books
624:2024
586:2015
560:2024
533:2024
505:2024
477:2024
445:PMID
390:2024
365:2024
340:2024
312:2024
240:rope
228:root
216:soil
189:lava
181:rock
144:and
62:news
435:PMC
425:doi
200:air
148:in
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