caving
Sign in to savethumb|Caving in a muddy section of Black Chasm Cave in [[California|alt=A man caving in muddy passage with helictite formations on the walls and ceiling]] thumb|220px|upright|Stephens Gap, a vertical cave in Alabama
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Motivation
- Etymology
- History
- Practice and equipment
- Safety
- Cave conservation
- Caving organizations
- See also
- References
thumb|Caving in a muddy section of Black Chasm Cave in [[California|alt=A man caving in muddy passage with helictite formations on the walls and ceiling]] thumb|220px|upright|Stephens Gap, a vertical cave in Alabama
Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.