PubTalk 8/2007 — Dark Holes in Muir's "Range of Light"

Insights from southern Sierra Nevada caves and karst

By John C. Tinsley, Geologist
 

• Water long ago carved many caves in carbonate rocks of the Sierra Nevada
• As the Sierra (John Muir's "Range of Light") was uplifted, successively deeper caves were drained and decorated during the past 5 million years
• Vertical arrays of caves document the progressive uplift and erosion in Kings Canyon
• Lilburn Cave, with 21 miles of passages, is California's longest
• New spectacular and pristine caves are still being discovered as recently as 2006