Glossary of terms

This is a limited glossary intended to be used for unfamiliar terms found on the Bat Conservation and Management website. For a much more thorough glossary of cave terms, see the Australian Cave Federation Glossary.

anticline

arch-like fold of rock layers on a grand scale, usually over several miles overland.

aquatard

layer of rock not easily dissolved with carbonic acid such as limestone is. Aquatards usually prevent water traveling vertically but allow water to move horizontally great distances underground.

bat

1) a three-foot long piece of hardwood used by locals to smash windows of caver's cars blocking gates; 2) a highly intelligent three-ounce protected mammal which cavers generally blame for closing caves. Locals generally blame bats for holding up land development. Bats are suddenly tolerated by cavers if the cave is threatened to be quarried away.

cave (limestone, Pennsylvania)

A natural topographic feature which allows a person to travel a minimum of twenty feet underground. Exceptions may be made for sites less than twenty feet when they are biologically, hydrologically, historically or otherwise significant.

cave (sandstone, Pennsylvania)

A natural topographic feature which allows a person to travel a minimum of fifty feet underground. Exceptions may be made for sites less than fifty feet when they are biologically or otherwise significant. Usually considered a waste of energy by cavers working in major limestone regions.

cavelet

A diminutive cave, usually mentioned for the record only.

cave diver

An advanced caver who had found that exploring air filled passages has become too monotonous. Cave divers are the "special forces" of the caving world, highly intelligent preforming procedures with precision organization and steel nerves. Those who do not meet strict requirements get "weeded out" by natural selection (read: death). Cave divers enjoy breathing out of a can, have lots of friends carting around literally tons of gear, and "see" thousands of feet of virgin underwater passages with zero visibility due to silt.

cavers

People who only work and sleep to kill time between cave trips. They generally use proper equipment, techniques, and responsibility when planning a trip, or at least they know the rules they may break. Cavers tend to travel in loud groups, known to party late into the night, and rarely sleep on a weekend trip. There are several disciplines: party caver, vertical caver, project caver, cave diver, spelunker, rescue caver, etc. A good caver knows a little about everything.

caving

The physical activity of visiting a cave area with proper equipment, techniques, and responsibility.

climb

A vertical change in a cave passage that does not require full vertical gear; you climb the rock-- not a rope. Particularly hairy climbs may have a handline or a belay to assist the climber.

drop

A vertical change in a cave that requires vertical gear. Some varieties include big, short, wet, dry, crumbling, nasty, easy, and nuisance. Usually seen as a nuisance to all but overly excited beginners and truly diehard vertical cavers.

dye

Flourecin dye is expensive but harmless to sprinkle into gurgling sinkholes used to trace water flow.

fault

A crack in bedrock along which massive rock layers have physically moved. Results as rock layers relieve stress when forced to bend or fold (i.e. form mountains).

flagging tape

brightly-colored plastic streamers used to mark anything inside a cave or out.

harp trap

a custom-built device consisting two frames of vertical monofilimant lines set about four inches apart. A particularly macho bat will fly through the first set of lines, but is usually tripped up by the second set. Only the bat's pride is hurt as he flutters down into a catch box below. Used to live trap abandoned mines which are too dangerous for wildlife surveyors to enter. Trapping requires special permits and harp traps are not availabile to the general public.

hibernacula

A general term used to describe any site natural or manmade which is suitable for bats bats to hibernate in. Many factors dictate how significant a hibernacula may be including but not limited to: temperature, humidity, disturbance, airflow, physical characteristics, surrounding habitat, and number of species present.

hodag

A furry four-legged cave resident creature with two legs longer than the others so as to easily walk on uneven ground. Generally mischievous critters, they are blamed for unexplainable events such large rocks mysteriously appearing in the backpacks of novice cavers.

hoopies

Local teenagers (and adults) characterized by driving jacked-up 4x4s around (or through) gates, dumping trash, and cruising back roads looking for a suitable place to drink beer and shoot firearms. Though generally harmless even in large groups, Hoopies do tend to compete with cavers for campsites, and are occasionally confused with cavers in the public's eye. Cruising back roads looking for a suitable place to drink beer and shoot firearms is where hoopies and cavers share common ground.

hypothermia

Potentially fatal condition a person experiences as their core body temperature falls below normal. Some degree of resistance (and brain illness?) can be achieved by repeated exposure. Hypothermia is the emergency most people preplan for when going underground in northern latitudes.

joint

Tiny hairline cracks formed in bedrock as stress relievers to a mountain building episode. Sometimes confused with faults, except joints never moved; the rock layer simply cracked. Since this mountain building episode occurred over a large area, joints in a relatively small area (such as our survey area) will likely be the same orientation.

limestone

Formed in shallow seas by sediment compacting with calcium-enriched sea critters (i.e. today's Gulf of Mexico, coral reefs, etc.) Carbonic acid seeps through cracks in limestone, dissolving the calcium and eventually washing out leftover sediment creating caves.

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locals

These are the people who are indigenous to whatever area you are caving in. Locals in rual West Virginia and Pennsylvania look upon caving with mild interest, everyone seems to know where at least one cave is. Their tolerance of cavers ranges from down home hospitality to a very rare but polite "beat it."

micro cave

A narrow crack in a rock outcrop which seems to lead into the hillside but is physically impossible to traverse.

mini cave

A diminutive cavelet which may be only a few feet long but humanly traversable.

mist net

Something like a fine vollyball net, an unsuspecting bird or bat hits the net and is caught in shallow pouches. Wildlife technicians are sometimes required to stack these contraptions two or three high. Onlookers tend to walk into nets at night making for endless hours of amusement.

nettles

stinging nettles, a.k.a. "Hellweed", leafy knee-high plant which grows profusely in shady, damp places-- i.e. most cave areas. Tiny hairs on the underside of the leaves secrete an oil which gives the skin a burning sensation. The sensation is delayed 10-20 seconds, so those who are unwary usually end up in a really thick patch before realizing it. Good for tricking novices ("is that an entrance over there?") Nettles are reason to avoid caving in the summer. Nasty.

party caver

Person who never actually goes deep into any cave, or perhaps only a few trips per year. Instead, the Party Caver makes a point to go to all campouts, meetings, meets, OTRs, and conventions purely for entertainment and social value.

pirate

what happens when a cave "steals" or diverts surface water from one place and releases it in another spot, sometimes miles away.

project caver

Viewed as secretive and elitist by some, these are the true Renaissance men (and women) of the caving world. Project Cavers prefer checking out lesser-known (or unknown) cavelets instead of elbowing their way through the litter-lined halls of the local tourist cave. Project Cavers scour a specific region to learn all there is to know about any caves in the area and what caused them to form there. Gaining this knowledge causes them to babble incessantly about where "the Big One" might be. Hours of oppressive ridgewalking, map hording, stream or air tracing, digging, blasting, photography, diving, stream diversion engineering, biology inventory, local interviews, and drought dances are but a few of the staples of the serious Project Cavers repertoire. Project Cavers are usually found exaggerating stories in the evening so as to recruit help with their projects the next day, and know of more new unmapped caves than they will ever be able to document.

rescue caver

Person who anxiously prepares for the worst accident possible on a cave trip. Usually has enough equipment in the trunk of his or her car to outfit the entire group "just in case". Characterized by always carrying an overstuffed backpack, constantly arguing over how to rig anything vertical, and can be found boasting about previous incidents and near death experiences. Great for bumming extra equipment from. Rescue Cavers always know what to do and when to do it, who to call, when to call, and if to call.

sandstone

Formed by compacting sediments along old riverbeds or beaches. Sandstone lacks the calcium "cement" found in limestone, and thus does not dissolve to form multi-mile long caves. Instead, it erodes away, usually slumping down a mountain side forming traversable "cracks" no more than a few hundred feet long. See sandstone cave.

sink

a natural depression with no human-sized cave entrance, occasionally with water disappearing into it. Novice cavers typically confuse this with depressions caused by uprooted trees and heavy earth-moving equipment.

sinkhole

a natural depression with an actual hole in it. May or may not have water flowing into it.

slump

on the surface, a relatively fresh collapse of dirt and debris, but no cave entrance exists (yet).

spelunker

Derogatory term used to describe people who visit caves without the benefit of a helmet, good lights, proper clothing and techniques, and common sense. Other synonyms include: ying-yang, cheezeball, touron, victim, yokel, etc.

sump

ponded water which completely blocks a passage for those of us who enjoy breathing air freely. A terminal sump usually means that it cannot be by-passed. An intermittent sump may be passable during a drought. Sumps are constantly sought by an intelligent but misguided lot of cave divers.

syncline

trough-like fold of rock layers, usually on a grand scale covering many miles over land.

talus

a natural rockpile usually consisting of football-sized rocks and larger boulders. Formed from the deterioration of rock outcrops, sandstone is notorious for forming acres of this stuff. Slippery, loose, uneven, and utterly a pain to walk through. Well developed talus fields do not have any vegetation growing in them.

tourist cave

A big, safe, easy cave usually visible from a road and doesn't take an expedition to visit. Despised by Project Cavers, the Tourist Cave usually contains broken flashlight parts, beer cans, and an occasional dark worship service. Can be found by asking any local.

tourist caver

a.k.a. recreational caver. A person who only visits cave to sightsee, and does not contribute to the understanding of the particular cave.

vertical cave

cave requiring a rope or ladder equipment to visit.

vertical caver

Person who specializes in visiting every vertical cave possible. Characterized by high confidence with well worn gear and the ability to tie any knot while dangling upside down in a waterfall. Vertical cavers can be found boasting about big drops and are constantly arguing over the merits of a particular climbing system.

woodrat

a.k.a rock squirrel or "what little critter got into my stuff?" An elusive, friendly, and cute threatened mammal which resides in cavey rock outcrops and entrances. Woodrats are known to disperse along river corridors but are threatened by forest fragmentation. The woodrat's only function is to constantly gather odds and ends from the surrounding forest. These odds and ends include cave packs, helmets, coats, hats, and litter. If the object is too heavy to drag off into some crevice, the rat will gnaw it into several pieces, then carry it away.

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