cave

1. an underground hollow with access from the ground surface or from the sea, often found in limestone areas and on rocky coastlines

2. Brit History a secession or a group seceding from a political party on some issue

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

What does it mean when you dream about a cave?

Caves often represent a place to hide or seek refuge. Coming out of a cave may mean the emergence of the self. A cave may also symbolize the womb, childbearing, new life, contemplation, or creativity. (See also Hole, Pit).

cave

[kāv]

(engineering)

A pit or tunnel under a glass furnace for collecting ashes or raking the fire.

(geology)

A natural, hollow chamber or series of chambers and galleries beneath the earth's surface, or in the side of a mountain or hill, with an opening to the surface.

(mining engineering)

Fragmented rock materials, derived from the sidewalls of a borehole, that obstruct the hole or hinder drilling progress. Also known as cavings.

The partial or complete failure of borehole sidewalls or mine workings. Also known as cave-in.

(nucleonics)

A heavily shielded compartment in which highly radioactive material can be handled, generally by remote control. Also known as hot cell.

CAVE

(Computer Automatic Virtual Environment) A virtual reality system that uses projectors to display images on three or four walls and the floor. Special glasses make everything appear as 3D images and also track the path of the user's vision.

CAVE was the first virtual reality system to let multiple users participate in the experience simultaneously. Known as a "spatially immersive display," it was developed by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois in the early 1990s. See head mounted display and virtual reality.

Simulating New Architecture

CAVE is used to simulate a newly designed train station to evaluate its functionality. (Image courtesy of Fakespace Systems Inc.)

Training People

This CAVE system teaches people how to operate a Caterpillar bulldozer. The steering wheel on the left meets the real steering wheel in virtual space, appearing to the man as the actual wheel he is turning. (Image courtesy of Fakespace Systems Inc.)

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Cave

(dreams)

Caves are rich and thought-provoking dream symbols. At times, a woman with reproductive issues may have a cave dream, in which case it represents the womb. The cave, as the womb, can represent new life, creativity, warmth, and safety. The cave can be a general symbol of a safe place, a sanctuary or a refuge. If you are experiencing much anxiety in daily life, in your dream state you may retreat to a warm cave where you cannot be disturbed by worldly demands. The cave could also represent the mysterious and unexplored parts of self. It could be symbolic of the unconscious mind, which could be a pleasant or a frightening experience. Your personal associations and experiences with caves, as well as the details and the emotional content of this dream, need to be carefully considered before making an interpretation.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Cave

a large cavity in the upper layers of the earth’s crust having openings that connect it to the surface of the earth. Caves are formed in many ways. Karst caves result from the leaching and erosion of such water-soluble rocks as limestones, dolomites, and gypsums. Others are formed as a result of the suffusion and underground erosion of weathered cracks (“clay pseudokarst”). Caves may be formed by abrasion, the deflation of particles resulting from the weathering of hard rocks, the formation of open tectonic cracks, and the uneven deposition of certain geological formations (for example, travertines). Lava caves form when the solidified crust of a lava flow ruptures and the fluid lava underneath flows out. Ice caves, or grottoes, form as a result of the thawing of ice.

The largest caves are karst caves, which consist of intricate systems of passages and halls. Their total length is usually several dozen kilometers. Karst caves, particularly those of limestone, frequently have various types of colored dripstone and sinter formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and curtains. They also are characterized by underground streams, rivers, and lakes.

Caves may be horizontal or may drop down steeply. Some consist of more or less horizontal cavities that alternate with steep and vertical underground passages descending to great depths. The deepest karst chasms in the world are the Pierre St. Martin Cave (1,171 m) and the Puits Berger (1,141 m), both of which are in France. Multistory caves occur frequently.

The climatic regime of a cave depends on whether the cavity is directed upward from the entrance (warm caves) or downward (cold saclike caves). A cave may also have two outlets, providing good ventilation. Saclike caves and caves with through circulation have ice formations, such as crystals and icicles, year-round. Such caves are called ice caves (the Kungur Cave in the Ural region and the Balagansk Cave in the Angara River region).

Caves are characterized by a unique fauna, some representatives of which are also found outside caves under similar conditions. Some caves were used as human dwellings during the Stone Age. Tools and the bones of extinct animals and primitive humans have been found in such caves. There are also drawings and paintings on the walls and ceilings. Stone Age caves include the Altamira Cave and the Kapova Cave. Speleology is the comprehensive study of caves. Many of the world’s caves are tourist attactions.

REFERENCES

Gvozdetskii, N. A. Problemy izucheniia karsta i praktika. Moscow, 1972.
Gvozdetskii, N. A. “Noveishie dannye o razmerakh samykh krupnykh karstovykh polostei mira i SSSR.” Vestn. MGU: Ser. geogr., 1973, no. 5.
Maksimovich, G. A. Osnovy karstovedeniia, vol. 1. Perm’, 1963.
Chikishev, A. G. Peshchery na territorii SSSR. Moscow, 1973.

N. A. GVOZDETSKII