Africa
The African continent has, despite its enormous size, very little subterranean
sights.
The reasons are diverse:
- The geologic situation is not very good for karst and cave
development.
Most areas of Africa are covered by an old kraton, a very old tectonic unit
consisting mainly of crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
So there are only small areas of limestone, often metamorphized to marble.
- The climatic situation is also not very good for the development of
caves.
Huge areas are arid, other areas are lowlands covered by swamp and rain
forrest.
- The history, most countries were in a Stone Age stage of development
until the white people arrived.
There was little mining activity and little exploration activity.
The exploration of the white invader was focused
- The low development of most countries is a reason for the lack of
inland tourism and also a lack of foreign tourism, often combined with an
instable political situation, make it very unlikely that show caves or
mines are developed.
So, despite some world famous mines and several interesting karst areas, the
number of subterranean sights is pretty low.
Best developed is South Africa with its numerous archaeological sites.
Other states have some caves, often in a very low state of development.
Most important are cultural caves which were used as hideouts or to build cave
houses.
Additional Information about Africa
Algeria:
Ghardaia
Muqattam Mountain Cave Cathedral |
Sof Omar
El-Haouaria |
