Chapter 4 Habitats
4.4.2 Caves and Mines 4.4.2.1 Ecosystem Description
The majority of documented caves in North Carolina occur in the Mountain ecoregion, though there are some caves present in all regions of the state, including the Coastal Plain. There are several different types of natural caves; however, the most common types are solution caves, fissure caves, and rock shelter/boulder caves. These types differ primarily in the way they are formed. Our definition of the caves and mines habitat type is intended to include only mines that include subterranean excavations with conditions inside the mine shafts and tunnels that resemble conditions in natural caves. That being said, the range of variability of those conditions is extensive. • Solution caves are created by the action of water dissolving the underlying rock to form tunnels. Over time, solution caves get larger and larger and are generally the most extensive (size and length of passage). There are a few areas of North Carolina with underlying limestone geology that lend themselves to solution cave formations. Most notably the Nantahala Gorge and North Fork Catawba River/Linville Mountain area of western North Carolina and parts of the Coastal Plain are underlain with limestone (marble, dolomite, and marl respectively). • Fissure caves are formed by movement of the earth’s surface, which results in cracks in the rock layers. Depending on the actual events that spawn the development, fissure caves have varying sizes and configuration. Fissure caves occur in many places in North Carolina, though one of the most well-known and largest fissure cave systems in the world occurs in Hickory Nut Gorge in Rutherford County. • Rock shelter/boulder caves are formed by erosive forces, weather events, earth surface movements, and other factors that essentially leave spaces underneath/behind surface rock. The vast majority of caves in North Carolina are rock shelter/boulder caves. Owing to their diversity of formation, geology, and range in the state, caves in North Carolina are quite variable in terms of both the plant and animal communities adapted to and found in them (also see Sections 4.4.10 Mesic Forests and 4.4.11 Piedmont and Mountain Dry Coniferous Woodlands in this chapter). • In addition, an extensive mining history in North Carolina has provided numerous subterranean excavations that can and do mimic the environmental conditions of natural caves. Like caves, mines come in many shapes and forms, depending upon numerous factors. There are many mines that do not provide conditions similar to those found in caves, such as open pit mines, strip mines, and quarries.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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