Caves | Weird But True! | S1 E14 | Full Episode | @natgeokids
Summary
TLDRCharlie and Kirby embark on an underground adventure in Virginia to determine the winner of a diorama duel. With the help of cave expert David, they explore a limestone solution cave, discovering various geological formations like stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone. They learn about cave animals, including trogloxenes, troglophiles, and troglobites, and discuss the impact of human activity on bats. The duo's experience culminates in a thrilling rappel into a deep cave, where they gather inspiration for their dioramas, ultimately resulting in a tie and a combined masterpiece.
Takeaways
- 𧩠The video features a 'diarama duel', a creative competition where two players craft the best diorama with a cave theme.
- đșïž The duo explores various types of caves, including lava caves, desert caves, sea caves, glacier caves, tectonic caves, and limestone solution caves.
- đŹ They learn about cave formations like stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone, which are formed over millions of years through processes like dissolution and deposition.
- đŠ Caves are home to unique wildlife, including bats, trogloxenes, troglophiles, and troglobites, with some species being endemic to specific caves.
- đïž The video highlights the importance of cave conservation, mentioning the white-nose syndrome that has severely impacted bat populations.
- đ§ââïž Caving safety is emphasized, with tips on proper gear, group exploration, and the three-point contact rule for climbing in caves.
- đ The adventure includes a thrilling rappelling experience to reach a deep, hard-to-access cave with spectacular geological features.
- đ Despite the competition, both competitors' dioramas are combined to create a comprehensive cave scene, resulting in another tie.
- đ The video concludes with a hint at a new project, suggesting a transition from underground to space exploration in future crafts.
- đ The script provides educational insights into speleology, the scientific study of caves, and the unique ecosystems they support.
Q & A
What is a diarama duel?
-A diarama duel is a head-to-head competition where two players create the best diarama (a model or scene in a box) to win fame, fortune, and eternal glory.
What are the different types of caves mentioned in the script?
-The script mentions lava caves, sea caves, glacier caves, tectonic caves, and limestone solution caves.
How do limestone solution caves form?
-Limestone solution caves form when acidic groundwater dissolves the limestone over millions of years, creating cracks and eventually large spaces.
What is the term for cave exploration?
-The term for cave exploration is spelunking.
What are the three main types of cave-dwelling animals?
-The three main types of cave-dwelling animals are trines (use caves for shelter), triles (can live in caves and other places), and troglobites (can only live in caves).
What is the significance of the Mexican Tetra in the context of cave animals?
-The Mexican Tetra is an example of a troglobite, an animal that can only live inside caves. It has unique adaptations like being albino and having no eyes.
What is white nose syndrome, and how does it affect bats?
-White nose syndrome is a deadly disease affecting bats, causing them to have a white fungus on their noses. It has led to significant declines in bat populations.
Why is it important to wash your clothes after caving?
-Washing clothes after caving is important to prevent the spread of diseases like white nose syndrome, which can be harmful to bat populations.
What is the term for the scientific study and exploration of caves?
-The scientific study and exploration of caves is called speleology.
What is the world's deepest cave, and where is it located?
-The world's deepest cave is Krubera Cave, also known as Voronya Cave, located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range in Abkhazia, Georgia.
Outlines
𧩠Introduction to the Diarama Duel
Charlie and Kirby introduce a competition called the 'diarama duel', which is a head-to-head crafting duel to create the best diorama. The winner gains fame and glory, while the loser loses their crafting reputation and dignity. During their duel, they end up in a tie, leading to an underground cave diarama challenge. They prepare for the challenge by researching different types of caves, such as lava caves, sea caves, glacier caves, tectonic caves, and limestone solution caves. They also call an expert, David, for advice on caving and learn about essential caving gear and safety tips.
đż Exploring Limestone Solution Caves
The duo, along with their friend David, a caving expert, explore a limestone solution cave in Virginia. They learn about how these caves are formed by acidic water dissolving the rock over millions of years. David shares safety tips for cave exploration, such as maintaining three points of contact while climbing and the importance of helmets and knee pads. They discover various rock formations within the cave, including stalactites, stalagmites, and columns, and learn about the scientific term 'speleothems' which encompasses all cave features. They also discuss the constant cold and wet conditions within caves.
đïž Discovering Cave Ecology
The group delves deeper into the cave, learning about the slow formation of stalactites and stalagmites, with a focus on the time it takes for these features to grow. They encounter flowstone, a formation created by water flowing over rocks, and discuss the naming conventions for cave features. They also explore the unique cave ecosystem, including trogloxenes (animals that use caves for shelter), troglophiles (animals that can live in caves and other places), and troglobites (animals that can only live in caves). They discuss the impact of human activity on cave-dwelling bats, particularly white-nose syndrome, and the importance of proper caving practices to protect these delicate ecosystems.
đ§ââïž The Art of Caving and Repelling
The adventurers experience the thrill of repelling into a deep, hard-to-reach cave, guided by David. They discuss the history of caving, including the deep caves explored by expeditions and the use of various techniques to navigate these challenging environments. They also touch on the delicate nature of caves and the importance of respecting these environments by leaving no trace. The group reflects on their findings and prepares to use their discoveries to craft a winning diorama for their tiebreaker challenge.
đ Crafting the Ultimate Cave Diorama
In the final segment, Charlie and Kirby craft their dioramas based on their caving adventure, incorporating elements like stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and cave animals. They present their creations, which are judged to be a tie, resulting in another draw. Despite the outcome, they celebrate their experience and the knowledge gained about caves. They also discuss the broader implications of their adventure, such as the scientific study of caves (speleology) and the unique species found within these isolated environments.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄDierama Duel
đĄCave
đĄLava Cave
đĄSea Cave
đĄGlacier Cave
đĄTectonic Cave
đĄLimestone Solution Cave
đĄStalactite
đĄStalagmite
đĄFlowstone
đĄSpeleology
Highlights
Introduction to an underground adventure in Virginia, exploring caves with Charlie and Kirby.
Explanation of a diarama duel, a creative competition with high stakes.
Unexpected tie in the diarama duel leads to an underground cave challenge.
Research on cave types reveals diverse formations: lava caves, sea caves, glacier caves, tectonic caves, and limestone solution caves.
Caving bro tips from Brett and Sebastian emphasize safety and preparation for the cave adventure.
Meeting with cave expert David in Virginia to explore a limestone solution cave.
Education on how limestone solution caves form over millions of years.
Safety tips for cave climbing, emphasizing the use of knees and three points of contact.
Discovery of geological features like stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone within the cave.
Weird but true fact: 90% of caves are still undiscovered.
Explanation of cave animal classifications: trines, triles, and troglobites.
The impact of white nose syndrome on bat populations and ways to help prevent its spread.
Repelling into a deep, hard-to-reach cave for an ultimate spelunking adventure.
Reflection on the delicate nature of caves and the importance of leaving no trace.
Final diarama duel tiebreaker showcasing the unique features of the explored cave.
Weird but true facts shared at the end, including the largest stalagmite in Cuba and the scientific study of caves called speleology.
Teaser for a new project involving space, hinting at future adventures.
Transcripts
[Music]
hey guys charlie here you know my sister
Kirby hey guys today we're hanging out
underground in Virginia so grab a helmet
and strap on the Hub lamp because it's
time for weird but
[Music]
true
hey guys welcome to HQ we're so glad
you're here all right a few minutes ago
Kirby and I we having a diarama duel
wait you guys don't know what a diarama
duel is this might catch you up a
bit are you ready to
run it's time for a diarama duel two
players face off in a head-to-head CFT
duel to make the best diarama the winner
receives fame fortune and basically
eternal glory the loser loses is
everything The Duel their crafting
reputation and their dignity Stakes are
high we don't mess around here people
but during today's diarama duel
something weird happened we had just
finished up our pieces when it came time
to face judge Casey all right guys let's
see
them W you guys literally made the exact
same thing what like exactly the same
thing to the very tree so it was a tie
but you can't have a diarama duel and
not have a winner it was time for a
tiebreaker we diarama the sky the grass
and everything in between but there was
one place we hadn't
touched we're taking this diarama duel
underground and when you're doing an
underground diarama there's only one way
to bring home the top prize you got to
diarama the heck out of a cave oh yeah
so that's what we're doing today
unraveling the world
of
caves all right Crafters you have 30
minutes to make your diaramas starting
in three 2 1 du okay uh caves caves uh
what do we got here you know what I just
realized C what's up I know absolutely
nothing about caves me neither head over
to HQ for some research Mo back great
let's go all right caves caves oh look
at this there are a bunch of different
kinds of caves who knew let's check it
out the main difference was between all
these caves is how they form lava caves
form when the outer surface of lava
cools but the inside keeps flowing then
the lava inside dries up later and boom
you're left with a
cave when the caves form in the desert
when wind erodes the sides of sandstone
Cliffs sea caves are made the same way
except it's the constant barrage of
waves that form the
cave same with the glacier caves except
it's the glacier melt that erodes away
the
ice tectonic caves form from the
movement of tectonic plates and finally
Limestone solution caves form when
acidic groundwater dissolves marble and
Limestone over millions and millions of
years so we got a lot of options for
diarama Styles here well like where do
we even start oh my gosh David David
David's Charlie friend from Virginia
he's an actual cave expert I'm calling
him right
now
David Charlie how's Virginia Virginia's
great can we come caving yeah absolutely
I can take you caving awesome we'll see
you in five this is perfect all right
Charles question what are we supposed to
pack for this thing uh I have no idea
this might be a good time for some
caving bro tips a little caving 101 from
our friends Brett and
Sebastian sup dudes Brett here alongside
my bro Sebastian salutations so you want
to go caving excellent activity here are
some caving bro tips to help yeah cave
safely always cave with another bro cave
in groups of Bros and let somebody
outside the cave know about your bro
pack caving plants that way if you get
lost got somebody to help you out and
you got some buddies to back up your
sweet cave stories bro we saw bat like
the size of a house bro not lying wao
always carry three light sources with
you I like to carry four a flashlight
two headlamps and my glowing personality
other equipment you need on your bro
person a helmet to protect your bro head
knee pads to protect your little bro
knees and cover OLS cuz caving is a cold
and muddy
business perfect so we know what we need
guys this is great while caving with
David I'm going to find exactly what my
diarama needs to win this thing well you
mean I'll find out exactly what my
diarama needs to win this thing whatever
you want to tell yourself curb let's
pack up and then we'll head out sounds
good good weird but true China has a
population of 1.3 billion and more than
30 million people live in
caves we're headed off to Virginia to
study some caves Old Dominion eight
presidents were born in Virginia more
importantly it's home to thousands of
caves guys check it out that guy down
there that's our buddy David David's
been caving for years we don't know
anyone who knows more about caves than
he does let's go say hi David is a
Marine scientist and a caving guide who
loves exploring underground he's going
to take us to some sweet caves with
really cool features his favorite weird
but true fact is the largest bat Colony
lives in a cave in
Texas it's home to 20 million
bats hey David how's it going man he hey
David hey Kirby oh man we're so excited
for our caving Adventure today yeah you
guys have come to the right place this
is the cave we're going into today what
kind of cave is this this is a limestone
solution cave okay Limestone solution
cave guys that means this ancient
Limestone had cracks in it acidic water
got into those cracks dissolving the
rock forming the cave and all the rock
formations inside should be pretty
awesome so this is going to be pretty
cool right yeah this is my favorite kind
of cave sounds great so uh we're heading
on this so hold on first we got to get
you suited up all righty let's do
[Music]
it check it out one of the coolest
things about caves like this one is that
it took millions and millions and
millions of years for them to form it's
not like an animal just dug a hole or
anything it took a lot of time a lot of
time there's a limestone solution cave
in Wisconsin that's been dated to 400
million years old during this Cave's
lifetime dinosaurs started existing then
became extinct Pangia formed and broke
up humans evolved the internet was
invented and bangs went out of style
came back in style then went out of
style again these caves have seen a
lot ready to go curb I'm so ready all
right helmet's buckled head lamps on
let's go check it out let's
go David leads the way he says that not
far down we'll find some amazing rock
formations but it's no easy trk so he
has a few safety tips for climbing be
careful guys it's slippery remember
three points of contact that it can
include your knee or your butt your butt
is a very good point of contact and your
knees are better than your feet unlike
rock climbing where you use your feet a
lot and caving you use your knees a
lot this cave is incredible there are
passageways of all different
sizes going to be nice and careful on
this down climb it's crazy one minute
you're squeezing in these tiny spaces
and then it opens up into these giant
RS
weird but true cave exploring is also
called
spelunking two things we didn't know
about caves before we got down here
number one it's pretty cold all year
long it stays around 50° the second one
it's really wet but that water is what's
forming the
[Music]
cave all right guys we've been hiking in
the cave for a while and check out this
room that we just uncovered this place
is full of different geological
features so let me give you the basics
of all these formations stag mice like
these guys start from the ground and
grow upwards and stag tights start way
up in the ceiling and they grow
downwards when they meet in the middle
it's called a column like that guy back
there
what this is it's
amazing there are new rock formations
around every Twist and Turn of this cave
this place is huge and they all share
something in
common all of these awesome cave
features are called spelio cool science
were to pull out if you're trying to
impress someone bro love your ponytail
it reminds me of a spelio them cool word
I'm
impressed stag mites and stag tights are
just the beginning we're heading deep
deeper into the cave to discover more
after the break weird but true
scientists estimate that 90% of caves
are still undiscovered due to Hidden
[Music]
entrances welcome back today is all
about caves and we're in a limestone
solution cave exploring spelio thems
which is a general term that refers to
all the cave
features
the coolest thing about spilia thms is
how they form so you guys remember how
solution caves form right acidic
groundwater dissolves the rocks forming
a cave we'll imagine a droplet of this
acidic water hanging from the ceiling of
the cave every time it drips it deposits
a thin film of this stuff called calite
now imagine it dropping from that same
spot every single minute of every single
hour of every single day eventually it
forms this nice little tube which we
call soda straws and they're
basically baby
stalactites as more and more calite is
deposited they grow into stalactites and
this process takes so
long weird but true stag ties can grow 1
in every 100 years so this one is
probably a few thousand years
old stag mites form in the same way
except they form when water drops to the
ground depositing calite so drop after
drop after drop this thing builds up
eventually
forming a stalagmite and these things
can get pretty
huge one of the largest dagm mites in
the world was found in Cuba at about 220
ft tall to show scale this is how big i'
look standing next to it this tag Mite
is a
monster
this might be the weirdest thing that
we've found so far this stuff is called
flow
Stone so you know how stag tights and
stag mites are formed from water
dripping down from the ceiling flowstone
is formed from water that flows over
different rock formations forming what
almost looks like a frozen Rock
waterfall so weird but this is just the
beginning of all the amazing rock
formations you can find in
caves yeah cavers weren't exactly the
most creative when it came to naming
these things not so much it probably
when something like this yo bro look at
this thing looks like a piece of coral
what should we call it what about cave
Coral bro and how about this popcorn
looking stuff what about cave
popcorn bro and how about these rims
made of stuff uh Rim sto
bro
yeah most of these names are very simple
give it to me one more time so stag
tights hold tight to the ceiling and
stag mites might touch the ceiling and
all will be pretty Dynamic features to
add to a diarama as we continue
exploring David reminds us that we're
not alone hey guys keep your voices low
in this area too this is still part of
the bat
hypera when you think of cave animals
bats are probably the first ones you
think of but they're just the beginning
bats are trines trines are animals that
just use caves for things like shelter
other animals are
triles these are animals that can live
in caves for their whole lives but they
can also live in other places too the
final group of cave animals is the
troglobites these animals can only live
inside caves they can't survive outside
of them these animals have some pretty
crazy
adaptations like the Mexican Tetra there
are other types of tetra that live
outside caves in rivers and streams and
they just look like normal fish but the
Mexican Tetra lives inside the cave and
they don't look like normal fish at all
they're albino and have no eyes no eyes
but if you want to see something really
weird you got to check out an M it's an
aquatic salamander that some people
thought was The Offspring of a dragon
but I kind of describe it as a pale
blind oversized worm with tiny little
doll arms and red fluffy gills super
weird looking and since caves can be so
isolated from one another it's not
uncommon for scientists to find new
species inside of
them for example the Moville cave in
Southeastern Romania in 1986 workers on
covered a cave that had been isolated
from the rest of the world for 5.5
million years and researchers found
animals living in there all kinds of
pseudo
scorpions
leeches and rly poly
bugs the kicker 33 of the animals they
found in the cave weren't found anywhere
else in the entire
world sealed up like a present for 5.5
million
[Music]
years we haven't found 33 types of
animals in this cave with David but
check it out we found a bat so that tiny
little animal clean to the wall up there
that's a little brown bat he's super
cute but but I don't want to disturb
them human activity has had a
devastating impact on cave dwelling bats
many colonies have already been lost and
more than half are now endangered or
very close understanding how fragile
they are might make a difference an
important issue to cavers and bat
populations that live in caves that you
got to know about is the white nose
syndrome here's the Scoop one of the
indicators that a has this disease as if
it has a tiny little bit of fluff on his
nose which would be super adorable right
if it weren't so deadly white nose
syndrome was first spotted in New York
around 2006 by 2012 about 80% of the bat
population in the Northeast us had died
from the disease but there are ways you
can help after you go caving wash the
heck out of your clothes that way you
don't accidentally transfer the
disease all right guys time for a break
but next up David's got a super deep
cave for us to go and explore and
there's only one way to get down there
repelling wicked
cool weird but true hang song Doom cave
in Vietnam has an underground river and
[Music]
jungle welcome back David says it's time
for the ultimate spelunking Adventure
some caves you swim into some caves walk
into this cave behind us we're actually
going to drop
into we're going repelling repelling is
basically this practice that cavers use
to get into inaccessible caves in a
super Safe
Way take for example Expeditions in crer
cave the deepest cave in the entire
world located in the country of Georgia
in the Eastern hemisphere in 2012 a team
of over 50 cavers set out on an
Expedition into crer cave trying to get
as deep as possible they repelled down
deep shafts squeezing through tunnels
they even used scuba equipment to find
hidden passageways and parts of the cave
flooded with water just like an Everest
Expedition they set up a base camp along
the way they spent over 3 weeks
underground and by the end had set a new
record they made it
7,28 ft below the surface we aren't
going that deep we're only going about
100 ft down but it's still still going
to be an unreal
experience David drops in first and
shows us how it's done on blet orange
rope and white
rope oh man doing it
[Music]
doing weird but true George Washington
was an avid
caver
woo wow oh this is sick this looks
prehistorically amazing look at how big
this is this is huge you can hear the
dripping
water echoing through the cave there's
no way we could see this from up above
not a
[Music]
chance get over here out of the rock
ball area and then y
offro
offro it's so free
yeah you guys can see it bigles the
light night right there and theow below
it we repelled down to this incredibly
hard-to-reach cave and I can't believe
what we found caves are delicate natural
environments that take millions and
millions of years to develop and change
so professional cavers say take only
pictures and leave only Footprints so
this back here definitely not
cool after a quick exploration it's time
to climb back up to the surface this is
going to be a fun climb
[Applause]
too oh guys that was incredible so cool
there's this huge beam shooting through
the darkness and we could see different
geological features repelling totally
brought it to the next level I can
definitely see why people get into this
before we head out let's go over all the
weird features we discovered today that
we can use for our diarama dual
tiebreaker we got stag tights check stag
mice Che flow Stone check animals Che
repelling check check check I think
that's a caving Adventure completed all
right guys we're going to head over to
HQ but we'll see you in a bit oh man
let's use a
shower guys what's up guys you have 2
minutes left oh my gosh we got to get
Crafting all right guys we got a buckle
down here but stick around for my trophy
ceremony in your dreams Charles weird
but true the scientific study and
exploration of caves is called
speleology 10 seconds ah no time to talk
we got to finish the diaramas drop your
supplies in 3 2 1 drop them done done
time for the presentations I present to
you my diaram titled spio themm and
trosin you got your stag ties still FL
bites glow stone cave popcorn and check
it out there's a cute little bat plan on
there too nice curb I like that little
bat guy Charles I present to you my
caving creation caving right with
troglobites we got some little caving
dudes some guys repelling into a pool
full of Ms and even a Mexican Tetra very
interesting all right case who won yeah
where's my trophy huh I see two great
diaramas here put them together what hey
no questions I'm the judge put them
together
separately these diaramas are great but
together W they create the greatest cave
diarama known to man that's amazing hate
to break it to you guys but it's another
tie I don't even care cuz this cave
diama is sweet yeah me neither and we
got to go to a real cave today what else
did we learn today there's so many weird
but true
things spelunking is another name for
cave exploring there's a stalagmite in
Cuba that's about 220 ft tall isolated
caves can be home to weird species not
found anywhere else in the
world what's up Charles just thinking
here curb about what seems like we got
it all right I mean we did the sky above
ground below ground there's got to be
somewhere we haven't gone yet though
space I've never been to space before no
I me neither but there's nothing we
can't do with some tape and glue let's
get craft and I'll get the supplies
Perfect all right guys looks like we got
a new project on our hands but thanks so
much for stopping by come by again when
we discover more things that are weird
but true we'll see you soon
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