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Values of the Cave

Geology

With over five million years of history, the Nerja Cave is an impressive geological spectacle resulting from karstification, housing fascinating speleothems and providing crucial scientific data. Recognized internationally, this cave stands as an invaluable scientific resource and an underground natural museum.

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The geological formation of the Nerja Cave

The Nerja Cave has formed through a process called karstification: rainwater dissolves carbon dioxide (CO2) from the soil and the atmosphere, becoming “acidic” and “aggressive” water that widens the cracks and fractures in the rock as it flows through them. As the dissolution progresses, different types of channels and cavities in the rock are created, which over time, merge into a large cavity. It is estimated that the infiltration and circulation of rainwater through the cracks and fractures in the marbles of Sierra Almijara, where the Nerja Cave develops, began over five million years ago.

The formation of speleothems is also linked to water. After its journey through the cracks and fractures in the rock, the water reaches the cave and degasses, meaning it loses its carbon dioxide content. At this point, the process reverses so that the water, instead of dissolving the rock, precipitates the minerals it carries dissolved on the ceiling, floor, or walls of the cavity, thus creating the different types of speleothems. The oldest speleothems in the cave are over 800,000 years old.

Rainwater, laden with carbon dioxide, infiltrates through the rock, initiating the dissolution process.
As the dissolution progresses, various types of channels and cavities are formed.
Over time, a large cavity is generated, some of which is flooded, and the formation of speleothems begins.
As a result of the tectonic uplift of Sierra Almijara, the cave is positioned above the water table level. The formation of speleothems continues.
An earthquake-tectonic movement, dated at 800,000 years ago, causes the collapse of large rock blocks and speleothems within the cave.
Significant growth and formation of speleothems, especially during warm and humid periods, have shaped the current underground landscape.

Image Gallery

Cave cones. Bear's Hall.
Gours that give the name to the Cascade Hall.
Gigantic column fallen during a paleo-earthquake dated 800,000 years ago. Cataclysm Hall.
Cave pearls. Torca Hall.
Macaroni formations located on the ceiling of the Bethlehem Hall.
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