The South East Karst Province Of South Australia

"Despite interest in the palaeontology, groundwater and tourist caves of the karst of the western Otway Basin, limited investigation of the karst landscape development and the processes has occurred. This study documents the overall features of the Gambier Karst Province and delineates its boundaries. The province comprises extensive area where cave and karst development is limited, interspersed with areas of atypical karst development. Two such karst sub regions are distinguished in the karst in the Tertiary limestones (Naracoorte and Glenelg River). These subregions contain karst assemblages with distinctive combinations of karst landform and process. At Naracoorte the caves are concentrated and range from simple single passages to complex multi level caves. The cave passages trend northwest/southeast and contain a range of fossiliferous clastic sediments and dated speleothems. Cave walls retain evidence of solutional features.

This book, part of the series Cave and Karst Systems of the World, begins with a review of the interaction between people and caves in Australia (including conservation), followed by descriptions of the spectacular cave diving sites, before comprehensively covering all the major carbonate and noncarbonate karst areas, subdivided by rock type and region, and including the origin of the caves. This is followed by broad overviews of cave minerals and speleothems, cave biology and cave fossils. Each section was written by one or more specialists in the topic and is illustrated by clear diagrams and superb colour photos. The book emphasises the unique aspects of the Australian karst, including the variability in the age of the caves (very old to very young) and the impact of isolation on the stygofauna, as well as the vertebrate fossils preserved in the caves. Written in an easy-to-read style, the book is a primary reference guide to Australian karst and represents a valuable asset for anyone interested in the topic, not only cavers and academics.