Precambrian caves
The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestones at the foothills of the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The principal cave is one of the country's finest, best known, and most popular tourist caves and attracts many visitors from overseas. Although the extensive system of tunnels and chambers go on for over 4 km (2.5 mi), only about a quarter of this is open to visitors.
Cave paintings and artifacts indicate that the caves were in use throughout prehistory over a long period during the Middle and Later Stone Ages .The caves were rediscovered in modern times in 1780 by a local farmer named Jacobus Van Zyl. The chamber he first was lowered down into was found to be as long as a football field, and is named Van Zyl Hall in his honor. Further exploration was done and a second chamber discovered in 1792. The caves soon became a popular place to visit.A.J.H. Goodwin, an archaeologist at the University of Cape Town, carried out a test excavation in the Cango Caves in 1930 which found stone artefacts and other cultural material.
The first rough survey was done in 1897, mapping out the first 26 chambers. In 1956 the South African Spelaeological Association was tasked to draw up an accurate mapping of the Cango Caves, and look for alternative entrances.
Their results indicated that the caves were 775 m (2,543 ft) long in a single line, and that they never rise nor fell more than 16 m (52 ft). These were called Cango I. The nearest point to the surface in the caves is at the top of the shaft in the Devil's Kitchen, 52.6 m (173 ft) from the floor. In 1972 James Craig-Smith, Luther Terblanche and Dart Ruiters widened an obstructed passage to discover Cango II. It stretches 270 m (890 ft) beyond the end of the Devil’s Kitchen. At the end of Cango II there is a shaft that descends 20 m (66 ft) to a chamber filled with water. This water flowed in the direction of Cango I.
In August 1975, during a symposium on cave biology, an exploration team led by Florus Koper drained the chamber of most of its water and crawled through what was previously an underwater passage. This led to the discovery of more caves, called Cango III. Altogether these caves are about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) long. The biggest of the chambers, stretches about 300 m (980 ft).
Digby Ellis and Dave Land added 290 m (950 ft) to Cango III when they discovered a crawlway in December 1977. A further 90 m (300 ft) was added in June 1978. All these extensions were surveyed in August 1978 by Dave Land, Charles Maxwell, Brian Russell and Dave Crombie.
Precambrian caves
The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestones at the foothills of the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The principal cave is one of the country's finest, best known, and most popular tourist caves and attracts many visitors from overseas. Although the extensive system of tunnels and chambers go on for over 4 km (2.5 mi), only about a quarter of this is open to visitors.
Cave paintings and artifacts indicate that the caves were in use throughout prehistory over a long period during the Middle and Later Stone Ages .The caves were rediscovered in modern times in 1780 by a local farmer named Jacobus Van Zyl. The chamber he first was lowered down into was found to be as long as a football field, and is named Van Zyl Hall in his honor. Further exploration was done and a second chamber discovered in 1792. The caves soon became a popular place to visit.A.J.H. Goodwin, an archaeologist at the University of Cape Town, carried out a test excavation in the Cango Caves in 1930 which found stone artefacts and other cultural material.
The first rough survey was done in 1897, mapping out the first 26 chambers. In 1956 the South African Spelaeological Association was tasked to draw up an accurate mapping of the Cango Caves, and look for alternative entrances.
Their results indicated that the caves were 775 m (2,543 ft) long in a single line, and that they never rise nor fell more than 16 m (52 ft). These were called Cango I. The nearest point to the surface in the caves is at the top of the shaft in the Devil's Kitchen, 52.6 m (173 ft) from the floor. In 1972 James Craig-Smith, Luther Terblanche and Dart Ruiters widened an obstructed passage to discover Cango II. It stretches 270 m (890 ft) beyond the end of the Devil’s Kitchen. At the end of Cango II there is a shaft that descends 20 m (66 ft) to a chamber filled with water. This water flowed in the direction of Cango I.
In August 1975, during a symposium on cave biology, an exploration team led by Florus Koper drained the chamber of most of its water and crawled through what was previously an underwater passage. This led to the discovery of more caves, called Cango III. Altogether these caves are about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) long. The biggest of the chambers, stretches about 300 m (980 ft).
Digby Ellis and Dave Land added 290 m (950 ft) to Cango III when they discovered a crawlway in December 1977. A further 90 m (300 ft) was added in June 1978. All these extensions were surveyed in August 1978 by Dave Land, Charles Maxwell, Brian Russell and Dave Crombie.