The Underground Atlas: A Gazetteer of the World's Cave Regions [Hardcover]

John Middleton (Author), Tony Waltham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1987 | ISBN-10: 0312011016 | ISBN-13: 978-0312011017 | Edition: 1

The first international gazetteer of caves. An invaluable reference book which provides a comprehensive study of all cave regions of the world. From the deep caves of the European Alps to the long caves of Kentucky in the U.S., this book contains detailed information on all the major cave regions of the world & includes data on the extraordinary caves in China. 100 maps & line surveys complement the text, & outstanding caves are illustrated by photos. As well as the convenient listings, entries give a word picture of the character of the world s caves & cave regions in a way that will fascinate all cavers past & present.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Spelunkers are those folks who crawl about in caves, dropping their dear flashlights into 200-foot holes, and get on TV when they are finally rescued. They will enjoy this nice description of the underworld. There is a general description of cave areas by continent, but most of the book is devoted to a country-by-country inventory, even when there is "no speleological interest." The data consist of maps, some photos, and notes on areas and caves of interest. All this is fairly general, of course, but the serious cave-dweller will be off to a good start. Appendixes list the longest, deepest, and largest caves and there is a list of national caving organizations. A good choice for any caving collection. R.G. Schipf, Univ. of Montana Lib., Missoula
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1 edition (September 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312011016
• ISBN-13: 978-0312011017
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,616,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to know more about the globe's caves and karst regions?, April 11, 2005

By 

gemflint "gemflint" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underground Atlas a Gazetteer of the Worlds cave regions (Hardcover)

As an armchair explorer/enthusiast, finding this book at the local used bookstore was like stumbling upon a goldmine!

Background info first:

The book's full title is "The Underground Atlas: A Gazetteer of the Worlds Cave Regions", by John Middleton & Tony Waltham. It's 239 pages long, including glossary, and has 24 pages of B&W photos. The book has numerous (approximately 104) maps of global, regional, national and local caves & karst regions, as well as detailed info and history on important caves and expeditions' maps of their explorations.

Review:

The only down side to this book is its age - it was published in 1986 and again in 1992, so there's a lot of new information that's not included in this book, specifically Mexico's fascinating 'Cueva de Villa Luz', translated to be: "Cave of the Lighted House." ( http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/12/971228232315.htm) Also not included is info on Mexico's crystal cave (http://www.geotimes.org/mar01/crystalcave.html)

With that in mind, it's still a VERY good book, particularly if you're planning a caving/archaeological or anthropological expedition and think you'll be needing info on the caves in the area.

If you "just" an 'armchair explorer', like me, it's still a wonderful buy and will help fill in any blank areas left on your exploration map.

Five stars awarded for a book that gives desperately needed (and would LOVE to see revised and updated) info on a very interesting scientific field.