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Cave Diving
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Grand Bahama Island
The caves and caverns of Grand Bahama, contain an immense underwater cavern, with a vast, flooded, labyrinth of caverns, caves and submerged tunnels that honeycomb the entire island of Grand Bahama and the surrounding sea bed. The inland caves are not abundant with life, but do contain creatures living in the caves, other than the migrating gray snappers. Residents of these caves include a type of blind cave fish, and remipedia that don't pose any threat to cave divers.
The caves in the Bahamas were formed during the last ice age. With much of the Earth's water held in the form of glacial ice, the sea level fell hundreds of feet, leaving most of the Bahama banks, which are now covered in water, high and dry. Rain falling on the most porous limestone, slowly filtered down to sea level forming a lens where it contacted the denser salt water of the ocean permeating the spongy lime stone. The water at the interface, was acidic enough to dissolve away the limestone and form the caves. Then, as more ice formed and the sea level dropped even further, the caves became dry and rainwater dripping through the ceiling, over thousands of years, created the incredible crystal forests of stalagmites which now decorate the caves. Finally, when the ice melted and the sea level rose, the caves were reclaimed by the sea.
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