Jenolan Caves

The Jenolan Caves are <a href="/facts/Limestone_cave/wbRr8MWK">limestone</a> <a href="/facts/Cave/SNfJTJtM">caves</a> located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the <a href="/facts/Central_Tablelands/JpntR0uF">Central Tablelands</a> region, west of the <a href="/facts/Blue_Mountains_(New_South_Wales)/Sl2j4T7o">Blue Mountains</a>, in <a href="/facts/Jenolan,_New_South_Wales/pVCk3sm5">Jenolan</a>, <a href="/facts/Oberon_Council/yIKT6cqn">Oberon Council</a>, <a href="/facts/New_South_Wales/aW7eJXSS">New South Wales</a>, in eastern Australia. The caves and 3,083-hectare (7,620-acre) reserve are situated approximately 175 kilometres (109 mi) west of <a href="/facts/Sydney/8TegRcwB">Sydney</a>, 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of <a href="/facts/Oberon,_New_South_Wales/MxmEwTFN">Oberon</a> and 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of <a href="/facts/Katoomba,_New_South_Wales/QPNbSaqj">Katoomba</a> (74 kilometres (46 mi) by road). Dating back to 340million years ago, it is the oldest known and dated open cave system in the world.
The caves are the most visited of several similar groups in the limestone caves of the country, and the most ancient discovered open caves in the world. They include numerous <a href="/facts/Silurian/1qx4epPg">Silurian</a> marine <a href="/facts/Fossil/by7NzIA1">fossils</a> and the <a href="/facts/Calcite/gKMHYQJo">calcite</a> formations, sometimes pure white, are noted for their beauty. The cave network follows the <a href="/facts/Watercourse/BdNReClg">course</a> of a <a href="/facts/Subterranea_(geography)/E3dhcDwP">subterranean</a> section of the <a href="/facts/Jenolan_River/kIMzfWgN">Jenolan River</a>. It has more than 40 kilometres (25 mi) of multi-level passages and over 300 entrances. The complex is still being explored. The caves are a tourist destination, with eleven illuminated show caves open to paying visitors.
The caves and conservation reserve are one of the eight protected areas that was inscribed in 2000 to form part of the <a href="/facts/UNESCO/QSbkRv3o">UNESCO</a> <a href="/facts/World_Heritage_Site/6AbWWKV4">World Heritage</a>-listed <a href="/facts/Greater_Blue_Mountains_Area/gnpgtW9V">Greater Blue Mountains Area</a>. The Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve is the most westerly of the eight protected areas within the World Heritage Site. The reserve forms part of the <a href="/facts/Great_Dividing_Range/PQ0czqW8">Great Dividing Range</a> and was listed on the (now defunct) <a href="/facts/Register_of_the_National_Estate/uxWT8YCQ">Register of the National Estate</a> in 1978. The Jenolan Caves are listed on the <a href="/facts/Australian_National_Heritage_List/UsFNp8Eh">Australian National Heritage List</a>. On 25 June 2004 Jenolan Caves Reserve (excluding the caves) were listed on the <a href="/facts/New_South_Wales_State_Heritage_Register/U9beeTbR">New South Wales State Heritage Register</a> with the following inscription:

<blockquote>Jenolan Caves Reserve is of state significance for its historical, aesthetic, research and rarity values. The caves and karst landscapes developed as important scientific and tourist destinations throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, and the Reserve is highly significant as the first public reserve set aside in NSW for the protection of a natural resource—in this case, the Jenolan Caves.— Statement of significance, <a href="/facts/New_South_Wales_State_Heritage_Register/U9beeTbR">New South Wales State Heritage Register</a>, 2004.</blockquote>

Jenolan Caves open-in-new

Jenolan Caves