Читать книгу The Netherworld of Mendip - Ernest A. Baker - Страница 6

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The great gorge of Cheddar and its caverns form a subject of surpassing interest to the student of Geology. Presenting some of the most stupendous cliff scenery in England, the great wall of rock on the southern side of the valley towers nearly 500 feet into the air, defying all attempts at mapping contour lines; and the road which traverses the ravine winds, with many a sudden turn, along the base of this noble cliff, ever upwards, until in four miles the actual summit of the Mendip downs is reached. At the entrance to the gorge, and close to the caverns owned by Gough, the hidden river bursts into the light, pouring forth a stream of great volume, which, after serving the purposes of various millers in the village, hurries on to join its sister stream from Wookey Hole, the two then flowing into the sea near Weston-super-Mare. It is strange that in all the exploration work that has been done at Cheddar, the underground channel of the stream has not once been reached. Near the entrance in Gough's Cave a fairly deep hole contains water, which changes in level along with the river itself, but no open passage leads from it. A vertical rope descent of 100 feet from the upper and practically unknown caverns belonging to Gough brings the explorer to what must be regarded as the nearest point which has yet been reached to the subterranean river of Cheddar. As this gorge is the most stupendous in the Mendip region, so is this stream the most considerable in volume. Mr. Sheldon of Wells has gauged its minimum flow to be not less than three million gallons per day, whilst its torrent at flood time must be many times as much, probably not less than eight or ten millions.