Caving – terms

Caving – terms

The words below are used in standard English, but with more specific meanings in caving:
A cave – a large hole in the side of a hill, cliff or mountain, or one that is underground
A sink – (or sinkhole) – a depression in land where water collects, with no visible outlet
A siphon – a stretch of passage or tunnel in the shape of an ‘n’ with one end higher than the other
A stream sink – a depression in land where water collects from a stream, with no visible outlet
A sump – a completely flooded cave passage, sometimes passable by diving
A shaft – a vertical or near-vertical cave passage
A chamber – specialized noun – an enclosed space in a machine, plant, animal or rock
A system – a geological term meaning a major range of strata from a particular period in time
A dig – noun – an archeological excavation or investigation