"A Guide to Caves and Karst of Indiana." Samuel S. Frushour, with a
contribution by Julian Lewis and Salisa Lewis. Indiana University
Press, Bloomington; 2012. ISBN 978-0-253-00096-5. 5.5 by 8.5 inches,
152 pages, softbound. $22.
Since "Caves of Indiana" was published by the Indiana Geological
Survey in 1961, there have been some books on specific Indiana caves,
notably Wyandotte and Binkleys, but the only general books on the
state have been NSS convention guidebooks. "Caves of Indiana' was a
traditional, for the time, catalog of caves, with locations, brief
descriptions, and maps. I am on the cover of that book, but I didn't
realize it until more than ten years later, when I saw a larger copy
of the photograph and recognized my helmet.
This new popular introduction to Indiana caves and karst, written by a
caver recently retired from the state's geological survey, is part of
the press's Indiana Natural Science series. It is mainly an elementary
introduction to the geology and biology of Indiana's caves and karst
areas. Some of the karst areas, such as the Lost River and the
sinkholes of the Mitchell Plain (now apparently the Mitchell Plateau)
have long been famous and, in fact, literally textbook examples, as in
Thornbury's "Principles of Geomorphology" of 1954. (The fact that
Thrornbury was at Indiana University might have had something to do
with that, but his long chapter on karst was and still is unusual for
an introductory textbook.) These and other features of the
physiographic provinces in Indiana that have caves are described and
illustrated by color photographs or drawings on nearly every page. I
would have liked to see a discussion of the special problems of
groundwater pollution in karst. The biology chapter by the Lewises is
less satisfactory, being almost entirely a catalog of critters, with
no overview of cave ecology or evolution. It is also especially prone
to use technical words without defining them, although many can be
found in the glossary.
Besides the scientific content, the book includes descriptions and
simple maps of the show caves in the state, and there are also maps
and descriptions of eight wild caves, all of them simple horizontal
caves managed by state agencies and suitable for beginners. There is
good information on safety and conservation for cavers, largely based
on the little NSS booklet on responsible caving, and an appendix lists
national and state caving organizations.
The book is somewhat disorganized and could have benefited from
editing in other ways, but this guide meets its educational goal
fairly well.--Bill Mixon
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Nature is a hanging judge.
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