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Land of Ten Thousand Sinks: Mammoth Cave
Entrance to Mammoth Cave in Mammoth Cave National Park, Land of Ten Thousand Sinks, west-central Kentucky.
Land of Ten Thousand Sinks
geological region, Kentucky, United States
Land of Ten Thousand Sinks, in west-central Kentucky, U.S., area of numerous sinkholes and caves in the Pennyrile (or Pennyroyal) region. The area includes the interconnected caves of Mammoth Cave National Park and Flint Ridge Cave System. Abundant surface and underground water together with limestones deposited during the Early Carboniferous Epoch (360 to 320 million years ago) have combined to create a vast network of underworld caverns, rivers, and lakes. The caves include extensive sulfate mineral formations, stalactites, and stalagmites.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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