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Clues for August 2009:
1. This cave is formed from karst topography, which is characterized by caverns and sinkholes that form as groundwater or rainwater dissolve limestone or other carbonate rocks. The 5,180 square kilometers of karst landscape in this region is one of the best examples of karst in the world.
2. Many of the formations in this cave — which is illuminated by colored lights and was originally named for a plant that grew in the area that was used to make musical instruments — are given poetic names, including “Pines in the Snow” and “Sky-Scraping Twins.”
3. The 240-meter-long cave includes more than 70 inscriptions that are more than a millennium old. During World War II, one of the grottos in the cave was used as an air raid shelter; it can hold upward of 1,000 people.
Name the feature and its location.
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Answer: Formed as water dissolved carbonate rocks, Reed Flute Cave in Guangxi Province, China, houses more than 70 inscriptions older than 1,000 years. Named for the local reeds used to make flutes, the cave hosts many striking formations, including “Pines in the Snow” and “Sky-Scraping Twins.” The colorful lights seen here help illuminate this 240-meter-long cave. Photo by Jill Sawicki.
August winners
Jamie Booth (Tulsa, Okla.)
Rene De Hon (Canyon Lake, Texas)
Michael Foster (Houston, Texas)
Andrew Hardwick (Springfield, Ill.)
David James (Englewood, Colo.)
Rosamary Ruiz (Mexico City, Mexico)
Melissa Segura (Amarillo, Texas)
Julia Short (Caulfield, Mo.)
Ruth Steuart (Benton, Ark.)
Judy Wilkinson (Morgan, Utah)
To submit your photographs to our Where on Earth? contest, send them via e-mail to
earth@earthmagazine.org.
