The 12 books of Christmas: ‘Great Caves’

Caves always strike me as a little creepy, the result, perhaps, of one too many horror movies where the dripping water, the bats and the bad guys all seem to converge in one dank underground spot.

But Tony Waltham’s “Great Caves of the World” (Firefly Books, $29.95) brings them into the light, so to speak.

It’s a different way to think of such places as Kentucky, New Mexico, Slovenia and Iran, where, if we think of them at all, we wonder what’s above ground.

But now, I realize, the well-rounded visitor can’t limit his scope to just what the eye can see.

One of California’s great cave destinations (not mentioned in the book) is Lava Beds National Monument.

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— Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Image: www.fireflybooks.com]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 6:30 pm by Catharine Hamm and is filed under Africa & Middle East, Alaska, Arizona, Asia, Business Travel, California, California's Central Coast, Caribbean, Central America, East Coast, Eastern Canada, Eco-Travel, Europe, Fall, Family & Kids, Festival, Great Britain, Hawaii, Honeymoon, Spa & Romance, Hotels, Islands & Beaches, Lake Tahoe & Eastern Sierra, Las Vegas, Latin America & Caribbean, Los Angeles, Mexico, Midwestern States, Monterey Peninsula, Napa Valley, National Parks, New Mexico, Northern California, Olympics, Orange County, Pacific & Australia, Pacific Northwest, Palm Springs, Rocky Mountain States, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sierra Nevada, South America, Southern States, Sports, Spring, Summer, Winter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.