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The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestones at the foothills of the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The principal cave is one of the country's finest, best known, and most popular tourist caves, and attracts many visitors from overseas. Although the extensive system of tunnels and chambers go on for over four kilometres, only about a quarter of this is open to visitors, who may proceed into the cave only in groups supervised by a guide. ==History== Prof. A.J.H. Goodwin (UCT archaeologist) carried out a test excavation in the Cango Caves in 1930. Stone artefacts and other cultural material show people had been living in the entrance to the caves over a long period during the Middle and Later Stone Ages.〔Goodwin, A.J.H. 1930. The chronology of the Mossel Bay Industry. ''South African Journal of Science''. 27:562-72〕 The caves were discovered in 1780 by a local farmer named Jacobus Van Zyl.〔Henry Hall, 1859. (''Manual of South African Geography: Forming a Companion to the Map of South Africa to 16° South Latitude.'' ) Cape Town: S. Solomon. p. 161.〕 The chamber he first was lowered down into (Van Zyl Hall, which is as long as a football field), is named in his honor. Further exploration was done and a second chamber discovered in 1792. The caves soon became a popular place to visit.〔Robert Gray, 1856. (''Three Months' Visitation, by the Bishop of Capetown, in the Autumn of 1855.'' ) London: Bell & Daldy. pp. 70-73.〕 The Cango Caves Ordinance of 1971 gave certain legal powers over the caves to what was then the Administrator of the Cape; legally, these same powers now devolve to the local government members of the executive. However, day-to-day management of the caves is the responsibility of the municipality of Oudtshoorn. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cango Caves」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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