&sq=&lang=&file=File:Question_book-new.svg){kind=small} | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2012) |
| Titan | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:SpeedwellCavern.jpg) Speedwell Cavern, which provided initial access to Titan | |
| Location | Castleton, Derbyshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°20′0.09″N 1°47′35.85″W / 53.3333583°N 1.7932917°W |
| Depth | 141.5 metres (464 ft)[1] |
| Length | 17 kilometres (10.6 mi)[citation needed] |
| Discovery | 1999 |
Titan is a natural cavern near Castleton in the Derbyshire Peak District, and is the deepest shaft of any known cave in Britain, at 141.5 metres (464 ft).[1] The existence of Titan was revealed in November 2006,[2] following its discovery on 1 January 1999 after cavers discovered connections from the James Hall Over Engine Mine to both Speedwell Cavern and Peak Cavern. Previously, the deepest known underground shaft in Britain had been Gaping Gill on the slopes of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales.
A group of Peak District cavers led by Dave Nixon (nicknamed "Moose") discovered the shaft after finding an account by an 18th-century academic, James Plumtree, in a university library. Initial explorations in the James Hall Over Engine Mine led to the discovery of a large shaft named Leviathan, before further excavations revealed the existence of Titan.
- ^ a b UK Caves accessed 10 November 2009
- ^ "Cave boasts UK's biggest chamber". BBC News. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2009.