Editing Naracoorte Caves National Park (section)

==Structure==
The limestone of the area was formed from coral and marine creatures 200 million years ago and again 20 million years ago when the land was below sea level. Ground water since then has dissolved and eroded some of the limestone, creating the caves. The caves, such as the Victoria Fossil Cave and [[Blanche Cave]], are often not far below ground, and holes open up creating traps for the unwary. This is the source of the remarkable collection of fossils. Mammals and other land creatures have fallen into open caves and been unable to escape. The fossil record has been preserved in strata formed from eroded topsoil washed and blown in. In some places, the fossil-bearing silt is up to 20 metres thick. Some of these areas are being preserved for future research when better methods of dating and reconstructing fossil records may have been found. These fossil traps are especially significant for tracing [[Australian megafauna]].

The latest research<ref name="2022-09-29_ABC">[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-29/world-heritage-listed-naracoorte-caves-one-million-years-old/101481018 World Heritage-listed Naracoorte Caves 500,000 years older than previously thought, research reveals], Jack D Evans, [[ABC News Online]], 2022-09-29</ref> pushes back the date of the caves' formation to at least 1.34 million years ago.