Editing Cheddar, Somerset (section)

=== Gorge and caves ===
{{Main article|Cheddar Gorge}}
[[Cheddar Gorge]], which is located on the edge of the village, is the largest [[canyon|gorge]] in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.agiweb.org/geotimes/may05/Travels0505.html | title= Cheddar Gorge: Not entirely cheesy |date=May 2005 | work= Geotimes, a publication of the American Geological Institute | access-date=12 August 2007}}</ref>
The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where [[Cheddar Man]] was found in 1903.<ref name="Tourist hotspots—Cheddar Gorge"/> Older remains from the [[Upper Paleolithic|Upper Late Palaeolithic]] era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found.<ref name="sher"/> The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain [[stalactite]]s and [[stalagmite]]s. [[Gough's Cave]], which was discovered in 1903,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/results.asp?image=033406&itemw=4&itemf=0001&itemstep=1&itemx=1 |title=Gough's Cave excavation site |publisher=Natural History Museum |access-date=7 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313075020/http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/results.asp?image=033406&itemw=4&itemf=0001&itemstep=1&itemx=1 |archive-date=13 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> leads around {{convert|400|m|yd|0|abbr=on}} into the rock-face, and contains a variety of large rock chambers and formations. [[Cox's Cave]], discovered in 1837,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mendips/localities/cheddar.html |title=Cheddar Gorge |access-date=4 March 2011 |publisher=British Geological Survey }}</ref> is smaller but contains many intricate formations. A further cave houses a children's entertainment walk known as the "Crystal Quest".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cheddarcaves.co.uk/section.php/22/1/cox_s_cave___the_crystal_quest |title=Cox's Cave and the Crystal Cave |publisher=Cheddar Caves and Gorge |access-date=18 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129222749/http://www.cheddarcaves.co.uk/section.php/22/1/cox_s_cave___the_crystal_quest |archive-date=29 November 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Cheddar Gorge, including Cox's Cave, Gough's Cave and other attractions, has become a tourist destination, attracting about 500,000 visitors per year.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=1843 | title = Access Q&A: Cheddar Gorge | work = British Mountaineering Council | year = 1999 | access-date = 12 August 2007 | archive-date = 28 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020333/http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=1843 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
In a 2005 poll of ''[[Radio Times]]'' readers, following its appearance on the 2005 television programme ''[[Seven Natural Wonders]]'', Cheddar Gorge was named as the second greatest natural wonder in Britain, surpassed only by the [[Dan yr Ogof]] caves.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/4735935.stm |title = Caves win 'natural wonder' vote | publisher = [[BBC]] | date =2 August 2005 | access-date =7 February 2011}}</ref>