Rhino Rift is a cave near Charterhouse, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The cave is part of the Cheddar Complex SSSI.
It is 253 m in length and reaches a depth of 147 m.
The cave was discovered in 1971 after a successful dig by members of the Wessex Cave Club.Audsley, A., 1971. The history of the present dig at Rhino Rift. WCC Jnl 11 (134) pp236-240. Previous digging by the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society had unearthed remains of extinct animals, hence the cave's name.Donovan, D.T., 1951. Report on Rhino Rift. UBSS Proceedings, 6(2), pp 213-0
The cave is locked and access is controlled by the Charterhouse Caving Company .
Further reading D. T. Donovan, R. D. Stride & A. M. Ap Simon, Rhino Rift Log: A record of the excavations from 9 Nov 1947 to 13 June 1948 (Excavation log including plans & sections, MS in 19 cm 8vo notebook), library of the University of Bristol Spelaeological SocietyTransactions of the Cave Research Group of Great Britain, vol. 14 (1972), p. 191
See also Caves of the Mendip Hills
References