Model of Santa Barbara caves resulting from the laser scanning survey.
The caves are among the most famous mine caves in the world and were accidentally discovered in 1952 while digging a shaft within San Giovanni mine, in Iglesias, province of Carbonia-Iglesias, Italy.
Inside mount San Giovanni, the Santa Barbara karst system subdivides into two great caves, now not connected, but developed in the same vertical plane: Santa Barbara cave (from 180 to 227 m a.s.l.) and Santa Barbara 2 cave (from 52 to 145 m a.s.l.).
After the mining activity ended, since 2001 the whole Iglesiente mining area belongs to the Geo-mining Historical and Environmental Park of Sardinia, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Detailed description of the laser scanning work: http://virtualgeo.eu/pdf/A5%202009-Atti%2015th%20International%20Congress%20of%20Speleology-Kerrville-vol.%203.pdf and http://www.virtualgeo.eu/pdf/A7%202011-Acta%20Carsologica.pdf
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