Aurora Cave

{{Short description|Cave in New Zealand}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

File:Te_Anau_Caves_Region.jpg

Aurora Cave is a limestone cave, part of the Te Ana-au Caves in Fiordland, in the South Island of New Zealand on the western side of a deep glacial trough containing Lake Te Anau. Aurora Cave is separated by a sump from Te Ana-au Cave (a tourist cave). The cave has been formed by the Tunnel Burn, which drains from Lake Orbell in the Takahe valley.Paul W. Williams, "A 230 ka record of glacial and interglacial events from Aurora Cave, Fiordland, New Zealand", New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1996, Vol. 39: 225-241. [http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/Site/publish/Journals/nzjgg/1996/112.aspx online] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217002706/http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/Site/publish/Journals/nzjgg/1996/112.aspx |date=February 17, 2009 }} Aurora Cave is 267 metres deep and 6 km. long.[http://caves.org.nz/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/NZSS/DeepestCaves Deepest caves in New Zealand] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122223410/http://caves.org.nz/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/NZSS/DeepestCaves |date=January 22, 2009 }}[http://caves.org.nz/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/NZSS/CavingAreas Caving areas in New Zealand] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016095954/http://caves.org.nz/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/NZSS/CavingAreas |date=2007-10-16 }} Around 1988, a subfossil of an extinct species of frog were discovered. It was named the Aurora frog (Leiopelma auroraensis).