Boho Caves 2.32

The Boho Caves are a selection of caves centred on the village of Boho, County Fermanagh on the northern slopes of Belmore Mountain. They encompass the main Boho Cave and the smaller Waterfall Cave and Upper and Lower Ravine Caves. The Boho Cave system is the sixth-longest cave system in Northern Ireland, is designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI #144) and is the only example of joint-controlled caves in Northern Ireland.Geology and hydrologyThe rock strata at Boho Caves date from the Asbian substage of the Carboniferous period, estimated to be around 325 million years old. The rock sequence exposed at Boho consists of the Glencar Limestone Formation which is overlain by the Dartry Limestone Formation, composed of cherty limestones and limestones and shales of the Carn Limestone Member. The Dartry Limestone is, in turn, overlain by the Meenymore Formation and the Glenade Sandstone. The caves are formed within the Dartry Limestone. The main cave contains typical karst features such as stalactites, stalagmites, cave curtains and flowstone.The water flowing through the Boho Caves originates from Aghanaglack River. After dry weather, the river sinks in the streambed well upstream of the caves and does not emerge until far downstream past the ravine. In wetter conditions, water flows into the cave system via several routes including the Main Sink entrance, which can sump and overflow into the nearby field shakeholes. It then exits the cave at the usual downstream resurgences, as well as the Upper and Lower Ravine caves (via bedding planes from the northern end of Boho Cave) and in particularly high floods, the Quarry entrance (see picture).