info needed for cave geology

[shalon]

Hello, my name is Shalon Sims and I am a writer, working on a fiction novel and would very much appreciate it if someone could answer a few questions that I have about caves and cave water.

I've researched a bit about caves and have read that cave water is often unpure for drinking. I'm wondering if it's possible for the source of cave 'river' water to come from underground lakes where the water would be pure and maybe also slightly warm (from volcanic activity)? I realize the caves would have to be very deep for that, but that's not an issue. Or does cave water always come from the surface? If so, supposing that there was a lot environmental pollution, is it at all possible (stretch your imagination here) that the process of passing through limstone and soil would clean the water of certain toxins, if it had to pass through a lot of earth before it reached it's running spot?

I would sincerely appreciate any answers or feedback you might have. Maybe you can direct me to someone who can help me better - I would really appreciate it.

Thank you very much,
shalon

[Larry E. Matthews]

If you will contact me at: nss6792@bellsouth.net, I will try to answer some of your questions.

Larry E. Matthews
Professional Geologist