Hellhole

Hellhole is a large and deep pit cave in Germany Valley, eastern West Virginia. It is the 7th longest cave in the United States and is home to almost half of the world's population of Virginia big-eared bats. At 518 feet (158 meters), Hellhole is the deepest of several caves in the Valley.

Hellhole has had a long and storied association with the National Speleological Society dating back to the creation of that organization in the early 1940s. Many basic caving techniques (e.g., the single rope technique) were developed in Hellhole's 154-foot (47 meter) entrance drop.

Description

The only known entrance to Hellhole is a funnel-shaped pit entrance on the lower slopes of North Fork Mountain. Descent by rope through this spectacular and storied 154-foot (47 m) entrance shaft gives access to a vast chamber. From the time exploration began there in the 1940s, cavers have documented over 41 miles (66 km) of mapped passage in the Hellhole system.

"Little Hellhole" is a well known pit deeper in the cave.

Hellhole (novel)

Hellhole is the first book in the Hellhole science fiction trilogy by New York Times best selling authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

Plot

On the dangerous frontier planet Hellhole, defeated and exiled rebel Gen. Tiber Adolphus continues his honorable opposition to the political scheming and selfish machinations of the Crown Jewel worlds and grandmotherly Diadem Michella Duchenet. Adolphus and his companions work in secret to undermine the royal space travel monopoly and form a coalition of Deep Zone planets. Diadem Michella, embroiled in the schemes of the ancient noble families on the decadent capital planet Sonjeera, is too distracted to recognize the danger Adolphus poses.

The Constellation

The Crown Jewels are the twenty core planets in the Constellation. They are the most highly populated and considered to be the most civilized. These planets are ruled by nobles who constantly jockey for increased power. The Deep Zone is made up of the fifty-four frontier worlds of the Constellation, recently opened for settlement. They are administered by government-appointed Governors and pay constantly increased tribute to the Crown Jewels.