Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 1340

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1 Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 1340 Goodbar, J Cave graffiti: The writing is on the wall. In Cave Conservation and Restoration, edited by V.Hildreth-Werker & J.C.Werker, Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Hildreth-Werker, V. & Werker, J.C Lechuguilla restoration: Techniques learned in the Southwest. National Speleological Society News, 55(4): Hildreth-Werker, V, & Werker, J.C Restoration, trail designation, and microbial preservation in Lechuguilla Cave. In Proceedings of the National Cave Management Symposium 1997, edited by R.R.Stitt, Bellingham, Washington: National Cave Management Symposium Steering Committee Jablonsky, P., Kraemer, S. & Yett, W Lint in caves. In Proceedings of the National Cave Management Symposium 1993, edited by D.L.Pate, Carlsbad, New Mexico: National Cave Management Symposium Steering Committee Netherton, W Mystery Cave trails: Past, present and future. In 1989 National Cave Management Proceedings, edited by J.R. Jorden & R.K.Obele, New Braunfels, Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Poulter, N The restoration of the Jewel Casket, Yallingup Cave, W.A. Australian Caver, 115:6 8 Spate, A. & Moses, C Impacts of high pressure cleaning: A case study at Jenolan. Cave Management in Australasia, 10:45 48 Spate, A, Hamilton-Smith, E., Little, L. & Holland, E Best practice and tourist cave engineering. Cave Management in Australasia, 12: Veni, G Spelothems: Preservation, display, and restoration. In Cave Minerals of the World, 2nd edition, edited by C.A.Hill & P.Forti, Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Veni, G Sonora restoration project. The Texas Caver, 43(6): Reprinted in SpeleoDigest, 1999: Werker, J.C Speleothem repair techniques. In Cave Conservation and Restoration, edited by V.Hildreth-Werker & J.C.Werker, Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Further Reading Hildreth-Werker, V. & Werker, J.C. (editors) Cave Conservation and Restoration, Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society RUSSIA AND UKRAINE Russia and Ukraine have large areas of karst and the Western Ukraine contains one of the largest gypsum karst areas in the world. The karst may be considered in three areas. European Sector This covers the large Precambrian craton that occupies most of the Ukraine and the European part of Russia. It extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. Karst is developed mainly in various intrastratal settings (deep-seated, subjacent, entrenched, and denuded) in carbonates (limestones, dolomites, and chalk) and evaporites (gypsum and

2 Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 1341 salt) of different ages. In many regions, karst develops in intercalating sulfate-carbonate successions. Most of the significant caves in the region are in gypsum. The Northern Russian province includes the Pinega (see Pinega Gypsum Caves) and North Dvina karsts in the Lower Permian sulfates, some of the largest integrated gypsum karst regions in Europe. The gypsum-anhydrite sequence, in places intercalated with dolomites and limestones, is commonly m thick and lies at shallow depth. It supports a spectacular variety of karst landforms and hydrological features. More than 360 gypsum caves are now known in these regions, with a total length of over 100 km (Malkov & Gurkalo, 1999). The Central Russian province occupies the centre of the Eastern European Plain, which corresponds to the southern part of the structural Moscow depression. Karst is developed in the Carboniferous and Upper Devonian limestones and dolomites. Drilling has proved that deep-seated karst in artesian conditions is present in many localities. Caves are rare (the longest being Poneretka Cave in the Valday Upland, with 1430 m of passage) Russia and Ukraine: Generalized map of the major areas of karst in Russia, Ukraine, and the Asian and Baltic republics, including karst on both carbonate and evaporite rocks. The larger areas, in the grey tone, include complex smaller outcrops of non-karstic rocks.

3 Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 1342 but surface karst landforms, such as dolines and dry valleys, are common in the areas of subjacent and entrenched karst. The Kama-Middle Volga province lies between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, mainly within the Kama River catchment. Karst is developed in Permian sulfates, dolomites, and limestones and in Carboniferous and Devonian carbonate rocks. Collapse and subsidence dolines are common in many areas, originating from active karstification at various depths. The most intensely karstified areas are those within paleo-valleys and alluvial plains, where karst breakdowns may propagate through unconsolidated cover up to 100 m thick. Caves are abundant in the areas of entrenched karst, particularly in the gypsum karst areas in the easternmost, Kamsko-Ufimsky region. There are more that 200 known gypsum caves in the latter region, the largest being the 5700 m long Kungur Ice Cave. The Fore-Caspian province lies in the southeastern part of the Eastern European Plain, north of the Caspian Sea. Over 1500 salt diapirs are known in the region, some close to the surface and some being denuded. They support open salt and gypsum karst, and gypsum caves are known in the caprocks (e.g. Baskunchakskaja, 1438 m long). The Moldavian-Ukrainian province includes, within the borders of Ukraine, the Podol sko-bukovinsky region of gypsum karst, the Prichernomorsky region of limestone karst, the Krivorozhsky region of quartzite and carbonate karst, and the Donetzk region of gypsum and carbonate karst. The Podol sko-bukovinsky region in the Western Ukraine is internationally renowned for its giant maze caves in Neogene gypsum. It is a model example of artesian speleogenesis (Klimchouk, 2000), and contains the five longest gypsum caves in the world, accounting for well over half of the total known length of gypsum caves worldwide (see Ukraine Gypsum Caves and Karst). Few caves are known in the calcareous sandstones (Stradchanska, 360 m long and Studencheskaja, 242 m long). The Prichernomorsky lowland is located north of the Black Sea, with karst developed in the Neogene limestones. Isolated fissure-like caves of artesian origin are occasionally seen in old limestone mines around Odessa, the largest being the caves of Novorossijskaja (1404 m) and Natalina (1292 m). Caves up to 150 m long, partially submerged beneath the sea, are known in the coastal cliffs of the Tarkhankut peninsula, Crimea. In the Krivorozhsky region caves have been found in Precambrian dolomites and ferruginous quartzites. The Carpathians extend as an arc from Slovakia through Ukraine to Romania, and the Ukrainian segment is composed mainly of flysch. Small caves are known in the exotic massifs of Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous limestones (Druzhba, 256 m long), but interesting caves are also found in conglomerates (Krasny Kamen, 900 m long and 56 m deep) and in sandstones (Prokhodnoj Dvor, 520 m long, 40 m deep). The Crimean Mountains lie in the south of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine and structurally continue as the Caucasus Mountains along the southern border of Russia. Both mountain regions belong to the Alpine folded system. The Crimean karst is in a chain of low plateau-like massifs of Upper Jurassic limestones, with remarkable development of open karst, and almost 1100 caves are documented (see Crimea, Ukraine).

4 Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 1343 Urals Region The Urals region includes the Hercynian folded system of the Ural Mountains and the foredeep that separates the Urals from the adjacent Eastern European craton. The mountains, which extend north to south for almost 2000 km, are eroded and rounded, and largely covered with forests. Gypsum karst with a variety of karstic landforms and some caves (Ishcheevskaja Cave, 1000 m long) occurs widely in the Fore-Ural. In the Ural fold mountains carbonate karst predominates, developed in Paleozoic limestones and dolomites. Because of stripe tectonics, contact karst is common. The largest vauclusian karst springs are located in the Western Urals (the Goluboje Ozero spring, dived to 56 m, and the Krasny Kljuch Spring, dived to 38 m). Caves are numerous, particularly in the southern part of the Western Ural province. The largest caves are the Sumgan-Koutuk Cave (9860 m long and 130 m deep), Kinderlinskaja (7900 m long, 185 m deep, with a 230 m long and 48 m deep siphon) and Kizelovskaja-Viasherskaja System (7600 m long, 43 m deep). Of special archaeological interest are the Kapova Cave (2640 m long, 103 m deep) with Paleolithic rock paintings, as well as the Ignatjevskaja and Staromuradymovskaja caves in the Central Urals. Siberia and the Far East In Siberia, a huge taiga-covered territory that lies east of the Ural Mountains, karst is not very common, but some important karst regions are studied in the mountains of southern Siberia, in the Sikhote-Alyn range of the Far East, and on the island of Sakhalin (see Siberia entry). The mountains of Altaj and Sajan of southern Siberia are both large ranges with flat tops and locally jagged ridges, rising above 2200 and sometimes above 3000 m, but they differ in their geological evolution and tectonics. The Altaj are Hercynian, the Sajan are Caledonian, and the Salair-Kuznetzk forms a transitional tectonic zone. In the Altaj more than 210 caves have been explored in the Rifean and Devonian limestones, including Altajskaja (4175 m long, 240 m deep), Tutkushskaja (1400 m long, 200 m deep), and Kektash (1780 m long, 340 m deep). In the Sajan, particularly in the Eastern Sajan range, caves are abundant and varied. Some large caves occur in the Cambrian limestones (e.g. Zhenevskaja, 6000 m long, 65 m deep, Kubinskaja, 3000 m long, 274 m deep and Torgashynskaja, 1560 m long, 75 m deep). In Lysanskaja Cave (2400 m long) eight siphons have been explored up to 95 m long and 20 m deep. The most remarkable speleological features of the region are caves in the Badzhejsky area, developed in Ordovician conglomerates. These include the Bol shaja Oreshnaja Cave ( m long, 155 m deep), the world s largest conglomerate cave and the second longest cave in Russia, and some other significant caves (e.g. Badzhejskaja, 5900 m long, 240 m deep). In the Salajr-Kuznetzk province caves occur mainly in the Lower Cambrian limestones, where more than 120 caves are documented, including the Jaschik Pandorry Cave, a complex 3-D system, m long and 180 m deep. ALEXANDER KLIMCHOUK See also Asia, Central; Caucasus, Georgia; Crimea, Ukraine; Krubera Cave; Pinega Gypsum Caves, Siberia; Ukraine Gypsum Caves and Karst

5 Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 1344 Works Cited Klimchouk, A.B Speleogenesis of great gypsum mazes in the Western Ukraine. In Speleogenesis: Evolution of Karst Aquifers, edited by A.B.Klimchouk, D.C.Ford, A.N.Palmer & W. Dreyboldt, Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Malkov, V.N. & Gurkalo, E.N Speleological regionalization and distribution of caves in the Arkhangelsk region. Peschery (Caves): Inter-university Scientific Transactions, Perm: Perm University: (in Russian) Further Reading Chikishev, A.G Problems of the Karst Studies of the Russian Plain, Moscow: Moscow University (in Russian) Dublyansky, V.N. & Dublyanskaya, G.N Mapping, Regionalization and Engineering- Geological Assessment of Karstified Terrains, Novosibirsk (in Russian) Gvozdetsky, N.A Issues of the geographic regionalization of karst on the territory of the USSR. In Obshchie voprosy karstovedenija, Moscow: Academy of Science (in Russian) Gvozdetsky, N.A Karst, Moscow: Mysl. (in Russian) Ivanov, B.N Carbonate karst of the Ukraine and Moldavia. In Karst in Carbonate Rocks, Moscow: Moscow University (in Russian); Transactions of the Moscow Society of Naturalists, vol. 47 (in Russian) Klimchouk, A.B. & Dublyansky, V.N The state of the speleological investigations of the territory of the former USSR. Svet (The Light), 1 2 (7 8):24 27 (in Russian) Maximovich, G.A. 1962a. Tectonic regularities of the karst distribution on the territory of the USSR. In Obshchie voprosy karstovedenija, Moscow: Academy of Science: (in Russian) Maximovich, G.A. 1962b. Distribution and regionalization of karst of the USSR. Gidrogeologija and karstovedenije, vol. 1, Perm: Perm University (in Russian) Maximovich, G.A. & Kostarev, V.P Karst regions of the Ural and Fore-Ural. In Voprosy fisicheskoj geografii Urala, Transactions of Perm University, vol. 308 (in Russian)