Hydrological and Speleological Investiga

7/21/2019 Hydrological and Speleological Investiga

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2/8

The

/nternatbna/

Ca

er

Magazne

Number

Thirteen

1 995

CONTENTS

Editorial

ln Memory

of

VIadimir

Kisseljov

-

A/exander

Klmchouk

The

Pothole

System

Lukina

jama-Trojama,

Croatia

-

V/ado

Bosic

Grotte

Chauvet

: a Stone

Age

masterpiece

AGUJ

'94

:

In

the

depths

of

Mongola

-

Peter Ho/ubek

China

Caves'94

: Guangxi

and Guizhou

provinces

-

Bobero

Zorz/h

& S/rano

lle/orri

Caving

in

the

Philippines

-

Martn Foakes

Hydrological

&

Speleological

investigations

in

the

Central

and

Western

Taurus,

Turkey

-

Saro

Bugg?ri

Reviews

The Caving

Scene

: the

latest lnternatlonal

News

Gear

Review

-

Firefly

2

Photo

Slave Unit

Coerphotographs

;

Fronl

-

Fiecncker

Passagq

B/ack

Bock

Crre

Sanwak

(Jery

l/l/oo/dr;dge)

Back

-

Grua

do

Jane/aq

L,lnas

Geraa

Braz/ (Tony

Wa/ham)

2

3

5

10

11

17

26

29

35

36

38

42

The lnternational

Caver

Magazine

Pub/shed

4

tmes

per

annum.

/sslv 0963-7095

@

Copyright

1995

No

articles,

maps,

reports,

or

photographs

may

be reproduced

wihoul he

express

permission

o'

lhe

author

and/or the

Edilor.

Published

by

Aven

lnternational

Publications,

Shaftesbury

Centre,

Percy Street,

Swindon

SN2

2AZ,

England,

U.K.

Tel.

+44

(0)1793

828236

Fax.

+44

(0)1793

512477

EDITOR

:TlM

STRATFORD

Reprographics

:

Scanplan,

Swindon,

U.K.

Tel. 01793 541222

Origin, Swansea,

U.K.

Tel.

01792774794

Prining

:

EJW

Print, Swindon,

UK.

Tel.01793 533466

TRANSLATIONS :

Thomas Knoell, Maurizio

Ruggieri,

Pierre

sartre,

and

carlos

puch

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES :

speleo Proiects, Theniler-

slrasse

43,

1054

Basel,

Swilzerland

;

Spelunca

Ljbrairie, Le

Devenson

B,

Allee

des

Pins, 13OO9

Marseille,

France;J-M.Matllet,243

Chaussee de

Haecht, 1030 Bruxelles, Belgium

;

Alexander Klimchouk,

P.O.Box 224'18,

Kiev-30,

25203O Ukaine

(lor

ClS countries).

Annual

Subscriion

Rates

(4

issues) :-

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Kngdom

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(airmail)

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fl5.70

(surface)

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&

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Zealand

f15.70 (surface) t22.90

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Res o| lhe

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Subcriptions should

be

sent

lo

lC Subscripions,

Aven

Publications,

Shaflesbury Cenre,

Percy Street, Swindon SN2 2AZ, England, U.K. or

phone

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Tle

Intenatbnal

Cavet

(13)

1995


3/8

/lydro

hgca

/ a

n

d .fpeleo

/ogrica

/

/n

etga

tion

in

t/e

Central

&

Western Taurus

Written by

Saro

Ruggieri

The author

descrjbes

expJoration

and

research

carrjed

out

in

the

Taurus

Mountains

of southern

Turkey

by

a

smaJ-l

grroup

of

rta-Ijan

cavers.

They

extended

the

IularaspoJi

cave,by

around

350

metre,g,

more than

doubJingr

its Jengrth.

Potentja]

for

further

extensions

-1ooks

qrood.

They

a-lso

carrjed

out

a.br'ef

inves tigra

tjon

of

the

Kepez

-

An ta

Jya

hydroJ

ogr,' cal

sys

tem.

Phrea

tb

ga//ery

in

the

Vanspo// a

ye,

Emenek,

rurkey,

Turkey

29

le

Intenatbnal

Caver

(B)

]995


4/8

Hydrologica| and

Speleological

lnvestigations

in

the

Central

&

Western Taurus,

TURKEY. 27-32

lntroduction

These

are the

results

of

an

expedition

to

southern

Turkey

by

the

Italian

club G.G.Ragusa

following

an

invitation fron Dr.Temucin Aygen,

geologist

and

founder

ofthe

Turkish

Speleological

Society.

The

expedition

had

the

following

aims :-

(1)

The

documentation

of the

Kepez-Antalya

hydrogeological

system, in

order to

prepare

a

speleological

research nission,

(2)

the

exploration

of

the

cave system of

Maraspoli,

and

(3)

cave

research

on

the

Guney

Yurt-Ennenek

plateau

situated above

the

Maraspoli

cave.

Hydrochemical

and

geostnctural studies

were

carried out in

these areas.

Kepez-Antalya Hydrogeologica

System

This hydrological

systen

stretches

for

about

50 km

from

the

Taurus

Mountains

to the sea and

is

an

exhaustive

example

of

hydrokarst circulation.

It

is also

of

fundanrental

importance, due

to

its

morphological

conrpleteness,

in

the comprehension

of

morphodynamic

rrechanisms

existing

in

karst

rrassifs.

Guided by

Temucin,

we

explored

this

systen

with

the intention

of discovering

its

possible

access

points.

Our

first stop

was

at

about 30

kn

fron

Antalya,

near

the

road from Burdur,

where

two big

springs,

Kirkgozler and

Pinarbasi,

drain

waters

frorr

the

Taurus

and

fonrrs

two

lakes.

Cave

diving

explorations, conducted

in

the

forner

spring, have

revealed the existence

of

karst

conduits

of

great

nterest.

The

waters of

the above

nrentioned

springs,

after a

short stretch

on

the

surface,

disappear

into

the

Biyikli

sinkholes,

second

stop

on

our

cxcursion.

Because

of

thc dry

season

there was

no

water at the

bottonr

of

the

sinkholes

and we

could

have

attenpted

their exploration.

Unfortunately

however,

because

of

our

previously

established

prograrrtne,

there

was

only

tinre to

have

a brief

look

at

thc

underground

passagcs.

Next, covering

about

14 kr,

we

noved

on

to

thc Varsak depression,

a

largc

karst

doline,

where

the

watcrs

coring

frorr the

Biyikli

sinkholcs

emerge.

We climbed down

into the

doline,lhrough a

steep

passage

anongst

collapsed

rocks, where

we

reached

an

underground

lake. Here,

the

watcr was

so

clcar

that

we

wcre able to sec

the

passage

continuing

underwater.

There were

also

a

good

number

of

fish

swirrring

in

the

lake.

After

exploring

the

underground

lake

as

far

as

we

could,

rve

rade

for Ddenbasi,

a

spectacular

park

on the

outskirts

of

Antalya,

wherc the water

fron

the

Varsak

cave,

aftcr 2 kn undcrgrourd,

el]erges

through

siphons

undcr

pressure.

The

last

30

Tle

[nternatnnal Caver

(13)

1995


5/8

Hydrological

and Speleological

lnvestigations in

the Cenral

&

Western Taurus, TURKEY, 27-32

Representative

Sketch

of

the Kepez

Karstic

System.

snkhole

Varsak collapse

I

Krkgzier

Regulator

resurgence

(swamp

marsh)

Underground

flow

Ddenba

Falls

and

vauclusian source

Dden

falls

i

Pnarba

resurgence

stop of

our

joumey

was

the

Medterranean coast

in

the eastern

sector

of

Antalya, where

the

Taurus

waters

rejon the

sea

via

a

spectacular

waterfall close

on

40

m in

height.

Maraspoli

Cave

Our

team

then

moved on to the

vllage of

Ermeneh

located about

275

km

southeast

of

Konya

at

the

foot

of

the central

Taurus

chain.

we

intended

to explore the

Maraspoli

cave

which

had been

partially

explored

for

the

first

time

in

1955

by

Temucin

himself.

At

that

time the cave

had

been

explored

for

15

consecutive

days

but was stopped

when

the

explorers

reached

a siphon

with a

large

amount

of

water

gushing from

it.

In 1935,

a

hydro-electric

plant

had been built

to

exploit

the

power

of

the underground

river.

Since

then,

this

cave

has

been

the

main source

of life

for

the

whole

village, supplying

drinkable

water

and

feeding a

number of other

springs

in the

neighbourhood,

as

well

as

supplying electricity.

Our

aim therefore

was

the

further

exploration

of

the

underground

river, which

in the dry season

outputs

500 l/s,

and the

study of the

hydrogeology

and

hydrodynamics

of the

system.

We entered

the

cave through

an artificial

gallery

built

to

intercept the

water and after

300

netres we

arrived

at a

platfonn

beyond

which

the

river

continued.

An

iron

staircase

goes

up

from

the

platform

into the

fossil series

which

we

explored

first.

This

consists

of some

large

rooms

in

an

advanced stage

of fossilisation. They

were

originally

linked by

a

vertical

pit

to an

upper

level of

galleries

which

connected

with

the surface

above the

cave.

Unfortunately the accidental death of a child, who

fell

down

the

pit,

led

to

its

closure

and thc

consequent

intemrption

between the upper

fossil

level

and the underlying active

levels.

Having

explored

the fossil

part

of the

cave,

we

v/ent down

into

the

river

and

explored

upslreanr

in

our rubber boats.

After

following

a

neander

shaped

gallery

for

about 300

n

the

siphon

barred

the way. However, by

climbing above

the

siphor,

we found

a

way to bypass

this

obstacle and

found

our

way

back to the

river

on the other side. We

passed

through

a

further

200

n

of collapsed

rootns

and

river

chambers until we

arrived at a

lake

with a

high

waterfall

on the other

side.

We

got

to

the top of

the

fall

by

a

Tyrolean

traverse and

continued

upstream

as

far

as a

large room

which

we reached

by climbing.

Fig.Z.

Geognphic

pstbn

ol the

/Vui-Ermenek-

S/fke basn.

.rd.ml.

K

A

l

l

o 25

o

t==_

AxOENlz

(Mcdii.r.on.dn)

The Intenatbnal

Ca,er

(/3)

.1995

31


6/8

Hydrological

and

Speleological

lnvestigations

in

the Central &

Western

Taurus,

TURKEY. 27-32

During the

following

days we

explored

this

room,

called

"The Kaos

Room"

because

of

the

big

collapsed

rocks

which

were

scattered

everywhere.

On the

far

side

we

found

the

river

again and

ascended

it for

about 500

m,

crossing both

collapsed

rooms

and

richly

decorated chambers

linked

to

phreatic

galleries.

Our exploration,

compared

with

that of

Temucin,

permitted

us to

go

beyond two

siphons

because of

the

particularly

dry

season,

and

allowed

us

to extend the cave

by

about 600

m. An

almost

completely

flooded

conduit,

through

which

we

were

just

able to

see

the

continuation

of

the

cave, stopped

our

exploration.

Guney

Yurt-Ermenek Plateau

As

we were unable to go any further

in

Maraspoli

(not

having

taken

our

diving

equipment

with

us), we

shifted our

attention to the

plateau

located above the cave.

We

hoped

that

we might

be

able to

re-enter the

system via some

pits

which the

locals

had

indicated

to

us.

Karst morphologies

are

the

predominant

onos on the

plateau

and the

landscape

shows

a

continuous

series

of

depressions

alternating

with

zones

of

relief.

After an

hour's

walk

we arrived at the

"pit

of

Birds", a

karst

sinkhole

which unfortunately was

completely choked

at -15 m.

We

then

took

geostructural measurements

of

the

main

directions

of

the

fractures

along

a

rocky

slope

not far

from

the

sinkhole.

we wanted to obtain some information

about

the system

of discontinuity existing

in

this

sector

of

the

Taurus.

The

exploration

of

the

plateau

continued

during the

following

days but

without

great

success.

We

explored another

pit

called

the

"Pit

of Snow",

situated

in

the

eastern

part

of

the

plateau

which

is

characterised

by

a

fluvial karst

morphology and

dolines, but again

it

was

choked

at

the bottom.

Geology and

Hydrogeology

The

sector

in

which

our

research was

led

is

part

of

the Mut-Ermenek-Silifke

basin

located in

the

central

part

of the

Taurus

(KORKMANZ

& GEDIK

1990).

Both

Mesozoic

and

Paleozoic units

as

well

as

Tertary

sedmentary rocks

emerge

n

ths area.

These

lithological units are

made

up

as

follows

from

bottom to

top

:

-

Ordovician

metamorphic

shists

-

silurian

black

shale

-

Devonian

limestone

shale

-

Jurassic

dolomite

limestone

-

Ophiolitic

melange

-

Eocene sandstone

and

marl

-

Miocene

sandstone

-

Miocene

limestone,

marl and shale

The

Guney

Yurt-Ermenek

plateau

is

nainly

formed

by

a series

of

limestones and calcarenite in

beds

of about

100

m

in thickness

lying

above

marl-calcareous and

marl

strata.

The

carbonate series

belongs to the upper series

of

the above

listed

Miocene basin.

The

limestone-marl

contact

is

made

evident

by

a

clear change in

the

incline

of

the slopes,

caused

Beyond

the sphon

in

the

/ower

actye

pal

ol

the

/Varaspo/icaye

al

Ermenek

Pholo:

S.Buggbri

32

Tle

Inte,naubnal

Ccver

(13)

/995


7/8

Hydrological

and Speleological

lnvestigations

in

the

Central & Western

Taurus, TURKEY.

27-32

R

o

o

z

o

.9

_o

E

(

o)

()

q,

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(

o

=

)

(d

(E

q

(,

Cn

E

6

=F

-Y

-l(l)

^r C

XP

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t

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=

JJ

le Intelnatbnal

Caver

(13)

1995


8/8

Hydrologial and Speleological

lnvestigations

in

the Central &

Western Taurus,

TURKEY. 27-32

by the

differential

erosion by exogenous

agents

such

as

water, wind,

temperature and so

on.

The

resulting

predonrinant

landscape

facing

the

valley

depressions

is therefore

nade up by

impressive, fractured

and

eroded,

rocky

calcareous slopes with,

at

its

base,

less

steep

inclines

formed

from detritic

material.

The higher

parts

of the

plateau,

at altitudes

varying

between

1700 and

1850

m above

sea

level,

shows

a

landscape characterised by

karst

and

fluvial-karst

morphologies.

The

bottom

level

of

karst

erosion

coincides

with the underground

river in

Maraspoli

i.e.

at an

altitude

of

1300

m

above sea

level.

At

this

sane

level

the

Miocene

marls

are

found

and these

act as an

inpermeable

bed.

The

difference

of about 500

m in

altitude between

the

river

and

is

recharge

areas

in

the upper

part

of

the

hydrogeographical basin

point

to the

possible

existence

of

further

fossil

phreatic

and

vadose

passages

waiting to be explored.

The lowest

level

of

fossil

galleries,

which can

still

be

crossed

and

are

linked

to

the

river,

are at an

altitude

of about

1370 nr i.e.

70

n

above the

artificial

entrance

of the

gallery

built to

intercept

the

water.

Our

search

for

entrances, situated

at

altitudes

between

1700 and

1800 nr,

and the subsequent

exploration of

the

pits

found, was undertaken

in the

hope

of

reaching

the

Maraspoli

cave

via

vadose

and

fossil

galleries

located

higher

than

the

present

active

level

of the cave.

we

were

unsuccessful

however

and

our

very

short stay

did

not

allow

us to organise

clearing work in

the

choked

pits.

The large

flow

of the

river

(more

than 500

litres

per

second)

shows the

capacity of

a

very

large

hydrological

basin,

probably

a basin

much

larger

than the one

to which

it

belongs.

our

next

explorations,

which

will

take

place

both

inside

@eyond

the

siphon)

and outside on

the

plateau

clearing the

pits,

will certainly

increase

our

knowledge

of

this complex

hydro-karst

systen.

The Maraspoli cave, with

its new

passages

explored

during

our

expedition, is

only

the

tip of

the

iceberg

and

nany

more

passages

wait

to

be

explored.

Saro

Ruggieri

Centro

lbleo di

Ricerche

Speleo-Idrogeologiche

Via

Carducci

165

97100

Ragusa

ltaly

CAI//IVG

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34

Tle

Inte,rnatbnal

Cauer

(13)

1995

Documents

Hydrological and Speleological Investiga