Ayan cave - a karst cave on the side of Chatyr-Dag mountain in Crimea . From it flows a powerful natural spring that feeds the Ayan River with water. The surveyed length of the cave passages was 560 m, the amplitude was 22 m (from −10 to +12), the entrance height was about 400 m, the area was 1250 m², and the volume was 14,500 cubic meters. m. A large number of complex karst siphons are observed in the cave.
| Ayan cave | |
|---|---|
| Specifications | |
| Amplitude | 22 m |
| Length | 560 m |
| Volume | 14 500 m³ |
| Type of | Karst |
| Enclosing rocks | Limestone |
| Number of inputs | 2 |
| Visit | |
| Visible to visitors | 60 m |
| Location | |
| A country |
|
| Region | Crimea |
| Area | Simferopol district |
Content
Description
The cave consists of five almost parallel galleries embedded in various tectonic blocks at elevations from −10 to +12 m with respect to the source outlet, and connecting siphon channels. In severe floods, cave galleries are almost completely filled with water.
The cave is embedded in thick-layer Upper Jurassic limestones [2] . Some galleries are completely flooded, as it is below the source level. In the hot season, the galleries located above dry out as water flows from one gallery to another. In floods, most galleries are filled with water.
There are a lot of deposits in the cave, both mechanical (boulders, pebbles, sand and clay), and sludge ( stalactites , stalagmites , crusts ), which are not represented by significant and spectacular clusters.
The middle part of the cave has been known since the beginning of the 20th century. The cave was fully explored by the Integrated Karst Expedition in 1960.
In 1963, scuba divers passed a siphon length of 60 meters, finding several air bubbles, from small to impressive sizes. The journey ended with a small hall in which a stream flowed and narrow dry manholes, as well as a new siphon [3] .
History
In the middle of the XVIII century, not far from the source was the Greek village of Ai-Yan, which means "St. John." Tradition says that the spring was also considered holy and a monastery was erected next to it in honor of St. John. By 1778, only ruins remained of it. The temple gave its name to the source, river and village [4] .
Tourism
The area adjacent to the natural source and the source of the river were artistically described by Pavel Sumarokov , who visited there in 1799: “Its eruption, located in the semi-mountain, is covered with a native stone grotto, over which the thinnest and seemingly made by skillful work overlook arches. Inside this grotto, a great deal of water is knocked out with a roar from the bowels of the earth, falls with strong boiling over huge stones, making fast cascades, and then its plentiful current, running through the gorge between the mountains, leads Salgir to even meadows ” [5] .
For a long time, trout was found in Salgir, which during spawning rose to the upper reaches of the river and even penetrated the cave from which Ayan flows. It is noteworthy that already at the beginning of the 20th century, tourists damaged the natural beauty of the spring. Geologist N.I. Karakash wrote in 1904: “The bottom of the well is littered with large and small fragments of stones that got there partly during the powder-building work undertaken by the owner of the source to expand the grotto, but for the most part the well was littered with tourists throwing stones at the well when visiting the grotto " [6] .
Notes
- ↑ This geographical feature is located on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula , most of which is the subject of territorial disagreements between Russia , which controls the disputed territory, and Ukraine , within the borders of which the disputed territory is recognized by the international community. According to the federal structure of Russia , the subjects of the Russian Federation are located in the disputed territory of Crimea - the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal significance Sevastopol . According to the administrative division of Ukraine , the regions of Ukraine are located in the disputed territory of Crimea - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city with special status Sevastopol .
- ↑ Dublyansky V.N., Ilyukhin V.V. Speleological studies of deep karst in the USSR (Russian) // Institute of Karst Studies and Spelology of the University. A. M. Gorky: Collection. - 1966. - No. 6 (7) . - S. 172-174 .
- ↑ Ayan cave (Chatyr-Dag) . http://time4news.org/ . Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Beginning . http://poluostrov-krym.com/ . Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Ayan source . http://mramornoe.com/ . Date of treatment July 17, 2019.
- ↑ To the origins of Salgira . http://time4news.org/ . Date of treatment July 17, 2019.