Until recently, the deepest in the world was the Krubera Cave, which goes down 2,116 meters. However, in August 2017, she lost this status, losing the championship to the practically unexplored C-115 cave, which was later named after the caver Alexander Verevkin. This expedition made a real sensation in the world of researchers, turning the hitherto unremarkable geological object into a world record holder.
Which cave is the deepest?
The depth of Verevkina cave installed today is 2,212 meters. Measurements were made using the lot, because it was not possible to reach the bottom by dipping.
The deepest cave today is much less studied than the Krubera (Voronya) mine. Both objects are located in Abkhazia at a small distance from each other, and it is currently assumed that they can be connected to each other by underground passages.
The status of the deepest cave is not an axiom, since it is established not on the basis of objective data, but on a set of results of speleological studies, which are still far from complete. Some geological features may not yet be discovered, while others have not been fully explored. So, the depth of the Berchil cave has not yet been determined, but according to preliminary calculations it should be at least 2,400 meters.
Where is the deepest cave
Verevkina Cave is located in Abkhazia, on the territory of the Arabica Plateau, which is part of the Gara West Caucasus Range. The mine has one single entrance, located on the pass between the Umbrella and Fortress mountains. This place has coordinates 43 ° 23′52 ″ s. w. and 40 ° 21′37 ″ in. The distance from the entrance to the Fortress is less than to the Umbrella.
Description of Verevkin Cave
The entrance to the deepest cave is a fairly wide (3 by 4 meters) well, which opens on the surface and goes underground at 32 meters. This hole is easily visible when viewed from the side.
At the bottom of the inlet well there is a side hole, which cavers called "Zhdanov's pants." Nearby is a 25-meter plumb line, which goes to a depth of 115 m. It was this point that became the initial limit of the passage of the cave, which is why it was given the code name S-115.
By design, the deepest cave is a narrow crevice in the ridge. However, at the bottom there is a real natural "metro". Here, cavers discovered about 7 kilometers of subhorizontal passages, each of which has a cross section of more than 2 m.
The bottom of the cave is 300 m below sea level. Therefore, scientists suggest that it can be connected to the Black Sea through underwater tunnels. In the terminal (final) siphon of the cave there is a beautiful turquoise lake 15 meters long and 18 meters wide. It is surrounded by jet black limestone.
Verevkina cave is a very inconvenient object for amateur tourism. The descent there is very difficult, and even investing large sums of money could not rectify the situation. Therefore, at the moment, the deepest cave in the world is of interest only to scientists or extreme tourists.
Research history
Verevkina cave was first discovered by cavers from Krasnoyarsk in 1968. Scientists were able to pass it to a mark of 115 m, in connection with which they assigned the name S-115 (in the international registry - S-115).
The second study was done in 1986. This time, scientists from Moscow took up the matter, who managed to descend to a depth of 440 m. The cave was renamed P1-7, where the first letter indicated the speleological club (Perovsky). The modern name of this underground facility was assigned in 1986. Thus, the memory of the deceased Soviet speleologist Alexander Verevkin was honored.
Subsequent expeditions to the cave were conducted between 2000 and 2018. They were organized by the speleological clubs Pereo and Pereo-speleo. In total, 7 expeditions were completed during this time, as a result of which it was possible to reach a depth of 2,212 meters.
Features of the last expedition
Descent into the cave was very hard work for researchers. Each of them carried 20 kg of luggage (torches, food, equipment, lights, etc.). To communicate with the surface during the descent, scientists had to pull telephone cables along with them. Rest and sleep took place in stone niches.
The bottom point of the cave was reached 4 days after the start of the descent. After that, a camp was set up at a depth of 2,200 meters, where the researchers spent another three days. This time was spent photographing the cave, exploring new corridors, and taking samples of invertebrate animals.
Alive organisms
The bottom of the Verevkin cave is rich in cave fauna. During the expedition, scientists were able to collect and deliver to the surface 20 previously unexplored species. Most of the specimens found belonged to the following taxa:
- false scorpions;
- leeches;
- millipedes.
All inhabitants of the Verevkina cave are ideally adapted to the conditions of underground life at great depths and are not found in other biotopes.