Optymistychna Cave
| Optymistychna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | near Ukrainian village of Korolivka, Borschiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast |
| Coordinates | 48°44′33″N 25°59′37″E / 48.74250°N 25.99361°E / 48.74250; 25.99361Coordinates: 48°44′33″N 25°59′37″E / 48.74250°N 25.99361°E / 48.74250; 25.99361 |
| Length | 230 km (140 mi)[1] |
| Discovery | 1966 |
| Geology | gypsum |
Optymistychna (Ukrainian: Оптимістична: meaning "optimistic") is a gypsum cave located near the Ukrainian village of Korolivka, Borshchiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast.[2] Approximately 230 km (140 mi) of passageways have been mapped within.[1] As a result, it is the longest cave in Eurasia and the fifth-longest cave in the world,[3] after Mammoth Cave, Sistema Sac Actun, Jewel Cave and Sistema Ox Bel Ha. It is also the longest gypsum cave in the world.[1]
Contents
1 History
2 Geology
3 References
4 External links
History
The cave complex was discovered by the speleologists of the Lviv speleological club "Cyclope" in 1966. It was entirely unknown before then.[4] There have been more than 50 expeditions since then, but exploration has slowed significantly in recent years, and very little surveying is currently being done.[2] The cave is located very close to the Priest's Grotto or Ozerna Cave, the eleventh-longest cave in the world at 130.4 km (81.0 mi), but the two caves have not yet been found to be connected.[1]
As of 1977 when the cave was in the Soviet Union, it was spelled in English-language publications as Peschtschera Optimistitscheskaya.[5]
In 2008 the cave was recognized as a Natural Wonder of Ukraine.
Geology
Speleothems inside Optymistychna Cave.
The entire cave lies under a 2 km square area in a layer of Neogene period gypsum that is less than 30 metres (98 ft) thick.[4][6] The passages tend to be fairly small, no more than 3 metres (10 ft) wide and 1.5 metres (5 ft) tall for most, although at intersections they can be up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall.[4] They are often choked with mud. They comprise a dense network on several levels, making Optymistychna known as a "maze cave".
Optymistychna's gypsum bed is topped with a limestone layer, which has seeped through into the cave via erosion and formed into calcite speleothems.[4] At other places, the gypsum has formed crystals, often tinted a multitude of colors by mineral salts. In some areas, large gypsum rosettes have formed, colored black by Manganese oxide.[4]
References
^ abcd White, William Blaine; Culver, David C. (2012). Encyclopedia of Caves. Academic Press. p. 830. ISBN 9780123838322..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ ab "Optimistic cave. Speleotourism. Active and extreme tourism. Travel". www.cave-ua.narod.ru. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
^ "OPTYMISTYCHNA IS THE LONGEST CAVE IN UKRAINE - Information Portal Good News". ukrainegoodnews.com. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
^ abcde Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 282. ISBN 0-89577-087-3.
^ Herb and Jan Conn (1977). The Jewel Cave Adventure: Fifty Miles of Discovery under South Dakota. p. 230. ISBN 0-914264-20-6.
^ Warren, John K. (2016-05-18). Evaporites: A Geological Compendium. Springer. p. 677. ISBN 9783319135120.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Optymistychna Cave. |
- Official site of Optimistic cave
Chapter II.9, Gypsum Karst in the Western Ukraine by Alexander Klimchouk article appearing in: International Journal of Speleology, vol. 25, #3-4, 1996, p. 263-278.
