Abstract
Georgia is home to multiple, widespread limestone massifs with well-developed karst areas and their associated landscape features found throughout the country. Due to geological, geomorphological, and speleological characteristics of the limestone massifs in Georgia, there are developments in classical karst processes and landforms, which contain very impressive karst features, such as dolines, caves, calcite depositions and others. For example, in Georgia, the world’s deepest caves are found, such as: Krubera-2197 m; Sarma-1830 m; Pantyukhina-1508; Ilyukhina-1275 m; Kuibyshev-1110 m, and others. Of these, Krubera Cave is currently the deepest in the world. The goal of this work is to present speleological investigation of Muradi Cave, which is developed in Racha limestone massif. Muradi Cave is unique as the fact that it contains almost all types and subtypes of speleothems and sediments recorded nowadays in the caves of the Caucasus region, and the mineral aggregates found in Muradi Cave are rare for the caves of the Caucasus region. Unlike many of the hypogene caves in the region, Murdai Cave is formed from a more traditional mechanism of speleogenesis, but the influence of tectonic activity and complex hydrologic regimes led to the development of speleothems and passage morphology less common in the region and likely from hypogenic overprinting. The primary objectives of this study of Muradi Cave included undertaking important investigation in this country, to better understand the speleogenetic processes.
Highlights
Unlike many of the hypogene caves in the region, Murdai Cave is formed from a more traditional mechanism of speleogenesis, but the influence of tectonic activity and complex hydrologic regimes led to the development of speleothems and passage morphology less common in the region and likely from hypogenic overprinting
The Muradi Cave is developed in Racha limestone massif, which is located in the Oni and Ambrolauri regions, the total area of which exceeds 590 km2 [10]
We present a new study of Muradi Cave, and the relevant speleogenetic processes, in an effort to improve the understanding of cave formation in the Caucasus region
Summary
Georgia is a classical karst country in the world, where diverse surface and sub-. Nature of the bedrock structure, and hydrological complexity of the area, the development of different types of karst features, including both hypogenic and epigenic caves, is possible over time [6] [7] [8] [9]. The Muradi Cave is developed in Racha limestone massif, which is located in the Oni and Ambrolauri regions (western Georgia), the total area of which exceeds 590 km2 [10]. Within the karst zone of Georgia, the Racha limestone massif has the largest areal extent, but lacks relief compared to others in the country [13]
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