The Caves of the Northeastern Part of the Transdanubian Mountains

Abstract

AbstractThe thermal waters of famous springs and spas of Budapest have dissolved more than 240 hypogene caves in the Buda Hills, mostly in Eocone limestone and marl, during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Recently we have 60 km of known cave passages mapped, chiefly in the Rózsadomb (Rose Hill) part of the city. Every cave was discovered by accident (stone quarrying, digging basements, trenching for gas and water pipes, canalization, etc.). These caves are characterized by speleothems of thermal-water origin, mostly calcite, aragonite (cave coralloids, mammillary crusts, cave rafts, frostworks) and some types of gypsum crystals, as well as shapely solution pockets, especially cupolas. Three caves, Pál-völgy Cave, Szemlő-hegy Cave and Buda Castle Cave are open to the public as show caves. The tourists can also visit Mátyás-hegy Cave for an adventure tour, and cave divers can explore warm thermal water passages in Molnár János Cave. József-hegy Cave, Citadella Crystal Cave and Királylaki Cave are accessible for research projects only. There are fewer, but very interesting, caves in the Triassic limestone of the Pilis Hills. The intensively investigated Ariadne Cave System is now nearly 20 km long. Sátorkőpuszta Cave, with many superb cupolas and gypsum precipitates, is the world type example of one of the principal hypogene cave morphologies. The Gerecse Hills are not rich in caves, but it is well worth viewing Pisznice, Lengyel and Keselő caves, which are also in the Triassic limestone.KeywordsHypogene cavesSpeleothems of thermal-water originSolution pocketsCupolasRózsadombBuda Thermal Karst