Chil-Ustun Cave
Чилустун үңкүрү (in Kyrgyz)
Map showing the location of Chil-Ustun Cave
Map showing the location of Chil-Ustun Cave
Coordinates40°32′19″N 72°31′32″E / 40.5387°N 72.5256°E / 40.5387; 72.5256
Length380 m
Elevation1100 m
DiscoveryAncient times
Entrances1
Show cave openedno
LightingNne
Chil-Ustun
LocationAravan District, Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan

Chil-Ustun Cave (Kyrgyz: Чил-Устун үңкүрү) also known as Aravan Cave is located in the Southwest of Kyrgyzstan in the Osh Mountains, composed of Paleozoic limestones, in 3.5 km from Aravan, Kyrgyzstan.[1] It is a protected natural monument.[2] The cave belongs to the group of Karst caves of outlier mountains to the west of Osh.[3][4]

The entrance to the cave forms a 15 meter tall and approximately 25 meter wide arc. The cave is 380 meters long [5] or up to 350 meters according to another source.[4] It is located in a rock formation at 1100 meters above sea level. The entrance is located on a steep, oblique rock face.

The cave's existence has been known since mediaeval times as attested by Arabic inscriptions on the walls.

The cave consists of 3 chambers of different sizes, connected with corridors and narrow openings. The largest chamber is 85 m X 40 m X 20 m in size.

Inside the cave, stalactites and stalagmites (columns) reach heights of over 50 meters. These forms vary in color, from white and cream to dark brown.

References

  1. "Чилустун үңкүрү" [Chilustun cave] (PDF). Кыргызстандын Географиясы [Geography of Kyrgyzstan] (in Kyrgyz). Bishkek. 2004. p. 319.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. "Classification system of territorial units of the Kyrgyz Republic" (in Kyrgyz). National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. May 2021. pp. 86–91.
  3. Chikishev, Anatoliy Grigorevich (1973). Пещеры на территории СССР [Caves in the USSR]. Настоящее и будущее Земли и человечества (in Russian). Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the USSR: Nauka publisher. p. 85.
  4. 1 2 Ошская область:Энциклопедия [Encyclopedia of Osh Oblast] (in Russian). Frunze: Chief Editorial Board of Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia. 1987. p. 432.
  5. "Chil-Ustun Cave". Centralasia-adventures.com. 1990-01-01. Retrieved 2014-06-07.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.