New Athos Cave

New Athos Cave
ახალი ათონის მღვიმე, Афон Ҿыцтәи аҳаҧы, Новоафонская Пещера

The New Athon Cave, 2006
Map showing the location of New Athos Cave

Location of the caves in Abkhazia

Location

New Athos

Coordinates 43°05′26.34″N 40°48′36.03″E / 43.0906500°N 40.8100083°E / 43.0906500; 40.8100083Coordinates: 43°05′26.34″N 40°48′36.03″E / 43.0906500°N 40.8100083°E / 43.0906500; 40.8100083
Depth 183 m
Length 1,900 m
Geology Karst cave
Entrances 4
Access Public
Show cave opened 1961
Show cave length 1,900 m
Website Official website
View of the cave

The New Athos Cave (Abkhaz: Афон Ҿыцтәи аҳаҧы; Georgian: ახალი ათონის მღვიმე; Russian: Новоафонская Пещера) also Novoafonskaya, Novy Afon Cave, or New Afon Cave is a karst cave in the Iverian Mountain in Abkhazia (Georgia[1]) near New Athos. It is one of the largest caves in the world with the volume of its void of about 1,000,000 m3.

Overview

The abyss on a slope of the Iverian Mountain was known for ages, referred to as the "Bottomless Pit". It was explored in 1961 by an expedition of four: Zurab Tintilozov,[2] Arsen Okrojanashvili,[3] Boris Gergedava,[4] and Givi Smyr.[5]

Since 1975, it has been a major tourist attraction, featuring its own underground railway.[6] The cave consists of 9 major cavities.

The Skeleton 
Ep train in New Athos Cave metro 
Ep-563 train in New Athos Cave metro 

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Abkhazia's status is disputed. It considers itself to be an independent state, but this is recognised by only a few other countries. The Georgian government and most of the world's other states consider Abkhazia de jure a part of Georgia's territory. In Georgia's official subdivision it is an autonomous republic, whose government sits in exile in Tbilisi.
  2. ↑ In Georgian, ზურაბ ტინტილოზოვი
  3. ↑ In Georgian, არსენ ოქროჯანაშვილი
  4. ↑ In Georgian, ბორის გერგედავა
  5. ↑ In Georgian, გივი სმირი
  6. ↑ New Athos Cave Railway at metro-novyafon.narod.ru
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