"features of the area include the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau, lakes, including Tabatskuri and Paravani, as well as mineral water and hot springs. Two major rivers in Georgia are the Rioni and the Mtkvari. The Southern Georgia Volcanic Highland is a young and unstable geologic region with high seismic activity and has experienced some of the most significant earthquakes that have been recorded in Georgia. The Krubera Cave is the deepest known cave in the world. It is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range, in Abkhazia. In 2001, a Russian–Ukrainian team had set the world depth record for"
"deepest-known cave, Lamprechtsofen, in the Austrian Alps, by . In 2004, for the first time in the history of speleology, the Ukrainian Speleological Association expedition reached a depth greater than , and explored the cave to . Ukrainian diver Gennadiy Samokhin extended the cave by diving in the terminal sump to 46 metres' depth in 2007 and then to 52 m in 2012, setting successive world records of 2,191 m and 2,197 m, respectively. Krubera is one of the two known caves on Earth deeper than 2,000 metres. The original name ""Krubera"" had been assigned to the cave by Georgian"
"the Abyss"", coordinated by A. Klimchuk, Y. Kasyan, G. Samokhin and K. Markovskoy. Besides the Ukrainian speleologists, cavers from many countries such as France, Spain, Russia, Moldova, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel and Lithuania have taken part in different expeditions of the Ukr.S.A. The major events in the exploration of Krubera Cave in subsequent years were as follows (see Figure 4 for spot locations): Krubera Cave Krubera Cave (; Also known as Voronya Cave, sometimes spelled Voronja Cave) is the second deepest known cave on Earth after the Veryovkina Cave. It is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra"
"Among several hundred caves known in the Arabika Massif, fifteen have been explored deeper than 400 m and five deeper than 1,000 m (shown in Figure 1). Krubera Cave is located at 2,256 m above sea level in the Ortobalagan Valley, a perfectly shaped, relatively shallow, glacial trough of the sub-Caucasian stretch, which holds the advanced position in the Arabika's central sector relative to the seashore. Since 1980, Ukrainian cavers have been undertaking systematic efforts in exploring deep caves in the Ortobalagan Valley, resulting in exploration of the Krubera Cave to its current depth and of the Arabikskaja System to"
"explored to −740 m and the ""Nekuybyshevskaya Branch"" to −500 m. In 2000, the Main Branch was quickly pushed by the multi-stage expedition of the Ukr. S.A. in August to −1,200 m and in September to −1,410 m. In January 2001, the Ukr.S.A. expedition explored the cave to making it the deepest cave in the world. For the first time in the history of speleology, the deepest cave in the world had been established outside of western Europe. Since 2001, the Krubera explorations by the Ukr.S.A. have been undertaken within the frame of the multi-year project named ""The Call of"
"Jordbrugrotta Jordbrugrotta (also known as Pluragrotta) is a cave in Rana, Norway. It is the deepest cave in Northern Europe. Most caves in Rana, of which there are some 200, are not suitable for diving. A popular cave diving destination, Jordbrugrotta attracts more divers than any other cave in Scandinavia. Visibility in the cave waters is high. The cave's passages were formed by the flow of the Plura river over limestone, and the cave system includes marble formations. A number of species have been identified in the cave ecosystem. Diving became possible in Jordbrugrotta with the damming of lake Kallvatnet"
"This new discovery made Lamprechtsofen the deepest-known cave in the world for less than three years, since Krubera was discovered in June 2001 to be deep. As of 2014, Lamprechtsofen is the fourth-deepest cave in the world, since two more Georgian caves have since been discovered to be deeper. Sarma Cave is and Illyuzia-Mezhonnogo-Snezhnaya Cave is . Today, about are open to visitors, a portion of the cave that covers a altitude difference. Because of the cave's river, it is subject to flooding from heavy rain and melting snow. As such, visitors and explorers have been occasionally trapped in the"
"the cave. The Finnish divers involved returned later, without official authorization, and recovered the bodies. Their recovery expedition was filmed as the documentary ""Diving Into The Unknown"". The diving ban was lifted on 31 March 2014. Jordbrugrotta Jordbrugrotta (also known as Pluragrotta) is a cave in Rana, Norway. It is the deepest cave in Northern Europe. Most caves in Rana, of which there are some 200, are not suitable for diving. A popular cave diving destination, Jordbrugrotta attracts more divers than any other cave in Scandinavia. Visibility in the cave waters is high. The cave's passages were formed by the"
"have since been cleared drastically. They consisted of oak, beech, and hornbeam. Southeastern Abkhazia, a part of the Colchis Lowland, is still covered by Colchian forests (alder, hornbeam, oak, beech), or by citrus and tea plantations. The world's deepest known cave, Krubera (Voronja) Cave, is located in Abkhazia's western Caucasus mountains. The latest survey (as of September 2007) has measured the vertical span of this cave system as between its highest and lowest explored points. The foothills, up to an elevation of above sea level, are covered by deciduous forests (with evergreen elements), and include tree species such as oak,"
"Sima Pumacocha Sima Pumacocha (possibly from Spanish ""sima"" deep and dark cavern/abyss, Quechua ""puma"" cougar, puma, ""qucha"" lake) is a limestone cave located in the Lima Region, Yauyos Province, Laraos District, in central Peru near the village of Laraos, high in the Andes mountains. At 638 meters deep, it held the record for deepest known cave in South America from 2001 to 2006 when it was surpassed by Abismo Guy Collet. With the entrance being 4372 meters above sea level and the depth being over 500 meters, it is the highest major cave in the world. and It is located"
"Vilenica Cave Vilenica Cave or Vilenica Cave at Lokev () is the oldest show cave in Europe. The first tourists to the cave were recorded in 1633. It is located next to the village of Lokev in the municipality of Sežana on the Karst Plateau in southwestern Slovenia. Until the mid-19th century it was known as the biggest, most beautiful, and most frequently visited cave of the Classical Karst. Later it was surpassed by Postojna Cave. Vilenica Cave is more than in length, with a depth of , but tourists are only allowed into the first of the cave. Since"
"or HBSD) from the Lukina jama–Trojama cave system in the Velebit mountains of Croatia, during an expedition from July 29 to August 8, 2012. The cave system is the deepest in Croatia and one of the top twenty deepest caves in the world at a total measured depth of , including submerged passages. Aside from its great depth, the cave system is also known for its vertical orientation and deep shafts. The expedition was primarily to determine the cave system's depth, but the team also collected specimens of animals they encountered. The cave system has two entrances, the Lukina jama"
"largest cave entrance in Europe. Probably the most famous and deepest cave in the region is the Gouffre Berger cave. This cave includes the narrow shafts, descending into the Grand Galerie, which itself is home to very large and very old stalagmites. This particular system follows the slope of the limestone beds for , until it meets the flooded area of the Cuves de Sassenage. Vercors Cave System The Vercors caves are a set of long, narrow caves situated in the Alps, in South-Eastern France. The caves are known for having the largest cave entrance in Europe. The caves are"
"speleologists who explored the entrance pit in 1960. This name was given after the noted Russian geographer Alexander Kruber. The name ""Krubera Cave"" thus has a priority. ""Voronya Cave"" means ""Crows' Cave"" in Russian. This name was used as a slang name by Kiev speleologists during the 1980s due to a number of crows nesting in the entrance pit, and then remained in the literature and media as a second name for the cave. The Arabika Massif, the home of Krubera (Voronya) Cave, is one of the largest high-mountain limestone karst massifs in the Western Caucasus. It is composed of"
"most important and is considered the largest in the Mediterranean Sea. On the east side of Sardinia there are many underwater cave systems starting from the Gennargentu Mountains, with underwater rivers. There is a fresh water cave of more than depth in this area. Cala Golone is a departure point for cave diving in Sardinia's largest cave systems which are usually reached by sea. ""Bue Marino"" is the longest known, and there are several others. Jordbrugrotta (also known as Pluragrotta) is a cave in Rana, Norway. It is the deepest cave in Northern Europe. Cave divers occasionally visit Jordbrugrotta which"
"Velebit caves The Velebit mountains of Croatia have several deep caves with some of the world's largest subterranean vertical drops. The ""Lukina jama"" cave is 1431 m deep (2013), the deepest cave in Croatia, 14th deepest cave in the world and the deepest cave in southeast Europe. At its foot, there are ponds and streams including one of the largest known colonies of subterranean leeches (""Erpobdella mestrovi""), which has been ascertained to represent a new species, genus and also family. Other species discovered in the system, include the air-breathing land snails ""Zospeum tholussum"". Like Lukina jama, Slovacka jama, Velebita and"
"Gutmanis Cave Gutman's Cave () is the widest and highest cave in the Baltic countries, located on the Gauja River in the National Park of Sigulda, Latvia. It started forming more than 10 000 years ago when meltwater eroded the sandstone rock after the Ice Age. It is the oldest tourist attraction in Latvia. On the walls of the cave are inscriptions from the 17th century. The legend of the Rose of Turaida began in this cave. Gutman's Cave is the widest and highest cave in the Baltics. It is 18.8 meters deep, 12 meters wide and 10 meters high."
"Chevé Cave Chevé Cave ( ; ) is a deep cave located in the Sierra Juárez mountain range in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. As of 2003, its deepest point has been measured at deep, making it the second deepest known cavern in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s 12th deepest cave. The cave's deepest known point is nearly one vertical mile and seven horizontal miles from the entrance, ending in a terminal sump. The present limit of exploration in Chevé, at 9.3 kilometers from the nearest entrance, represents one of the most remote locations ever attained inside any"
"subterranean amphipod crustacean ""Kruberia abchasica"" caught by Gennady Samokhin in August 2013, during dives in the siphon 'Dva Kapitana', dwells at the deepest part of the Krubera Cave (at the depth of -2,175 metres). At the beginning of the 20th century, Arabika was visited by French speleologist Édouard-Alfred Martel, who published several works about the massif. In 1909–10 Russian karst scientist Alexander Kruber, a founder of the study in Russia, performed some field studies in Arabika. He published his observations in a series of Arabika-specific papers and several monographs. During the subsequent 50 years no special studies were undertaken of"
"and deepest in the world. Most of the caves of these areas were either discovered or surveyed by the Europeans (especially by German, British and Italian cavers). Herbert Daniel Gebauer, Simon Brooks, Thomas Arbenz and Rosario Ruggieri are the most prominent name among them. Brian Khapran-Daly of Meghalaya Adventure association have expedite most of the caves of Meghalaya (stated above). In addition to these, the cavers' associations of Meghalaya have always been found to be active in cave discoveries of that plateau. and many more scientifically unexplored caves. In India, many caves are popular tourist sites. The caves of Ajanta,"
"Raggejavreraige Raggejavreraige or Råggejávrrerájgge is a cave located in a mountain above the Hellemofjorden in the municipality of Tysfjord in Nordland county, Norway. The cave is located near the lake Råggejávrre, about south of the village of Musken. Råggejávrrerájgge is a limestone cave that has been eroded by this underground river. At deep, it is the deepest cave in Scandinavia and the only known deep cave north of the Arctic Circle. Generally, the area is a vast plateau (exceeding an elevation of above sea level) that is incised by the steep-walled Tysfjorden. Within the impermeable rock, there are three two-dimensional"
"Arabika Massif Arabika Massif is a glacially eroded karst outcropping of the Gagra Range, Abkhazia in the West Caucasus, by the city of Gagra. The highest elevation is . The 13-km-long massif is composed of Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic limestones that dip continuously southwest to the Black Sea and plunge below the modern sea level. The area is densely wooded, with large areas of both coniferous forest and mixed woodland. The Arabika contains a number of remarkable caves, gorges, wells, and precipices, including the Veryovkina Cave and Voronya Cave, the world's deepest caves. Alexander Kruber was the first to"
"groups out of 24 in the whole ""Friuli-Venezia Giulia"" region. The Trieste plateau (Altopiano Triestino), called Kras or the ""Carso"" and covering an area of about within Italy has approximately 1,500 caves of various sizes (like that of Basovizza, now a monument to the Foibe massacres). Among the most famous are the Grotta Gigante, the largest tourist cave in the world, with a single cavity large enough to contain St Peter's in Rome, and the ""Cave of Trebiciano"", deep, at the bottom of which flows the ""Timavo River"". This river dives underground at Škocjan Caves in Slovenia (they are on"
"Vercors Cave System The Vercors caves are a set of long, narrow caves situated in the Alps, in South-Eastern France. The caves are known for having the largest cave entrance in Europe. The caves are located in the limestone area in the Rhône-Alpes region, in the lower Alps. The caves are well known to British explorers, since the expedition led by Ken Pierce in the early 1960s introduced them to the area. The total area with the caves extends to around 400 square miles (1000 square kilometres) with a depth of up to 1271 metres (4170 feet). The surrounding area"
"nesting in the entrance shaft. The political and ethnic conflict in Abkhazia during 1992–94 resulted in instability and border problems which continued over subsequent years. This suspended speleological explorations in Arabika. Some stabilization of the situation in 1998 has since enabled a renewal of exploration effort to take place in the region. In 1999, the expedition of the Ukrainian Speleological Associations (Ukr. S.A.) led by Yury Kasyan made a major breakthrough in Krubera Cave by discovering and exploring two branches behind the windows at a depth of 220–250 m. These branches stretched in two different directions. The ""Main Branch"" was"
"where the dramatic sea level drop of ~1,500 m is well established. The biocenosis of Krubera-Voronja is composed of more than 12 species of arthropods of several groups, such as pseudoscorpions, spiders, opiliones, crustaceans, springtails, beetles and dipterans. Krubera-Voronja cave is inhabited by endemic species, including four springtails discovered during the CAVEX Team expedition of 2010: ""Anurida stereoodorata"", ""Deuteraphorura kruberaensis"", "" Schaefferia profundissima"", and ""Plutomurus ortobalaganensis""; the last of these is the deepest terrestrial animal ever found on Earth, living below the cave entrance. The beetle ""Catops cavicis"" inhabits Krubera-Voronja cave and also several caves around the Ortobalagan valley. The"
"was made to take the artifacts to the Oaxaca Regional Museum of INAH so they were not looted and to prevent further humidity damage. Chevé Cave Chevé Cave ( ; ) is a deep cave located in the Sierra Juárez mountain range in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. As of 2003, its deepest point has been measured at deep, making it the second deepest known cavern in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s 12th deepest cave. The cave's deepest known point is nearly one vertical mile and seven horizontal miles from the entrance, ending in a terminal sump. The"
"is upside-down and located at coordinates south-east of Dubrovnik, Croatia, at the depth of . The wreck was initially located by a Czech expedition in 2008 although the death of one diver on 9 September forestalled any investigation of the wreck. The group also lacked any permits to dive on ""Giuseppe Garibaldi"" as it is a protected war grave which caused them to be expelled from the country. A follow-up Croatian expedition explored and filmed the wreck in August 2009 using CCR (Closed Circuit Rebreather) technology. Official expeditions were made in November 2009 and May 2010 to the wreck by"
"of Central Europe's largest underground rooms. Lurgrotte The Lurgrotte karst cave is the largest cave in the Eastern Alps of Styria, Austria. It is located about north of Graz and crosses the Tannenben karst region. The cave has two accessible entrances, one at the village of Semriach and the other at the village of Peggau. At the Semriach entrance, the Lur River sinks into the cave. At the Peggau entrance, the Schmelz River emerges from within the cave, flowing to the west and eventually joining the Mur River. Archaeologists have found material in and around the cave that indicates habitation"
"in the Karabi-Yayla Plateau (Караби-яйла), Crimea, and a karst cave in Caucasus (Krubera-Voronya Cave) are named after him. Alexander Kruber Alexander Alexandrovich Kruber (; – December 15, 1941) was a Soviet geographer, professor, the founder of the Russian and Soviet karstology. Alexander Kruber was born in Istra (formerly Voskresensk), Russia. He graduated from the Moscow University in 1897. He became chairman of the Geography Department of the Moscow University in 1919 and director of the Scientific Research Institute of Geography during 1923-1927. Since 1927 he could no longer work due to grave health problems. He studied karst structures of the"
"(3000-2000 BC). Cueva de los Murciélagos The Cueva de los Murciélagos is a cave system in the Sierras Subbéticas located about 4 km southeast of the town of Zuheros in the southern province of Córdoba in Spain. Although the caves were discovered in 1868, they were not studied until 1938. The caves host one of the largest bat colonies in Andalusia. The caves are located in an extensive karst landscape at an altitude of 980 metres in the heart of the Cañada de Malos Vientos mountain (1000 m) in southern Andalusia. The rock formations and caves with stalactites, stalagmites and"
"Cave del Valle (Cantabria) Cave del Valle (, ""The Valley's Cave""), locally also known as ""La Viejarrona"" (Old Girl), is located near ""El Cerro Village"" in the municipality of Rasines in Cantabria, northern Spain. The cave is the source of the ""Silencio River"", a tributary of the ""Rio Ruahermosa"", which in turn is a tributary of the ""Asón River"". Notable for its prehistoric, but particularly for its speleologic significance as it is recognized as one of the longest cavities in the world. The site is very popular among cavers, who have explored a total of over so far. Although situated"
"Gruta do Centenário Gruta do Centenário (English: ""Centenary grotto"") (MG-1081), is a cave located in the municipality of Mariana, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is the largest and deepest quartzite cave in the world, and second in the country in terms of unevenness. Other caves which are part of the same system have now been partially explored. The beginnings of the Brazilian speleology in the eighteenth and nineteenth century mingle with the history of Caraça. From 1818 reports of two European naturalists, Johann Baptist von Spix and Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, cited the existence of several"