Botovskaya Cave 2004

 
INTAS PROJECT:

 Speleothems and other cave sediments from Siberia: an archive from the boreal climate zone with the potential for climate reconstruction on an annual to decadal basins (SPELEOARCH)
 

Botovskaya Cave is an outstanding example of a maze cave developed in 6 to 12 m thick bed of Ordovician limestone confined in sandstones. The cave is located in the Verkholenskoye Plateau, about 400 km north from Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia. So far, the total length of explored underground passages reached more than 60 km. The Botovskaya Cave is the longest cave in the territory of Russian Federation.

Further reading about Botovskaya Cave by Andrej Filippov can be found in the book Speleogenesis - Evolution of Karst Aquifers, National Speleological  Society, Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A.

The Russian - Czech joint expedition to Botovskaya Cave under the INTAS Speleoarch project took place in February 2004. In the field expedition led by Alexander Osincev participated:

Expedition terms:

February 9 - 21, 2004
13 days including journey there and back

 68 Kb
Expedition itinerary 		68 Kb
Map of the journey and location of Botovskaya Cave 		68 Kb
Satellite  image of Lake Baikal and surroundings

 

Photogallery

68 Kb
Irkutsk, February 2004 		60 Kb
A vertical base (former waterworks) of the Irkutsk speleological club Arabika 		61 Kb
Planning of final details before start of expedition		 57 Kb
Shopping of necessary valenky
shoes at the Irkutsk central market
70 Kb
Last technical tuning before start of journey		 35 Kb
Almost done		 33 Kb
100 km long icy road along the frozen Lena River		 68 Kb
Early morning arrival to the former Boty village
36 Kb
Not easy winter driving in taiga		 65 Kb
No obstacle will stop us		 62 Kb
Finally at the field base		 32 Kb
Preparation for two week stay in taiga
68 Kb
Field kitchen and 3 stoves need a lot of wood		 70 Kb
Base kitchen		 68 Kb
Keep smiling		 47 Kb
Preparation of icy "swimming pool" and a hole for water supply
35 Kb
Final brushstrokes already at dark		 66 Kb
Joint dinner after a hard day		 70 Kb
Highly responsible organizing work by the head of expedition		 52 Kb
Evening relaxing
72 Kb
Prediction of future scientific results		 71 Kb
Visit of a local taiga hunter		 73 Kb
Trail to the Botovskaya Cave		 38 Kb
Preparation of the upper base at the cave entrance
51 Kb
Wood bar construction for the temporary roof		 67 Kb
Social live in the upper base		 62 Kb
Eager speleologists at the upper base		 73 Kb
The Medeo entrance to the Botovskaya Cave
38 Kb
Last preparations before a penetration into the cave		 51 Kb
Typical cave passage in the "Old World" inside the Botovskaya Cave 		67 Kb
First visit to the cave		 62 Kb
Intersection of phreatic and vadose passages
73 Kb
Documentation in a test hole at the point PK 0122		 69 Kb
A detail of laminated silts exposed in the section		 68 Kb
Erosional borders inside the laminated sits		 53 Kb
Alternating of corroded Ordovician limestones and horizontally or diagonally bedded sandstones
64 Kb
Conduit filled with sandy silt and clay		 73 Kb
A fresh gravitational fissure		 69 Kb
Underground lunch		 68 Kb
Sleeping cave friends
53 Kb
Landscape morphology visible from the upper base, horizontal snow line represents a limestone bed		 64 Kb
A still life from Verkholenskoye plateau		 64 Kb
So long, Botovskaya Cave

Download all photos (zipped archive 6.64 MB)

 

© foto Jaroslav Kadlec, Martin Chadima & Sasha Yuldashev