3N Cave, New World’s Longest Cave in Salt

M. Filippi(1), Z. Vilhelm(2), J. Bruthans(2), M. Zare(3) and N. Asadi(3)

(1) Institute of Geology, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 269, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic, e-mail: filippi@gli.cas.cz
(2) Department of Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Applied Geophysics, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 43 Prague 2, Czech Republic, e-mail: bruthans@natur.cuni.cz
(3) Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Key words: salt karst, 3N Cave, longest salt cave, Iran

Abstract: During the last January 2006 expedition the Big Ponor Cave was connected with the Cave of Tří Naháčů (former second longest cave in salt). The resulting cave was named 3N Cave and altogether with newly mapped parts reaches the total length of 6,580 m. It is some 900 m longer than Malham Cave (5,685 m, Mt. Sedom, Israel) now being the second.

3N Cave Photo Gallery
Photos by M. Audy, R. Bouda, M. Filippi and T. Svoboda

By like of brine flooded lower entrance of the 3N Cave. Photo by M. Filippi	Shaft to the 3N Cave, ca 40 m deep. Photo by M. Audy
Dome behind the lake in the 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy and R. Bouda	Place called as the Octopus, 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy and R. Bouda
Place called as the Octopus in the 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy and R. Bouda	Dome behind the Shaft – start of the narrow spaces named as the Bend, 3N Cave. Photo by M. Filippi and T. Svoboda.
Wide spaces of the Namakdan Highway, 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy and R. Bouda	Stalactite in old parts of the Megadomes, 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy
Folded salt on the roof in the Megadomes, 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy and R. Bouda	Partly collapsed parts of the Megadomes, 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy and R. Bouda
The Big Ponor entrance – the main ponor to the 3N Cave. Photo by M. Audy and R. Bouda	Inside the Big Ponor entrance, 3N Cave. Photo by M. Filippi`
Meandering river leaving the Namakdan salt diapir from the lower entrance of the 3N Cave. Photo by T. Svoboda	Doline in caprock (residual sediment covering the salt), often with shafts on the bottom, surface above the 3N Cave. Photo by T. Svoboda
Detail of the skeletal halite stalagmite. Photo by M. Filippi	Rhinopoma hardwickii – the most common inhabitant of the 3N Cave. Photo by M. Filippi