Drakos Selinitsa system

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Drakos Selenitsa system

Entrance to the Katafygi cave

Entrance to the Katafygi cave
Location: Mani (Peloponnese) , Greece
Height : 8  m
Geographic
location: 		36 ° 48 '10.4 "  N , 22 ° 17' 51.2"  E Coordinates: 36 ° 48 '10.4 "  N , 22 ° 17' 51.2"  E
Drakos Selinitsa System (Greece)
Drakos Selinitsa system
Cadastral number: 0036
Geology: limestone
Type: Dripstone cave , water cave
Discovery: prehistoric
Overall length: 4,000 m
Particularities: fourth longest cave in Greece (as of 2005)

The Drakos Selinitsa system ( Greek σύστημα Δράκου - Σελινίτσας ) south of the village of Agios Dimitrios in the municipality of Dytiki Mani on the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese extends along an underground river bed over more than a kilometer from the sea inland. The cave is also known locally as Katafygi Cave ( Greek Σπήλαιο Καταφύγη , refuge cave ).

Findings of human bones and black pottery testify to the former importance of the cave as a place of worship or protection .

The system has several branches on three floors. The upper and main corridors of the middle, with the exception of the rearmost part, are inactive vados (dry; the cave formation is complete), the rearmost part is at least occasionally still active vados (flowed through by water, the cave formation is not complete). The lower floor as well as the Drakos - source are phreatic (filled entirely of water). The temperature in the cave corresponds to the annual mean temperature of around 18 ° C ; the humidity is around 80%.

With a measured total length of four kilometers, the Drakos Selinitsa system is the fourth longest cave in Greece (as of 2005).

Surname

In Greek the word καταφυγή ( katafygi ) means "place of refuge, refuge". The official name of the Greek speleological society is the Drakos Selinitsa system (σύστημα Δράκου - Σελινίτσας) after the Drakos source further south ( Greek Δράκος , dragon), as well as the old Slavic name Selinitsa for Agios Nikolaos .

Location in the Messinia regional district

location

The cave entrance is located on a rocky beach about 500 m south of Agios Dimitrios (3.5 km south of Agios Nikolaos).

The lower floor is connected to the Messenian Gulf ( Messiniakos Kolpos ) via the Drakos Spring, 470 m ( 169.5 ° ) away .

The main passage of the middle floor extends approximately southeast direction parallel to a 900 meters north-east of Platsa extending disorder and terminates in a lehmgefüllten siphon . The upper floor runs almost parallel to the coast, the Drakos Cave from the mouth in a northeastern direction.

classification

  • Large cave (passage length ≤5000 m)
  • Secondary cave (formation after the surrounding rock)
  • Karst cave (surrounding limestone)
  • Horizontal cave (spatial arrangement)
  • Stalactite cave , active water cave (cave content)
  • Cave system (connected, branched network of cavities)

geology

100 m from the entrance
In the Katafygi cave

The cave is located in plate limestone from the Eocene in a bank that is tilted by 10 ° from the horizontal .

The entrance area is covered by breccia ; in the massive limestone is often Hornstein stored. In the uppermost areas of the collapse hall - with 170 m × 80 m one of the largest in Greece - there are layers of crystalline shale rock .

The speleothems (secondary mineral deposits, sinter ) consist of calcite and - very rarely - aragonite . Excentriques on stalactites in the phreatic parts prove the vadose formation ( Ice Age ).

Travel history

sketch
Schematic plan

The first exploration took place in 1928 (Sarri and Georgalas: corridor length about one kilometer). Already in the first description a possible connection with the Drakos source was pointed out. The first mapping was done in 1953 by the Swedish biospelaeologist Knut Lindberg and the founder of Greek speleology Ioannis Petrochilos ; the documented corridor length was then 1250 m. In further inspections under the direction of Ioannis Ioannis, it was possible to extend the corridor length to 1900 m. The Katafygi Selinitsa was completely mapped at the end of the 1970s by members of the Greek Speleological Society (Avagiano, Zoupi, C. and E. Koniari) with a length of about 2000 m.

After initial explorations 1980–1985 by German, Czech and especially British cave divers ( Katafygi Selinitsa 850 m, Drakos 650 m), the two caves were connected in November 2004 after five years of preparatory work by Greek cave divers. The requirements were considerable: diving scooters (Aquazepps), trimix dives at maximum depths of 56 m and diving times of over three hours. The length of the Selinitsa – Drakos siphon is about 850 m; the connection between the two caves is about a kilometer from the entrance of Katafygi Selinitsa . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Aquazepps ) @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.aquazepp.de

hazards

The Katafygi Selinitsa is not a show cave , but a so-called wild cave , which is not without danger .

  • Never enter the cave alone .
  • Leaving a message about the planned return time.
  • Use of at least two independent light sources per person .
  • Adapting the equipment to the level of difficulty and the specifics of the cave.

The back sections of the main corridor (after the "sand castle" about 300 meters from the entrance) and the upper floor are reserved for experienced speleologists. The water-filled sections can only be navigated after sufficient cave diving certification and approval by the Greek authorities.

literature

  • Anna Petrocheilou: The Caves of Greece . Ekdotike Athenon, Athens 1992, ISBN 960-213-195-0 (Greek: Τα σπήλαια της Ελλάδας . Translated by Ingrid Livieratou).
  1. ↑ pp. 26-27
  2. ↑ p. 26
  3. ↑ p. 27
  • Kambolis S. Isidoris: Geomorphological investigation of the underwater karst system of the underground "Dragon" river, Messinian Mani . Ed .: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , Institute of Geology and Paleontology. Athens 2007 (Greek, speleo.gr [PDF; 11.8 MB ; accessed on 27 September 2010] Original title: Γεωμορφολογική μελέτη του υποθαλασσίου καρστικού συστήματος, του υπογείου ποταμού " Δράκος " Μεσσηνιακής Μάνης . Summary in English).
  1. ↑ a b p. 5
  2. ↑ p. 119
  3. ↑ a b p. 111
  4. ↑ p. 116
  5. ↑ p. 6

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Anon .: Finally united . In: SP.EL.EO (Ed.): Speleo News . tape 1 , no. 1 , January 2005, p. 1-2 (Greek: Επιτιλους έγινε η ένωση .).
  2. ↑ a b c N. Boukouvala, Th. Theodosiadis: A few words about the Katafygi cave and the dragon . In: SP.EL.EO (Ed.): Speleo News . tape 4 , no. 4 , April 2005, p. 3–4 (Greek: Λίγα λόγια για το σπήλαιο Καταφύγγι και τον Δράκο .).
  3. ↑ IS Sarri: The Katafygi Selinitsa Cave . In: Έκδρομικά . 1930, p. 8–9 (Greek: Τό σπήλαιον Καταφύγι Σελιηίτης .).
  4. ↑ Ioannis Petrochilos: Speleological investigations of the Mani, Katafyngi cave . In: Greek Speleological Society (ed.): Bulletin de la Sociéte Spélólogique de Gréce . tape II , no. 1 (January-March). Athens 1953, p. 14–20 ( ese.edu.gr [PDF; 3.2 MB ; accessed on October 2, 2010] Greek: Σπηλαιολογικές έρευνες στήν Μάνή, Σπήλαιον Καταφύγγι .).
  5. ↑ John N. Cordingley: Cave Diving in Greece . In: NPC Journal . tape 3 , no. 3 , 1982, pp. 69-70 (English, pennine.demon.co.uk [accessed September 29, 2010]).
  6. ↑ anon .: Το σύστημα του Δράκου - Σελινίτσας στη Μάνη. In: SP.EL.EO December 13, 2007, archived from the original on January 25, 2014 ; accessed on December 19, 2017 (Greek): “The companies of the last five years have achieved their goal in 2004 (November 25–28, 2004 and December 4–5, 2004): The union of Selinitsa with the dragon! (Η αποστολή του 2004 (25-28 / 11/2004) και 4,5 / 12/2004 πέτυχε το στόχο των τελευταίων 5 ετών: την ένωση της Σελινίτσαρες Σελινίτστκοκοκο!
  7. ↑ aquazepp dpv. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013 ; accessed on March 21, 2008 (picture with an aquazepp diving scooter).
  8. ↑ Geoff Crossley: Spring of Dracos. (No longer available online.) In: CDG Message Board. Cave Diving Group of Great Britain, March 26, 2005, archived from the original on January 12, 2016 ; accessed on September 29, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cavedivinggroup.org.uk
  9. ↑ Jochen Duckeck: Spilia Katafygi - Katafygi Cave - Cave of Agios Demetrios. May 19, 2010, accessed September 29, 2010 .
  10. ^ Melina Merkouri : State Law for the Protection of Caves . No.  398 / 8-7-1983, 34593/11080 . Ministry of Culture and Sciences, Athens June 23, 1983 (English, speleo.gr [accessed September 29, 2010]).

Remarks

  1. ↑ ASM: Cave register of the Greek speleological society ESE ( Greek ΑΣΜ - Αριθμό του Σπηλαιολογικού Μητρώου, ΕΣΕ - Ελληνική Σπηλαιολαογική Εταιρει )
  2. ↑ καταφυγή ( n. Sg. ) Generally means refuge and καταφύγιο place of refuge. Also in Greek literature, different names are used, such as: Σπήλαιο Καταφύγη / Καταφύγγη (Spileo Katafygi / Katafyngi) Σπήλαιο Σελινίτσ (Spileo Selenitsa) Σπήλαιο Καταφύγη Άγίου Δημητρίου Σελινίτσας Μάνης (Refuge Cave of Agios Dimitrios of Mani Selenitsa). This results in a multitude of transcriptions under which the cave can be found. For example, a misprint (γγ) in the Petrochilos publication led to the transcription of Katafyngi. The Drakos spring ( Greek Δράκος , dragon) is referred to as Σπήλαιο Δράκος (Drakos cave) or Υπόγειος ποταµός Δράκος (underground Drakos river).

Web links