Tham Luang Cave

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The Tham Luang Cave is a karst cave located in the Chiang Rai province of Thailand on the border with Myanmar . The cave system extends over a length of 10,316 meters under the Doi Nang Non limestone massif and has a vertical height difference of 85 meters. The Tham Luang Cave is considered to be the fourth longest cave in Thailand.

The cave became internationally known through the rescue operation in the Tham Luang Cave in June and July 2018.

description

The Doi Nang Non mountain ranges

The Tham Luang Cave is located in the 8 km² forest reserve of the Tham Luang Forest Park - Khun Nam Nang Non (literal translation: Big Cave - Mountain Stream of the Sleeping Woman ) in Chiang Rai Province (about 60 km from the provincial capital), which in turn is part of the Pha Doi Nang Non National Reserve Forest . The entrance to the cave is in the south-eastern part of the forest park, not far from a visitor center with a parking lot at an altitude of 446 meters. The cave has numerous stalactites and stalagmites , is also inhabited by bats, and has been advertised in the past as an ideal place for adventure tourists.

Since large parts of the cave are flooded during the rainy season , the cave can only be visited from November to June. At the entrance to the cave there is a sign warning against driving into the cave during the rainy season. Park rangers lead tourists along a partially concrete path through the cave, which extends from the 80 meter long entrance hall through mostly spacious passages around 700 meters deep into the cave. At the end of the marked path, the cave passage turns into a series of chambers with rock falls. The cross-section of the cave is noticeably decreasing and is no longer accessible for tourists.

When it rains, the cave can quickly flood, especially during the monsoon season . The natural water flow rate from the cave after rainfall is 5 cubic meters per minute, while the water inflow after rainfall in the catchment area can be up to 25 cubic meters per minute.

Like many other caves in striking mountain ranges in northern Thailand, the Tham Luang Cave also has a spiritual and mythological meaning. The eponymous “sleeping”, or according to another translation “lying down”, woman was, according to local legends , a princess of the local Chiang Hung empire who was in love with a non-aristocratic man. When her family forbade the connection, she ran away and hid in the cave until her lover would bring her food and pick her up. After her father had the young man killed, she waited in vain for him and finally committed suicide by stabbing herself with a dagger. Her blood became the Mae Nam Mae Sai River, her supine body the Doi Nang Non Mountain. The cave is identified with the princess' genitals due to its location and she is the guardian spirit (jao thi) of the cave and the mountain. According to local legend, visitors should dedicate a prayer or sacrifice to her before venturing into the cave.

exploration

The cave was first scientifically researched and surveyed by French researchers from the Association Pyrénéenne de Spéléologie as part of two expeditions in 1986 and 1987.

Since 2013, the British cave explorer Vern Unsworth has been able to significantly expand the measured distance of the cave with the support of park rangers from the forest park. In May 2013, around 750 meters of the cave in a northern part of the cave called Monk's Series was measured. In January 2014, Unsworth managed to prove a connection between the nearby Tham Nang Non Cave and the entrance hall of the Tham Luang Cave.

In March 2014, a British research team measured a further 600 meters south of the cave. The survey shows that the southernmost extent of the cave passes under the gorge in the south of the mountain Doi Nang Non and that the cave also extends under the 1389 meter high mountain Doi Tung to the south . The catchment area of ​​the cave extends under two limestone massifs, which is extraordinary.

Web links

Commons : Tham Luang Cave  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

further reading

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Martin Ellis: The Caves of Northern Thailand . tape 2 , 2018, ISBN 978-0-244-33343-0 , pp. 10 ff . ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed July 9, 2018]).
  2. ^ Caves & Caving in Thailand. Longest caves in Thailand. Accessed July 9, 2018 .
  3. ↑ วนอุทยาน ถ้ำ หลวง - ขุนน้ำ นาง นอน. ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). At: dnp.go.th. (Thai).
  4. ↑ Chiang Rai. (PDF; 7 MB) In: tourismthailand.org. Tourism Authority of Thailand, accessed October 7, 2018 (English, advertising brochure).
  5. ↑ Scientists seek to reduce water level in cave, get access from above. In: nationmultimedia.com. The Nation, June 30, 2018, accessed July 10, 2018 .
  6. ↑ The Atlantic: Thailand's Caves Are Dangerously Alluring , July 10, 2018
  7. ↑ newmandala.org: Myth and politics in Thailand's cave rescue operation , July 3, 2018
  8. ^ Caves & Caving in Thailand. Cave Database & Locations. Accessed July 9, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Thailand. “This cave is a very special case”. In: zeit.de. July 8, 2018, accessed July 10, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Chayut Setboonsarng: Rescuers to drill hole in Thai cave in hunt for missing boys. In: reuters.com. June 27, 2018, accessed July 9, 2018 .

Coordinates: 20 ° 22 '53.7 "  N , 99 ° 52' 5.4"  E