New Athos Cave (original) (raw)
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Cave in New Athos, Abkhazia, Georgia
New Athos Cave | |
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ახალი ათონის მღვიმე, Афон Ҿыцтәи аҳаҧы | |
The New Athos Cave, 2006 | |
Location of the caves in AbkhaziaShow map of AbkhaziaNew Athos Cave (Georgia)Show map of Georgia | |
Location | New Athos Abkhazia,[1] Georgia de jure |
Coordinates | 43°05′26.34″N 40°48′36.03″E / 43.0906500°N 40.8100083°E / 43.0906500; 40.8100083 |
Depth | 183 m |
Length | 1,900 m |
Geology | Karst cave |
Entrances | 4 |
Access | Public |
Show cave opened | 1961 |
Show cave length | 1,900 m |
Website | Official website |
View of the cave
The New Athos Cave (Georgian: ახალი ათონის მღვიმე; Abkhaz: Афон Ҿыцтәи аҳаҧы) also Novoafonskaya, Novy Afon Cave, or New Afon Cave is a karst cave in the Iverian Mountain in Abkhazia (Georgia[1]) near the city of New Athos.
The abyss on a slope of the Iverian Mountain was known for ages, referred to as the "Bottomless Pit". It was explored in 1961 by an expedition of four: Zurab Tatashidze,[2] Arsen Okrojanashvili,[3] Boris Gergedava,[4] and Givi Smyr.[5]
Since 1975, it has been a major tourist attraction, featuring its own underground railway.[6] The cave consists of 9 major cavities.
Voronya Cave, second deepest in the world
Notes and references
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- ^ a b The political status of Abkhazia is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Georgia in 1992, Abkhazia is formally recognised as an independent state by 5 UN member states (two other states previously recognised it but then withdrew their recognition), while the remainder of the international community recognizes it as de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory.
- ^ In Georgian, ზურაბ ტინტილოზოვი
- ^ In Georgian, არსენ ოქროჯანაშვილი
- ^ In Georgian, ბორის გერგედავა
- ^ In Georgian, გივი სმირი
- ^ New Athos Cave Railway at metro-novyafon.narod.ru
- (in Russian) New Athos Cave home page
- New Athos Cave at showcaves.com