Caves of the Carmel and the Menashe Hills

Nahal Amiram Cave

The Carmel

A small cave consisting of a single chamber measuring 14.5X8 m with a typical height of 1.5 m. The cave has two rectangular entrances, opening at the base of an artificial cliff on the southern bank of Nahal Amiram, about 100 m above the stream bed. The present form of the cave was created by quarrying and removing rock from the walls. The quarry appears to have been based on a natural space that existed at the site, since the inner wall of the cave is built of cave breccia cemented by speleothems.

Sefon Cave

The Carmel

Sefon Cave is a medium-sized hypogenic cave consisting of a single passage 28 m long and 4 m deep at its maximum. The cave has a large rounded entrance (4.5X3 m), opening on the southern bank of Nahal Sefunim, about 20 m above the stream bed. Despite its size, the entrance is not visible from a distance because it is hidden by a large terebinth tree.

Sefina Cave

The Carmel

Sefina Cave is a medium-sized hypogenic cave consisting of a pair of chambers and several passages in a network-like structure. The total length of the cave reaches 45 m and its maximum depth is 2.5 m. The cave has three entrances opening at the top of a local rock step in the cliff on the northern bank of Nahal Sefunim, about 6 m above the stream bed.

Tel Perur Cave

Nahal HaShofet

A small cave consisting mainly of a single space opening in Eocene chalk (Adulam Formation). The cave entrance opens on the slope of the southern bank of Nahal HaShofet, about 150 m east of its confluence with Nahal HaShanayim and a similar distance southeast of Ein and Tel Perur.

Sefunim Cave

The Carmel

Sefunim Cave is a hypogenic phreatic cave that developed in limestone rich in marine fossils, of the Muhraqa Member of the Bina Formation. The main space is divided by a screen of speleothems, beside which stands an especially large and impressive speleothem column (more than a meter in diameter). Vadose karst activity still takes place in the cave, and it is muddy and damp.

Freud Cave

The Carmel

A small cave (total length 26 m) exposed on the northern bank of Nahal Amiram, about 80 m above the flow channel. The cave contains many speleothems, among which a few pool deposits also appear.

Azov Cave 2

Nahal Azov, The Carmel

Azov Cave is a small cave consisting mainly of a chamber that was quarried in Cenomanian chalk (Judea Group, Shmir Formation). The cave was quarried in the slope of the northern bank of the lower part of Nahal Azov. Many other caves were quarried in the area of the cave, smaller than Azov Cave 2 (except for Azov Cave 1)

Azov Cave 1

Nahal Azov, The Carmel

Azov Cave is a small cave consisting mainly of a chamber that was quarried in Cenomanian chalk (Judea Group, Shmir Formation). The cave was quarried in the slope of the northern bank of the lower part of Nahal Azov. Many other caves were quarried in the area of the cave, smaller than Azov Cave 1.

Ein Tzvarim Tunnel

Southern Ramot Menashe

A water source in southern Ramot Menashe, about 1 km north of Moshav Amikam. The spring consists of a rounded well from which a pair of tunnels branch off, one to the north and one to the south.

Ovadia Caves

Ovadia Cave is a medium-sized cave consisting mainly of a pair of elongated chambers. The cave has two large, prominent entrances, exposed on a west-facing slope on the northern bank of Nahal Ovadia. The cave contains few cave deposits, among them a few soda straws and tiny cave coralloids.