Lo Sgura, Mount Sodom
- Grid ref.
- 1871/0536
- Elevation
- minus 230 m
Cave mapView the map (PDF)General:
Lo Sgura Cave is a small cave formed in caprock and salt of Pliocene and Pleistocene age (Sodom Formation and Lashon Formation). The total length of the cave is 60 m and its maximum depth reaches 55.8 m.
The cave was discovered by Vladimir Boslov and Yura Lisovitz in February 2013 and was mapped immediately after its discovery by Boaz Langford and Mika Ullman.
The cave was named after an extremely narrow point (in the transition between the caprock and the salt rock) that the cave's discoverers were unable to cross. During the mapping this passage was crossed and the bottom of the cave was examined.
Description of the Cave:
The cave has a large entrance (measuring 8X0.8 m) that looks like an elongated, narrow slot opening at the bottom of the southern part of a closed basin with many sinkholes. The basin wall rises above and south of the entrance as a low cliff in which bedding alternations in gray, white and green are visible.
From the cave entrance a vertical shaft extends, cut in crumbling caprock. The shaft is shaped like a narrow crack, partly obstructed by collapse rocks stuck in the crack space. 36.5 m below the cave entrance the shaft crosses the contact line between the caprock layers and the salt layers. At the transition point the shaft narrows and becomes very difficult to pass. After the transition into the salt layers the shaft space widens greatly and continues in an elliptical chimney measuring about 8X3 m. At the bottom of the chimney, 19 m below the transition into the salt rock, there is a horizontal passage extending south that after 4 m becomes too low to pass.
Notes:
- Visiting the cave requires the use of rope and rappelling and climbing equipment. A 65 m rope allows access to the cave floor. The rope can be anchored to bolt anchors, which can be placed near the entrance.
- It is recommended to bring edge protectors for the rope to prevent its friction along the descent route.
Written by: Boaz Langford
Region: Mount Sodom
