New Athos Cave
ახალი ათონის მღვიმე, Афон Ҿыцтәи аҳаҧы, Новоафонская Пещера
The New Athos Cave, 2006
Map showing the location of New Athos Cave
Map showing the location of New Athos Cave
Location of the caves in Abkhazia
Map showing the location of New Athos Cave
Map showing the location of New Athos Cave
New Athos Cave (Georgia)
LocationNew Athos
Coordinates43°05′26.34″N 40°48′36.03″E / 43.0906500°N 40.8100083°E / 43.0906500; 40.8100083
Depth183 m
Length1,900 m
GeologyKarst cave
Entrances4
AccessPublic
Show cave opened1961
Show cave length1,900 m
WebsiteOfficial website
View of the cave

The New Athos Cave (Abkhaz: Афон Ҿыцтәи аҳаҧы; Georgian: ახალი ათონის მღვიმე; Russian: Новоафонская Пещера) 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.

Overview

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.

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 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 as de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory.
  2. ↑ In Georgian, ზურაბ ტინტილოზოვი
  3. ↑ In Georgian, არსენ ოქროჯანაშვილი
  4. ↑ In Georgian, ბორის გერგედავა
  5. ↑ In Georgian, გივი სმირი
  6. ↑ New Athos Cave Railway at metro-novyafon.narod.ru
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