Pınargözü Cave

A huge cave sits in Turkey. Water pours from its mouth. This water flows all the time. Strong winds blow out of the cave. This happens because of the air.

Inside, there are many waterfalls. There are also flooded paths. Because of this, the cave is hard to explore. Only experts with special gear go inside.

Many people have tried to map it. They found over 100 small caves inside. We do not know how long it is yet. It is a very big mystery.

Pınargözü Cave is a very large cave in Turkey. Its name means "eye of the water." A stream of water pours from its mouth all the time. This is an outflow cave. That means water flows out from a spring inside. The cave sits on Mount Dedegöl in a forest. It is part of a karst region. Karst is a type of land made of limestone. Limestone has many tiny holes. This makes it easy for water to wear it away. This way of wearing rock makes many caves.

Exploring the cave is very hard. It has many waterfalls and flooded paths. We call a flooded path a sump. Because of these parts, the cave is not open to the public. Only experts with special gear can go inside. A strong wind blows out of the opening. This happens because of the chimney effect. This is when temperature changes make air move fast. The wind can blow at 89 km/h.

Many teams have tried to map the cave. They found over 100 small caves inside. We still do not know exactly how long it is. Some say it is 11 km long. Others think it is much longer.

Pınargözü Cave is a huge underground world in Turkey. Its name means "eye of the water." This cave is found on Mount Dedegöl in the Kızıldağ National Park. It is a very special place because it is an outflow cave. This means water flows out from a spring inside the mountain. A stream called the Devre Su pours from the mouth all the time. Some people think it is the longest cave in Turkey. However, explorers are still working to find its true end. Because it is so hard to travel through, the public cannot visit. Only professional explorers with special gear are allowed inside.

The cave works in many ways that make it tricky. It is part of a karst region made of limestone. Limestone has many tiny holes in it. Water flows through these holes and wears the rock away over time. This creates many deep chambers and long paths. Inside, the cave is mostly horizontal. It also has many vertical chimneys and waterfalls. The water inside flows very fast. It moves at 700 litres per second for most of the year. In the summer, it slows down to 500 or 600 litres per second. This makes summer the only time for explorers to work.

Many brave teams have tried to map this cave since 1964. Temuçin Aygen first discovered it that year. Later, a French team led by J. L. Pintaux and Doniat entered the interior in 1965. They had to pass through a sump, which is a flooded passage. In 1968, Claude Chabert and Michel Bakalowicz explored even further. They found the first waterfall inside the cave. Many other groups from England and France joined the work. They faced many hard jobs like deep water and steep climbs. Each team added more pieces to the map of the cave.

There are many amazing facts about this underground place. The cave rises about 150 meters above its entrance. It contains over 100 individual caves within it. Some people say the cave is 11 kilometers long. A French team in 2011 thought it was over 15 kilometers long. In 2015, a Turkish team reached 450 meters inside. The wind at the entrance is also very strong. It can blow at speeds of 89 km/h or more. This happens because of the chimney effect. This is when temperature changes push air through the opening.

You can think of the cave like a giant, natural plumbing system. The mountain acts like a sponge because of the limestone. The water moves through the rock and comes out the mouth. The wind at the entrance works like a chimney in a house. It moves air from high places to low places. The water temperature stays at 10 degrees Celsius all year. This means divers must wear thick, warm clothes to stay safe. Exploring Pınargözü Cave is a massive task that is still happening today.

Pınargözü Cave is a massive and complex underground system located in Turkey. Its name literally translates to "eye of the water." The cave sits on the slopes of Mount Dedegöl within the Kızıldağ National Park. It is situated in the Isparta Province, west of the town of Yenişarbademli. Many researchers believe it is the longest cave in Turkey. However, the exact length is still a subject of intense debate among scientists. Because the terrain is so dangerous, the cave is not open to the general public. Only approved professionals with specialized caving gear are permitted to enter.

The cave is a product of a geological process called karstification. It is located in a karst region of the western Taurus Mountains. This region consists of Triassic period limestone. Limestone is a highly porous rock, meaning it has many tiny openings. Because of this porosity, the rock is very susceptible to erosion from water. As water moves through the limestone, it wears the rock away to create large chambers. This process has created a vast network of over 100 individual caves within the system. Estimates for the total number of caves in this area vary significantly. The Turkey Archaeological Settlements Project suggests there are 2,400 caves nearby. However, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism claims there may be over 20,000.

Hydrologically, Pınargözü is classified as an outflow cave. This means that water flows from a spring inside the mountain out through the cave's mouth. The specific source of this spring has not yet been located. Above the cave, there are semi-permanent snow fields and a large tarn, which is a glacial lake. The water inside the cave creates many obstacles for explorers. These include large waterfalls, ponds, dripstone pools, and siphons. A siphon is a tube-like passage that is completely filled with water. The cave also contains sumps, which are flooded passages that block movement. The water flow rate changes depending on the season. During most of the year, the flow exceeds 700 litres per second. In the summer, it slows to approximately 500 to 600 litres per second.

The physical structure of the cave is quite varied. It is largely laid out horizontally, but it also features many vertical elements. There are numerous vertical chimneys and cascades located between horizontal galleries. In total, the cave rises to a height of approximately 150 meters above its entrance. The environment inside is very consistent. The air temperature in most of the system stays at 10 degrees Celsius. The water temperature also remains around 10 degrees Celsius year-round. Because of this constant cold, divers must wear thick, protective clothing to prevent hypothermia.

Exploration of the cave began in 1964 when Temuçin Aygen discovered it. He was known as the "father of caves" in Turkey. His first attempt was stopped by a sump just inside the entrance. In August 1965, a French team from the Spéléo-club de Paris became the first to explore the interior. They passed through the initial sump to enter the cave proper. In 1968, a second group of French and British explorers moved further in. They documented the first waterfall found inside the cave. Later, an English team from the Chelsea Speleological Society explored about 100 meters of galleries. They were eventually stopped by another flooded passage at 15 meters above the entrance.

Many teams continued to push the boundaries of the known cave for decades. In 1970, the French Alpine Club reached 15 meters above the entrance. By 1971, a group including the Speleological Society of Turkey reached a depth of 200 meters. They found fossil-bearing galleries before stopping at a well. In 1975, the Red Rose Cave & Pothole Club discovered a tributary called the Affluent sump. A team from the University of Bristol Speleological Society later attempted to free-dive this sump. In 1989, a French Federation of Speleology team finally climbed the waterfall that had stopped previous explorers. They reached a height of 30 meters above the entrance. During these many expeditions, they surveyed 15 new passages and 10 new galleries.

Different measurements of the cave's length have been reported over time. By 1992, some asserted the cave was 11 kilometers long. In 2011, a French team claimed the length was more than 15 kilometers. However, in 2015, project manager Selim Erdogan stated the 15-kilometer estimate was unproven. His team, part of a Turkish government research project, had reached 450 meters into the cave. The "Kızıldağ Milli Parkı Mağaralarının Araştırılması Projesi" was launched in 2011 to study these caves. Although it was intended to end in 2014, the team was still working in 2015. One final unique feature is the wind at the entrance. It can reach speeds of 89 km/h or even higher. This is caused by the chimney effect, where temperature differences drive air through the opening. The full extent of Pınargözü Cave remains a mystery to science.