SOTA CAVE, Chitrakoot

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

The Sota Cave (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis 23) contains (or once contained?) speleothems (secondary calcite deposits), including one stalactite and straws (note 1). ETYMOLOGY: The cave name Sota (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss; RAMESH et al. s.a.) makes no sense to me and I suspect (but this is mere guesswork) it rather is a cave associated with Sita, the immaculate houswife (of Ramayana fame) who, at one stage of her married life, was hid by her hero husband in a cave. SITUATION 2002a: Sota cave … in the Karwi Taluk, in the Banda District of Uttar Pradesh (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 23). SITUATION 2002b: Sota is a small cave located in the foothills of the Vindhyan ranges. It is part of a pilgrim center ‘Chitrakoot’ in Uttar Pradesh [note 2]. Two caves viz. ‘Gupt Godavari’ and ‘Sota’ exist in the two hillocks which are within half a km distance from each other (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss thesis 110). SITUATION 2009: Sota cave, Chitrakoot district, Uttar Pradesh. This small cave is located in the arwi taluk, a tourist place; however, humans rarely visit this cave. A stalactite from a narrow chamber in the interior part was collected in 1997 (TIWARI, M 2009: 521). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2002a: The cave is small in size (cave sketch given in the Fig.1-12) and is not a tourist place, also it is rarely visited by village people. A stalactite from a narrow chamber in the interior part (Fig.1-13) and several straw samples (Fig. 14) growing near the cave entrance were collected from this cave on October 10, 1997. During sample collection the cave was found dry (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 23). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2002b: Judging from the ground plan, Sota Cave appears to be of vadose origin but currently is in a relic state of cave development and abandoned by underground drainage. A smallish entrance (perhaps less than 1 m large), which faces in an unspecified direction and may consist of a collapse doline (ceiling window), allows for descending some 2 or 3 m into about 10 or 15 m of passageformed by what looks like a pair of incised and interconnected rift passages. At a distance of estimated 10 m from the entrance enters a short (perhaps about 3 m long), lateral rift passage (with walls partly covered with glittering flowstone) arrives at right angles (upon entering on the right-hand side) but soon closes down or becomes too narrow to be penetrable. It was from somewhere around here that a solitary, almost 25 cm long stalagmite speleothem was collected to be analyzed in view of a climatological proxy records (note 3). (after Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 26 Fig. 1-12 A through to E) The sketch plan of Yadawa, M G (2002 Mss thesis: 26 Fig. 1-12 B) shows in the main chamber what looks like two -lumps- of bedrock and these may consist of gravitationally dislocated boulders (fallen from the ceiling) or of two plinth-like stumps of decapitated limestone pillars -- sort of underground pinnacles. One photograph (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 27 Fig 1-13) shows a joint-controlle rift passage (without scale) and another photograph (Yadawa 2002 Mss thesis: 27 Fig 1-14) shows garland of perhaps up to 10 cm long straw stalactites (note 4) retraced ceiling cracks that function as seasonal conduits for autochthonous (autogenic) waters seeping in from the nearby surface about 3 m above the cave. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2002c: The cave entrance is narrow and the length of the passage is about 10 m. However, the surrounding vegetation is C3 type and the soil cover seems to be reasonably thick. Thickness of the soil plus bedrock above the cave is about 3-5 m [probably not 3.5 m but estimated 3 to 5 m]. Therefore, the bedrock part seems to be very shallow (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 79). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2002d: Sota is a small cave … Another cave ‘Sota’ is very shallow (roof thickness less than 3 m) and as the entrance is very narrow, it is rarely visited by anybody. Due to this, the [secondary calcite] deposits are least [read: less] disturbed by human activity and most ofthem growing in the narrow chambers were found undisturbed. The cave is above the ground level and this ensures that the drip water is originated from monsoonal precipitation (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 110). CAVE CLIMATE: During sample collection [1997.10.10 without time] the cave was found dry. The area surrounding the cave is not a dense forest … [and] the vegetation is C3 type (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 23). During October, 1997 (winter season) and the cave was found to be totally dry (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 79). Though occasional rain spells occur in area during October (note 5), this month … marks the end of the summer monsoon in this area. [On 10th October 1996] There were no recent rain spells in the region within the preceding week of sampling. During sample collection, the inside part of the cave and the stalactite’s outer surface were found dry. This means that the stalactite collected has either stopped growing or all the rain water received during te previous rain spells has fully percolated within a short period (probably less than a month) and the cave surfaces dried up. However, we infer that the stalactite was an actively growing during collection due to two reasons: First, the tip part of the stalactite has bomb carbon which means that the growth has not stopped at least prior to 1957 (the initial year when bomb carbon appeared in the atmosphere, Nydal and Lovseth 1996). Second, as the thickness of the soil and bedrock above the stalactite is less (~3m) this suggests the possibility of fast passage of rain water from the cave surface to the dripping spots. Due to this wetness in the cave lasts for a very short duration and it dries up after a few days of the rainy season. And hence most of the growth of the cave deposits occur during few days after rains occur in the region. During the sample collection relative humidity and the ambient temperature were 64% and 27°C respectively (Yadava 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 111).them growing in the narrow chambers were found undisturbed. The cave is above the ground level and this ensures that the drip water is originated from monsoonal precipitation (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 110). CAVE CLIMATE: During sample collection [1997.10.10 without time] the cave was found dry. The area surrounding the cave is not a dense forest … [and] the vegetation is C3 type (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 23). During October, 1997 (winter season) and the cave was found to be totally dry (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 79). Though occasional rain spells occur in area during October (note 5), this month … marks the end of the summer monsoon in this area. [On 10th October 1996] There were no recent rain spells in the region within the preceding week of sampling. During sample collection, the inside part of the cave and the stalactite’s outer surface were found dry. This means that the stalactite collected has either stopped growing or all the rain water received during tthem growing in the narrow chambers were found undisturbed. The cave is above the ground level and this ensures that the drip water is originated from monsoonal precipitation (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 110). CAVE CLIMATE: During sample collection [1997.10.10 without time] the cave was found dry. The area surrounding the cave is not a dense forest … [and] the vegetation is C3 type (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 23). During October, 1997 (winter season) and the cave was found to be totally dry (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 79). Though occasional rain spells occur in area during October (note 5), this month … marks the end of the summer monsoon in this area. [On 10th October 1996] There were no recent rain spells in the region within the preceding week of sampling. During sample collection, the inside part of the cave and the stalactite’s outer surface were found dry. This means that the stalactite collected has either stopped growing or all the rain water received during tthem growing in the narrow chambers were found undisturbed. The cave is above the ground level and this ensures that the drip water is originated from monsoonal precipitation (Yadawa, M G 2002 Mss thesis: 110). CAVE CLIMATE: During sample collection [1997.10.10 without time] the cave was found dry. The area surrounding the cave is not a dense forest … [and] the vegetation is C3 type (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 23). During October, 1997 (winter season) and the cave was found to be totally dry (Yadava, M G 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 79). Though occasional rain spells occur in area during October (note 5), this month … marks the end of the summer monsoon in this area. [On 10th October 1996] There were no recent rain spells in the region within the preceding week of sampling. During sample collection, the inside part of the cave and the stalactite’s outer surface were found dry. This means that the stalactite collected has either stopped growing or all the rain water received during te previous rain spells has fully percolated within a short period (probably less than a month) and the cave surfaces dried up. However, we infer that the stalactite was an actively growing during collection due to two reasons: First, the tip part of the stalactite has bomb carbon which means that the growth has not stopped at least prior to 1957 (the initial year when bomb carbon appeared in the atmosphere, Nydal and Lovseth 1996). Second, as the thickness of the soil and bedrock above the stalactite is less (~3m) this suggests the possibility of fast passage of rain water from the cave surface to the dripping spots. Due to this wetness in the cave lasts for a very short duration and it dries up after a few days of the rainy season. And hence most of the growth of the cave deposits occur during few days after rains occur in the region. During the sample collection relative humidity and the ambient temperature were 64% and 27°C respectively (Yadava 2002 Mss: Thesis, page 111).