Mutanda Francisco N°3

(Buzi - MZ)
-19.920528,34.126833
Length 96m Depth 18m
Grottocenter / carte

Location

Mutanda zone, Buzi district, Sofala province. GPS (WGS84) S 19°55'13,9" / E 34°07'36.6°, ca. 120 m asl. Surveyed on 26 Aug. 1999 by Artur Fernandes, Michael Laumanns and Jens Römer (BCRA-Grade 4b). Length: 96,00 m. Vertical range: –18,50 m. The entrance of this cave is located 75 m NE of Mutanda Francisco No. 1 near to a shallow 2-3 m step in the plateau. Michael Laumanns - 28/11/2015

Description

Michael Laumanns - 28/11/2015

The N side of the main entrance pit (1,5 x 3 m) with a depth of 14.5 m (SRT or steel rope ladder) is surrounded by shrubbery, a tree sends its roots down through the pit to reach the moisture at the bottom of the cave. Approx. 8 m to the NE another pit of the same depth gives access to the cave. The cave continues southward and consists mainly of a small phreatic passage. One reaches this from the entrance pit over a 3 m climb. After 30 m and 2 bottlenecks the course branches off into a horizontal passage to the S and a vertical part to the NE. The horizontal section ends after approximately 10 m in an impassable crawl (continuation most likely). The vertical section starts with a rift, covered by some calcite formation, leads down 8 m and ends in a 3 x 5 m large room. In the cave only 2 bats and various insects were found. No guano deposits could be registered. The cave does not have any conglomerate fillings. An air temperature of 18,9°C was measured.

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