UPPER SIJU CAVE

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A pothole cave entrance that descends to a more or less horizontal stream cave, which functions as a perennial inlet series that drains and enters from approximately the south to the top of the Boulder Chamber in Dobhakol (Siju village). ETYMOLOGY: No locally known name has been identified for this cave, which sometimes was nicknamed –>Middle Siju Cave (BROOKS & SMART 1995: 21) but more often than not Upper Siju Cave (BROOKS & SMART 1995: 37). SITUATION: BROOKS & SMART (1995: 16) place the cave entrance situated behind the village of Middle Siju while BROOKS & SMART (1995: 37-38) place their Upper Siju Cave sort of behind (with no specified distance or direction) what was understood to represent a certain village of Middle Siju (note 1): Taking a footpath leading [without direction] into the forest (no name mentioned) from a so-called back of the village from where a walk of 200 m without direction arrives at the edge of a large [no size mentioned] surface cleft / fissure [trending NN-SSW] about 20 m deep. It would be possible to descend the fissure direct, however, this would be a difficult climb. An easier alternative is to return along the path to the village for some 50 m to a point where the path crosses the end of an obvious trench. Entering the trench, the way on goes under an arch and then down a series of short rift climbs to eventually reach the floor of the main cleft / fissure. CAVE DESCRIPTION (after BROOKS & SMART 1995: 37-38): The dark part of the cave starts as a walking passage in the south-southwest corner and on the level floor of the much shaded but still daylight-lit entrance -doline- or bogaz. The initially walking sized passage … gradually reduces in height to become a very low crawl emitting a very strong draught [air current] and leads into a chamber (35 m, 25 m, 20 m). Descending through a boulder choke in the floor of this chamber, a squeeze and a slippery climb 7 m down drops into a … walking sized passage and, 10 m further on, to a thre-way junction [note 2]. To the left [sic! qua: north] a thin streamway can be followed for approximately 100 m to emerge in the roof of the large main boulder chamber of Siju Dobhakol Cave. Straight on [i.e. south-east], a stooping height, arch-shaped passage gradually lowers to crawling height and leads after 60 m to a well decorated rift chamber [speleothems]. The right-hand [south] passage at the three-way junction starts as a low and aquatic inlet that enlarges after 25 m to enter a walking sized passage / chamber where an inlet from the south-east is penetrable fro a short distance. BROOKS & SMART (1995: 16-17) narrate how the cave entrance … behind the village of Middle Siju dropped approximatly 20 metres down a very large surface cleft/fissure at the far end of which a very low section of passage led into a large chamber. Descending through a boulder choke in the floor of this chamber further passage was reached including a section of streamway that broke into the roof of the ain boulder chamber of Siju. BROOKS & SMART (1995: 21) notice an anonymous cave behind Middle Siju that contains a large chamber and streamway ending in a drop to a large chamber which is the Boulder Chamber in the Dobhakol at Siju village. SPELEOMETRY: Second only to the made-up field name Upper Siju Cave and its administrative position Siju, South Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India BROOKS & SMART (1995: 37) regard most important an exaggerated Surveyed length 518 metres (note 3) and the Surveyed Depth 26 metres (note 4), which both are claimed to be Surveyed to [BCRA grade] 4c (note 5). Needless to say this survey length does not count on its own but is part of the Dobhakol (Siju village) survey.e-way junction [note 2]. To the left [sic! qua: north] a thin streamway can be followed for approximately 100 m to emerge in the roof of the large main boulder chamber of Siju Dobhakol Cave. Straight on [i.e. south-east], a stooping height, arch-shaped passage gradually lowers to crawling height and leads after 60 m to a well decorated rift chamber [speleothems]. The right-hand [south] passage at the three-way junction starts as a low and aquatic inlet that enlarges after 25 m to enter a walking sized passage / chamber where an inlet from the south-east is penetrable fro a short distance. BROOKS & SMART (1995: 16-17) narrate how the cave entrance … behind the village of Middle Siju dropped approximatly 20 metres down a very large surface cleft/fissure at the far end of which a very low section of passage led into a large chamber. Descending through a boulder choke in the floor of this chamber further passage was reached including a section of streamway that broke into the roof of the e-way junction [note 2]. To the left [sic! qua: north] a thin streamway can be followed for approximately 100 m to emerge in the roof of the large main boulder chamber of Siju Dobhakol Cave. Straight on [i.e. south-east], a stooping height, arch-shaped passage gradually lowers to crawling height and leads after 60 m to a well decorated rift chamber [speleothems]. The right-hand [south] passage at the three-way junction starts as a low and aquatic inlet that enlarges after 25 m to enter a walking sized passage / chamber where an inlet from the south-east is penetrable fro a short distance. BROOKS & SMART (1995: 16-17) narrate how the cave entrance … behind the village of Middle Siju dropped approximatly 20 metres down a very large surface cleft/fissure at the far end of which a very low section of passage led into a large chamber. Descending through a boulder choke in the floor of this chamber further passage was reached including a section of streamway that broke into the roof of the e-way junction [note 2]. To the left [sic! qua: north] a thin streamway can be followed for approximately 100 m to emerge in the roof of the large main boulder chamber of Siju Dobhakol Cave. Straight on [i.e. south-east], a stooping height, arch-shaped passage gradually lowers to crawling height and leads after 60 m to a well decorated rift chamber [speleothems]. The right-hand [south] passage at the three-way junction starts as a low and aquatic inlet that enlarges after 25 m to enter a walking sized passage / chamber where an inlet from the south-east is penetrable fro a short distance. BROOKS & SMART (1995: 16-17) narrate how the cave entrance … behind the village of Middle Siju dropped approximatly 20 metres down a very large surface cleft/fissure at the far end of which a very low section of passage led into a large chamber. Descending through a boulder choke in the floor of this chamber further passage was reached including a section of streamway that broke into the roof of the ain boulder chamber of Siju. BROOKS & SMART (1995: 21) notice an anonymous cave behind Middle Siju that contains a large chamber and streamway ending in a drop to a large chamber which is the Boulder Chamber in the Dobhakol at Siju village. SPELEOMETRY: Second only to the made-up field name Upper Siju Cave and its administrative position Siju, South Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India BROOKS & SMART (1995: 37) regard most important an exaggerated Surveyed length 518 metres (note 3) and the Surveyed Depth 26 metres (note 4), which both are claimed to be Surveyed to [BCRA grade] 4c (note 5). Needless to say this survey length does not count on its own but is part of the Dobhakol (Siju village) survey.