Tham Luang - CR0003
20.381842,99.868383
Location
Tham Luang is 3km west of the H101 road, from which there are two sign posted turnoffs, 5.5km and 7.5km south of Mae Sai, leading to the cave.The southerly route is turns north slightly before the Khun Nam Nang Non Royal Forest Department ranger station, then west after about 1km for another 500m into the headquarters of Tham Luang Forest Park. The main entrance to the cave is to the track, less than 100m from the car park. "at the end of the valley that comes directly over from Tham Luang. The area is located on the far right hand side of the paddy fields as you look at the area from the road side and cuts through from TL and Tham Phra. After only 1 hour we found our entrance or should I say 2 entrances with a howling gale coming out of number 2 entrance"
Description
As most of this cave floods in the wet season it can only be explored between November and June. The cave is explored from the downstream end. The impressive entrance chamber is 80 m long leads to easy walking in mostly spacious passages for the first kilometre along a well-formed, partly cemented path. The park rangers guide tourists through this section of the cave. At the end of the marked path the passage enters a series of chambers, boulder collapses and boulder chokes where route finding can be a challenge. This section of the cave has not been thoroughly explored. After a couple of hundred metres the cave reduces in size to a mud floored passage 2 m wide and 3 m high. Around 1.5 km into the cave the passage loops round to the north before making a 180¦ bend to the south. On this bend the Monk's Series leads off. This passage soon becomes a crawl, which is flat out in places and often remainds flooded in the dry season. In 2013 this series was extended through a series of walking sized chambers and a large aven interconnected by flat-out crawls. However, in 2014 only the first 540 m was accessible and in 2015 the passage was sumped after just 150 m. Beyond the junction with the Monk's Series the way on is through either a deep pool, deep mud or a dry mud-floored crawl depending on the season. The main passage continues to a sandy chamber. From this sandy chamber the way on is down a steep slope to the left and through a low arch to a large seasonal pool approx. 30 m long and 1 m deep. At one point a stream enters the main passage from the west, follows the passage for a short distance before disappearing under the eastern wall. This is the only permanent stream in the system. The original exploration in 1988 ended at a narrow squeeze. In February 2014 Vern Unsworth and Rob Harper passed this squeeze to explore several hundred metres of mainly cobble floored crawl and small chambers, including a link back into a previously known inlet passage of the main passage. In February 2016 Unsworth and Harper extended the southern end of the extensions to find two large avens and a southerly trending stream passage that ended at a sump. In March 2019 Unsworth, Rob & Helen Harper and 2 park rangers returned to this part of the cave and continued past the 2016 end down a large descending passage with a sand/gravel floor, which is possibly a hading rift. This was between 4 -10 m wide and 3 m floor to ceiling and headed relentlessly down dip for an estimated 25-30 m to a 5 x 4 m sump pool - a water level about 15m lower than 2016. The large passage could be seen continuing on down at the same angle in the clear sump. Back in the main entrance chamber a crawl through boulders at the downstream end, below the entrance porch, opens up into a seasonally active streamway. This series, called Tham Nang Non, consists of a series of small passages, boulder chokes and small chambers. In one of the chambers a rift on the right can be climbed to reach a small entrance. Eventually Tham Nang Non opens up into a larger passage 20 m wide and 15 m high, but unfortunately it soon closes down again and ends at a boulder choke. This boulder choke was dug by Vern Unsworth and park rangers in 2014/2015 and in February 2015 the choke was passed via a 2 m sideways squeeze then a 4m flat out section. Rising up a silt bank the way on is to the left through a hole and a good sized waking passage which suddenly breaks out into a large complex chamber which has many ways on, some of which join up with each other and two lead to entrances. This section of the cave is known as Tham Lak. At one end the chamber the floor rises up and a number of climbs gives access to a view of a passage on the far side, inhabited by a small colony of quite large bats. The lowest passage out of the Tham Lak chamber has been pushed and dug in 2015 and currently is only about 50 m from the upstream end of Tham Sai Thong.
Topographie
The main cave was surveyed in 1986 and 1987 by the French expeditions to Grade UISv2 3-3-A. Tham Nang Non, Tham Lak and part of the Monk's Series extensions have been surveyed in 2014 and 2015 to Grade UISv2 6-3-BF by Unsworth, Ellis, Collett and Harper. DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1987) - Entrance to Chamber 3 DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1988) - Main Cave ELLIS, MARTIN (2009) - based on Deharveng et al. (1988) Ellis, Martin; Laumanns, Michael (2017)
Fauna
Belisana erawan Huber, 2005 (Arthropoda, Arachnida, Araneae, Pholcidae) (Huber 2005) Troglopedetes multispinosus Deharveng et Gers, 1993 (Arthropoda, Entognatha, Entomobryomorpha, Entomobryoidea, Paronellidae) û type locality (Deharveng and Gers 1993) Rattus andamanensis (Blyth, 1860) (Chordata, Mammalia, Rodentia, Muridae) (Latinne et al. 2013)
Documents
[Topo] Tham Luang 28/04/2019Bibliography 05/08/2019
- +ANON. (n.d.) "Caving Near Chiang Rai" www.guidetothailand.com/northern-thailand/caving-c… [accessed October 2007] ***Anon. (2018f) "The behind-the-scenes story of the Thailand cave rescue" GIM International 13 August 2018 ***Anon. (2018g) "It may be more than a year before Tham Luang cave opens again to the public" The Nation 10 October 2018 ***Anon. (2018j) "Thai cave: Divers advance in effort to save trapped boys' BBC News 2 July 2018 ***Anon. (2018k) "Minister Weerasak recounts recounts how international rescuers were brought in" Thai PBS 22 July 2018 ***Anon. (2019a) "Clean-up operation begin inside Chiang RaiÆs Tham Luang cave" Chiang Rai Times 18 January 2019 ***Anon. (2019b) "Flood waters in Tham Luang cave halts clean-up inspection" Chiang Rai Times 19 January 2019 ***Anon. (2019d) "First photos show aftermath of Tham Luang rescue" The Nation 15 February 2019 ***Anon. (2019e) "Tham Luang cave closed for retrieval of rescue gearö Bangkok Post 18 March 2019 ***Anon. (2019g) ôFirst detailed mapping of Tham Luang cave beginsö Thai PBS 6 May 2019 ***Anon. (2019i) ôThailand aftermathö Descent No. 267 April/May 2019 p8 ***Aronson, Marc (2019) ôRising water. The story of the Thai cave rescueö Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, ISBN 978-1-5344-4413-3 148p +Barlow, Joel John (n.d.) "Chiang Rai Guide û Caves" www.chiangraiprovince.com/guide/eng/15.htm [accessed December 2011 inaccessible December 2016] ***Bolger, Terry; Ellis, Martin (2018) "An overview of caves and caving in Thailand" Journal of the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association No 110 pp32-37 ***Brocklebank, Tony (2018) "Breaking News: British cave divers also rescued four trapped Thai rescuers in Tham Luang Cave" Darkness Below 24 September 2018 ***Browne, Ryan (2018) "Elon Musk takes submarine to Thai cave, but rescue chief reportedly calls it ænot practicalÆ" CNBC 10 July 2018 ***Chaimol, Chinnapat (2018) "12 feared trapped in Mae Sai cave, search underway" Bangkok Post 24 June 2018 ***Chaimol, Chinnapat (2019) ôSeals return to Tham Luang cave to retrieve rescue gearö Bangkok Post 19 March 2019 ***Cochrane, Liam (2018) "'It was utter chaos': Inside the Thai cave rescue that nearly didn't happen" Australian Broadcasting Corporation News 2 December 2018 ***Cochrane, Liam (2019a) "Miracle in the cave" Harper One, New York, ISBN 978-0-06-291248-0 301p ***Cochrane, Liam (2019a) " Australian divers Richard Harris and Craig Challen return to scene of dramatic Thai cave soccer team rescueö Australian Broadcasting Corporation News 22 Apil 2019 ***Colzato, Nivaldo (2019) "The most internationally followed cave rescue in history: Tham Luang Nang Non, Thailand" UIS Bulletin Vol. 60 No. 2 pp41-49 ***Constant, Max (2018) "Les secrets franþais de Tham Luang" Gavroche Tha´lande No. 289 November 2018 pp52-57 +DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1987) "ExpÚdition Tha´-Maros 86" Association PyrÚnÚenne de SpÚlÚologie, Toulouse ISBN 2-906273-01-5 177pp +DEHARVENG, LOUIS ET AL. (1988) "ExpÚditions Tha´ 87-Tha´ 88" Association PyrÚnÚenne de SpÚlÚologie, Toulouse ISBN 2-906273-02-3 +DEHARVENG, LOUIS; GERS, CHARLES (1993) "Ten new species of Troglopedetes Absolon 1907, from caves of Thailand (Collembola Paronellidae)" Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde Vol. 63 No.2 pp103-113 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1995) "The Caves of Thailand" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-9-9 ***Eacott, Alina (2018) "Thai cave doctor trained divers how to administer dangerous sedative to kids" Australian Broadcasting Corporation News 26 July 2018 +ELLIS, MARTIN (2009) ôThailandÆs Top Twentyö Shepton Mallet Caving Club Journal Series 12 No. 4 pp140-232 +Ellis, Martin (2015c) "Thailand's Longest and Deepest Caves: A Caving Guide" Martin Ellis, Shepton Mallet ISBN 978-1-326-43857-9 84pp ***Ellis, Martin (2018c) "SMCC Thailand Expedition 2018 û Summary" report to the Ghar Pharau Foundation, 5pp +Ellis, Martin; Laumanns, Michael (2017) "Thailand" in Laumanns, Michael; Price, Liz (eds.) (2017) "Atlas of the Great Caves and Karst of Southeast Asia: Part 2 Myanmar - Vietnam" second edition, Berliner Hohlenkundliche Berichte Band 67 pp241-292 ***Eyfjord, Robert (2019) ôInterview: The Danish diver who became an unlikely hero in Thailandö Copenhagen Post 20 April 2019 ***Falise, Thierry (2018) "Pris au piÞge" Massot +ditions ISBN 979-1-09716050-0 204p ***Gutman, Matt (2018) "The boys in the cave" Harper Collins, New York, ISBN 978-0-06-291071-4 430p ***Howes, Chris (2018a) "Mission Impossible" Descent No. 263 pp24-27 ***Howes, Chris (2018b) "The continuing mission" Descent No. 264 pp24-26 ***Howes, Chris (2018c) "The Thai continuum" Descent No. 265 pp36-37 ***Howes, Chris (2019a) "Book review: The boys in the cave" Descent No. 266 p35 ***Howes, Chris (2019b) "The Thai acolades" Descent No. 266 p44 ***Howes, Chris (2019c) ôBook review: The Caveö Descent No. 267 p34 +HUBER, BERNHARD, A. (2005) "High Species Diversity, Male-Female Coevolution and Metaphyly in Southeast Asian Pholcid Spiders: The Case of Belisana Thorell 1898 (Araneae, Pholcidae)" Zoologica Vol. 155 pp1-126 ***Kaewjinda, Kaweewit (2018) "Hapless helpers recount own rescue by divers from Thai cave: Associated Press News 27 September 2018 ***Kee, Holly (2018) "Marion restaurant owner played pivotal role in Thailand cave rescue" Carbondale Times 24 July 2018 +Kusch, Heinrich (1990) "Die lõngsten und tiefsten H÷hlen S³dostasiens (Stand 1988)" Die Hohle Vol. 41 No. 1 pp11-16 ***Laping, Natthawat (2019) ôNavy SEALs re-enter Tham Luang Cave in equipment retrieval operationö The Nation 18 March 2019 +LATINNE, ALICE; WAENGSOTHORN, SURACHIT; ROJANADILOK, PRATEEP; EIAMAMPAI, KRAIRAT; SRIBUAROD, KRIANGSAK; MICHAUX, JOHAN R. (2013) " Diversity and endemism of Murinae rodents in Thai limestone karsts" Systematics and Biodiversity Vol. 11 online 22pp ***Lawthaweesawat, Chanrit; Harris, Richard; Isara, Wutichai; Pongpirul, Krit (2019) ôPrehospital care of the 13 hypothermic, anesthetized patients in the Thailand cave rescueö The New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 380 No. 14 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1900831 pp1372-1373 ***Lunn, Rosemary E. (2018) "Getting the boys out: Tham Luang cave rescue" X-Ray Mag No. 87 pp81-86 +Maffre, Laurent (1988a) "Expedition Thai 88" SpÚlÚOC No. 43 p10 +MAFFRE, LAURENT (1988b) "Expedition Thai 88" Spelunca No. 30 pp9-10 ***Massola, James (2018a) "Tham Luang cave rescue involved four more survivors, diver reveals" The Sydney Morning Herald 26 September 2018 ***Massola, James (2018b) "The great cave rescue" Allen & Unwin, ISBN 9781760529741, 240pp +MEEL, BOB VAN (1994) "Les tribulations d un spÚlÚo en Thailande" Niphargus No. 12 Speleo Club Pays-D'Enhaut pp12-13 (French) ***Massola, James (2019) ô'If we're not out in four hours bring beer': rescuers return to caveö The Sydney Morning Herald 22 April 2019 ***Morris, Joshua (2009) ôCMRCA at the Thai cave rescueö Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures 13 February 2019 www.thailandclimbing.com/blog/cmrca-at-the-thai-ca… ***Natisri, Thanet (2018) "Tham Luang Rescue Diary" unpublished report, 159pp ***Poranananont, Asadang (1995) "Study to prepare the regional management plan. Nature Conservation of Tham Luang Nang Nang" Chiang Rai Province Office of Environmental Policy and Planning 155pp +PRAVITOUN, KOMSUK (2008) "The Haunted CaveàThum Luang" Koosang Koosom Magazine (Thai) translated by GINGER nyeoona.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/the-haunted-cave%… (accessed June 2008) ***Pumijumnong, Nathsuda (2017) ôíÊ+Ó-+È--+Úʺ+Ðí-+Ê¥¦Ïñ+Êí+Ò¦íÊ+-¦Ï+Ðí+ý-ÈÞºßæ+Ú-- ©++-¬ÊÁÈ-ЦñÃ+ñÞÊßíÞíÊ+-¦Ï+Ðí+ý++ðÓ+ÀÂÚË [Capacity building for cave conservation]ö Powerpoint slide pack, 12 December 2017, 72p +SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) "Caves of Northern Thailand" River Books, Thailand, ISBN 9749863135 ***Thapthep, Paprach; Hashim, Rohani (2018) "A study of melodrama-case study at Tham Luang Cave" Proceedings of 1st International Conference of Communication, Social Cultural Development and Digital Technology, Medan, Indonesia, 7-9 September 2018. 99-113-119 ***Thomson-DeVeaux, Amelia (2019) ôJosh Morris Æ99: Race against time and tideö Princeton Alumni Weekly 15 May 2019 ***Tomlinson, Jill (2018) "Dr Richard Harris lecture at SWAN Trauma conference, Sydney" Facebook 28 July 2018 +TOURNIER, THIERRY (2011) ôCR Thailande 2010/2011" privately published report. 26pp ***Tournier, Thierry (2018) "Sauvetage de Tham Luang Nang Non" privately published, 17 September 2018, 25p +TWELFTREE, HELEN (1996) "Caving in Thailand and Other Things" Cambridge Underground 1996 pp50-54 ***Unsworth, Vernon (2018) "I helped pull off the miracle Thai cave rescue û but I don't see myself as a hero" The Blog, Huffington Post UK, 26 December 2018 ***Vanesse, Catherine (2018) "French team ready to join cave rescue - if Thailand asks" Khaosod English 7 July 2018 ***Various (2016a) "[Guide to environmental quality standards for caves]" Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, Bangkok, ISBN 978-616-316-322-6, 106p ***Various (2016b) "[Climate change preparedness and prevention program. The potential for ecological and environmental conservation based on cave type]" Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, Bangkok, ISBN 978-616-316-321-9 842p ***Various (2018) "[Interdisciplinary lessons from Tham Luang]" Department of Mineral Resources, Bangkok. 142p ***Veni, George (2018) "Thailand and international cave rescues: A call for help" UIS Bulletin Vol. 60 No. 1 July 2018 pp14-16 ***Waltham, Tony (2018) "The Thailand cave rescue" Geology Today Vol. 34 No. 5 September-October 2018, pp165-167 ***Wheeler, Sharon (2018a) "Behind the scenes with the BCRC at the Thai cave rescue û Part One" Darkness Below 9 September 2018 ***Wheeler, Sharon (2018b) "Behind the scenes with the BCRC at the Thai cave rescue û Part One" Darkness Below 10 September 2018 ***Willacy, Mark; Carter, Lucy; McGregor, Jeanavive (2018) "Thai cave rescue: Australian divers given diplomatic immunity in case risky mission went wrong" Australian Broadcasting Corporation News 16 July 2018 ***Wongruang, Piyaporn (2018) "Unknown danger in Thailand's caves" The Nation 21 July 2018 +ZEITOUN, VAL+RY; FORESTIER, HUBERT; NAKBUNLANG, SUPAPORN (2008) "PrÚhistoires au sud du Triangle d'Or" IRD Editions, Paris ISBN 97-2-7099-1642-4 252pp
History
1986-06-24 & 1986-06-25 R. Brouquisse, A. Bedos, D. Dalger - surveyed first 700m 1987-06-27 to1987-07-06 (4 trips) D. Rigal, L. Deharveng, A. Bedos, D. Dalger - surveyed main cave 1988-01-20 L. Maffre, F. Pallier, C. Thouin, B. Tonnelier - stopped by sump after 2 km 1992 - Anukoon Sorn-Ek first visit to cave, with later visits. 1993-07-29 B. van Meel - tourist trip 1994-07 Research at cave e.g. water samples 1995 Helen Twelftree, Nick Procter - not impressed! Reported air as being bad 2010-12-14 T. Tournier - presents large poster of cave survey to the Forest Park and visits the large entrance chambers. 2012-05-18 V. Unsworth - Main Cave 2013-05 V. Unsworth - extended the Monk's Series by an estimated 750 m. 2013-05-18 V. Unsworth, Lak, Sukyet - end of main cave 2013-11-23 V. Unsworth, Lak - dug out Tham Nang Non entrance 2013-12-18 V. Unsworth, Lak, Sukyet, Cat - Tham Nang Non 2014-01-03 V. Unsworth - linked Tham Nang Non into the Main Chamber in Tham Luang 2014-01-07 V. Unsworth - start of Monk's Series 2014-01-10 V. Unsworth - start of Monk's Series 2014-02-04 V. Unsworth - start of Monk's Series 2014-02-11 V. Unsworth, Lak, Sukyet - Tham Nang Non 2014-03-06 M. Ellis, R. Harper, V. Unsworth - quick visit to entrance 2014-03-07 M. Ellis, R. Harper, V. Unsworth - 4.25 hr trip 2014-03-09 M. Ellis, R. Harper, V. Unsworth - surveyed Tham Nang Non Series 2014-03-10 M. Ellis, R. Harper, V. Unsworth - surveyed start of Monk's Series 2014-03-12 R. Harper, V. Unsworth - extended the end of the Main Cave by an estimated 600 m. M. Ellis - surveying entrance area 2014-04-02 V. Unsworth, Lak - Monk's Series 2014-04-25 V. Unsworth, Lak - Monk's Series 2014-05-10 V. Unsworth, Lak - Monk's Series 2014-07-22 V. Unsworth - cave flooded in main entrance 2014-11-16 V. Unsworth - Tham Nang Non 2015-02-08 V. Unsworth, Lak - got past the boulder choke at the end of Tham Nang Non to find another entrance, Tham Lak. 2015-02-28 V. Unsworth, P. Collett - surveyed Tham Lak 2015-03-22 V. Unsworth, Lak - Tham Lak 2015-03-29 V. Unsworth, Lak - Tham Lak 2015-04-12 V. Unsworth - Tham Lak 2015-04-19 V. Unsworth, Lak - Tham Lak, find second entrance 2015-05-16 V. Unsworth, Lak - Tham Lak 2015-05-20 V. Unsworth, Lak - Tham Lak 2015-05-31 V. Unsworth, Lak - Tham Lak 2015-06-15 V. Unsworth - surveyed Tham Lak 2015-07-01 V. Unsworth, Lek - Tham Lak 2016-02-08 V. Unsworth & Rob Harper - surveyed end of Main Cave to tie in extensions 2016-02-10 V. Unsworth & Rob Harper - surveying 2014 and 2016 extensions at end of main cave. 2016-02-12 V. Unsworth & Rob Harper - surveying 2016 extensions including sketch survey of south trending active system 2016-03 R. Siripattarapureenom, Department of Mineral Resources & Mahidol University survey first 700 m of the cave as part of a climate change project. 2016-04-24 V. Unsworth, Lek - Monk's Series 2016-05-12 V. Unsworth, P. Collett - Monk's Series - 14.5 hr trip - explored the Western Series and surveyed 700 m 2016-07-05 V. Unsworth, M. Ellis - Tham Lak and visit to flooded Tham Luang entrance 2017-01-29 V. Unsworth, Lak - Tham Lak 2017-03-19 V. Unsworth - Monk's Series 2018-02-25 V. Unsworth, K. Batten, P. Callister, J. Biffin - extensions at end of main cave 2018-05-27 V. Unsworth, R. Harper - Monk's Series 2018-06-23 - 2018-07-10 Football coach and 12 boys (11 to 16 years old) enter cave in evening and are trapped by floodwaters. Major rescue involving Thai Navy, UK cave divers, Australian cave divers, Thailand based technical divers, USAF and Australian Federal police to find and rescue them. 2018-10-29 V. Unsworth + 2 DNP employees. First trip since rescue. Full of trash and abandoned equipment. Sumped between Chambers 2 and 3. 2019-01-19 V. Unsworth + DNP, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, and the Naval Special Warfare Command. Inspection of cave to see what needs to be removed. Unable to get past Sam Yaek. 2019-03-18 to 22 Thai Navy and DDPM co-ordinated clean up of rescue equipment. 2019-04-08 V. Unsworth, R. Harper, H. Harper, 2 rangers - to large terminal sump at southern end of cave. 2019-04-22 V. Unsworth, J. Morris, R. Harris, C. Challen 2019-05-01 DMR - survey from entrance to Nern Nom Sao 2019-05-02 V. Unsworth, R. Harper, T. Bolger - Monk's Series to the big aven 2019-05-05 to 21 National Geographic (R. Waters, M. Burkey, J. Morris, V. Unsworth) - 3D LIDAR scan from Wild Boar Aven to entrance along with 8,000 photos. 2019-05-28 V. Unsworth, J. Bratchley - making notes on the rescue dive lines. Japanese media team to Wild Boar Aven
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 | Tham Phra - CR0006 | 49 | 7 |
| 0.2 | Tham Chang Thao [CR0084] | 16 | 4 |
| 0.3 | Tham Liang Pha - CR0008 | 80 | 22 |
| 0.3 | Tham Phayanak - CR0007 | 22 | 6 |
| 0.4 | Tham Pado - CR0009 | 100 | 15 |
| 1.1 | Sai Thong Old Resurgence [CR0091] | ||
| 1.1 | Tham Sai Thong - CR0001 | 1373 | 74 |
| 1.1 | Sai Thong Resurgence - CR0002 | ||
| 1.5 | Cave CR0089 |