MOILA RUCKLE HOLE
30.778300,77.785800
Description
A 1.2 m wide entrance to a pothole cave (note 1) drops initially 1.8 m into a narrow slit and then "through a confusing ruckle of boulders" to an estimated depth of about 12 or 15 m. SITUATION 1942: About 1/2 mile (0.8 km) from –>Cedar Pot and 150 yds. [137 m] from –>Moila Swallet (Leakey 1942.12.03 Mss: Himalayan Caves, sheet 2), »the second cave southwards [on Moila Hill is] … a small steep valley which is prevented going off the side of the mountain by 50 yds. [about 46 m] of limestone outcrop« (Leakey 1942.12.03 Mss: Himalayan Caves, sheet 1). SITUATION 1946: »Proceed along path above Moila Swallet N.West for 200 yds. [183]. Ruckle Pot is 50 yds. [46 m] to the right below the track at the foot of exposed limestone rock closing off the valley« (Glennie 1946.08.01 Mss: Bodyar Area Potholes) or, if you prefer, simply »… at Chakrata« (LARWOOD 1946: 135). SITUATION 1951: »Fifty yards from the steep side of the mountain« (LEAKEY 1955: 59). POSITIONS: 30°46'42”N: 77°47'09”E: 8775 ft. (Everest 1830, Glennie, circa 1972 s.a. Mss "Particulars" Moila Swallet 2 / Ruckle Pot). 30°46'41.5”N: 77°47'04.2”E: 2675 m (WGS84 modified from Everest 1830) or30°46'30”N: 77°47'10”E: 8750 ft. (Everest 1830, GLENNIE 1969: 109: Moila 2). 30°46'29.5”N: 77°47'05.2”E: 2667 m (WGS84 modified from Everest 1830). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1939: »Moila Hole … is an open hole about 5 feet [1.5 m] diameter leading vertical down, no stream way leads into the hole; an overhanging tree gives a good holdfast for a rope ladder. The first eight feet [2.4 m] is rather loose and earthy, then clean rock begins about 30 feet [9 m] down [and] a narrow sloping ledge, about 5 feet [1.5 m] wide is reached. From this there is a vertical pitch of about 150 feet [46 m] and an immense rift way waterworn and about 10 feet [3 m] wide is seen to extend North-westwards« (Glennie 1939 Mss: Preliminery [sic!] report …). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1942: »Goes down about 50 ft. [estimated 15 m] through boulders. Its catchment area [note 2] is hardly 10 acres« (Leakey 1942.12.03 Mss: Himalayan Caves) or 40'468 square metre = 0.04 square km. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1946: »It has an entrance 4 ft. across, a narrow slit six foot down, & then a small chamber lower still. The depth is about 50 ft. through a confusing ruckle of boulders. No tackle is needed, but a good light is advisable« (Glennie 1946.08.01 Mss: Bodyar Area Potholes). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1951: »An open pothole with a few acres of catchment which goes down about forty feet [12.2 m] through boulders, here only fifty yards of limestone separates it from the steep side of the mountain.« (LEAKEY 1955: 59). CAVE LIFE: Browning, F (1946.10.04 Mss) lists specimens of Arachnidae: Araneae: Metella crispa Fage captured at »Moila Swallet No. 2.« Harries, D B (2008.01.10 Mss: Literature full list) lists CAMERON (1947) and his taxonomical description of Typhlomalota glenniei (Collembola: Staphylinidae) collected from »Moila no 2, Chakrata, Uttar Pradesh« but nowadays in Uttarakhand). LARWOOD, H J C (1946: 133, 135) taxonomival description of »Lithobiidae: Lithobiinae: Archilithobius glennei (Fig. 1 a-k) … Locality … 1 female, Chakrata, from cave named Moila No. 2. Collected by Brig. E. A. Glennie May 43. … the Moila cave at Chakrata … The specimen taken by him [Glennie] from the Moila cave at Chakrata certainly belongs to this species in spite of the small deviation in the form of the female genital appendage … The chance migration of such lucifuge creatures into such an environment is not surprising.« Harries, D B (2008.01.10 Mss: Literature full list): »Larwood H. J. C. 1946 Some new Indian Lithobiidae.- Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay 46 134-139 … from refn list 'Glennie 69', India, cave, Chilopoda, Myriapoda - Archilithobius glennei - Moila no2 - Chakrata, Uttar Pradesh …«
NOTE 1: The Moila Ruckle Pot has been refered to as Lower Moila Swallet (Glennie, Edward Aubrey 1942.10.05-19 Mss: Diary, 11th October), Moila Cave at Chakrata (LARWOOD 1946:135), Moila Hole (Glennie, Edward Aubrey 1939 Mss: Preliminery [sic!] report … pages 6-7; LEAKEY 1951: 59), Moila No. 2 (GLENNIE 1969: 109; Harries, Daniel B. 2008.01.10 Mss: Literature full list.xls; LARWOOD 1946:135), Moila Swallet 2 (Glennie, Edward Aubrey s.a., circa 1972 Mss: Particulars), Ruckle Pot (Glennie, Edward Aubrey s.a., circa 1972) Mss: Particulars; Glennie (1946.08.01) Mss: Bodyar Area Potholes), Second Cave Southwards [on Moila Hill] (Leakey 1942.12.03 Mss sheet 1). NOTE 2: Leakey uses the term "catchment area" to designate an obvious stream bed (headwaters) or closed depression draining surface water straight into that cave entrance enterable by soldiers or humans.
Documents
Bibliography 27/04/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1894, June or July (circa): F. GLEADOW (1898 edited 1940) accompanied Bertram Beresford Osmaston on his second visit to –>Moila Swallet and noticed somewhere nearby a »nearly vertical hole, not plumbed« that well may be the Ruckle Hole. 1939.07.18: Edward Aubrey Glennie collected one male and 12 female specimens of Arachnidae: Araneae: Metella crispa Fage (Browning, F. 1946.10.04). 1942.10.11: Glennie (1942.10.05-19 Mss: Diary): »… went into Lower Moila Swallet with [Robert D.] Leakey, collected …« what looks like: »fan gue« (?) or, perhaps, a »fun gur« (?) 1943 May: Glennie collected one female specimen of Archilithobius glenniei Larwood 1946 (Myriapoda: Lithobiidae: Lithobiinae) from one »cave named Moila No. 2« or from »the Moila cave at Chakrata« (LARWOOD 1946: 135). 1944.10.25: Glennie collected four female specimens of Arachnidae: Araneae: Metella crispa Fage (Browning, F. 1946.10.04 Mss).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | MOILA MINE | ||
| 0.2 | MOILA CEDAR POT | ||
| 0.2 | MOILA SWALLET | ||
| 0.2 | MOILA SWALLETS (Glennie 1946) | ||
| 0.3 | BUDHER CAVE, Kotlia | ||
| 0.6 | MOILA TOAD HOLE | ||
| 1.6 | BHIAR DHAR | ||
| 1.6 | CHOHIA ORGAN CAVE | ||
| 1.7 | MASAK VILLAGE POTHOLE |