WAH PDAH (Krem)
25.242200,91.951400
Description
A south to south-west facing cave entrance (4.6 m wide and 5 m high) intersects a linear, joint guided cave passage formed in a very sandy (arenaceous) limestone containing thin fossil shells. The solitary cave passage (less than 1 m wide and more than 5 m high) runs more or less from the west to the east (280° to 100°) and contains some active calcite deposits (speleothems). There is a remarkable 2 m thick sequence of water-born cave deposits, which contains at least two buried calcite floors. ETYMOLOGY: The Amwi Khasi word "pdah" (Gregory D. Diengdoh 1998.11.04 personal communication with Bamon Mawiong and Pryn Lyngdoh from Pongtung village) is not identified (note 1).SITUATION: The cave entrance lies hidden in the jungle (1998 November) at a linear distance of 1.1 km south (185°) of the village of Pongtung (Phlangpongtung N25°15'08”: E091°57'09” WGS84) above a karst spring (exsurgence) in prolific vegetation (guide!). CAVE LIFE: Not only one solitary, unidentified bat (Chiroptera) was observed but also a few spiders (Arachnidae: Aranea: Sparassidae: conf. Heteropoda sp.) and one of the 'ball-headed' (male) millipedes (Millipedes, Myriapoda, Diplopoda, Trachyjulidae, conf. Trachyiulus mimus Silvestri 1924).
NOTE 1: The standard Khasi verb "pda" means »to throw to the farthest distance possible« but "pdang" means »to crack« (SINGH, N 1906: 153). The U.S. English "PDA" is not only an abbreviation for »public display of affection« but also short for »personal digital assistant« in the sense of a palmtop computer used to store and process not only addresses (e.g. of beer suppliers and stockists of stupefying drinks made from yeast-fermented malt flavored with hops) and phone numbers of alcohol providers, breweries, and ethanol dealers, but also the totals of lengthwise measured distances, etc.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1998.11.04: Bamon Mawiong and Pryn Lyngdoh from Phlangpongtung (in short: Pongtung) guided H. Daniel Gebauer, Gregory D. Diengdoh, Elizabeth 'Liz' Millet and Andrew "Andy" Peter Tyler to the entance of Krem Wah Pdah, where Liz recorded a GPS reading and the boys mapped a selection of the cave's topographical aspects and, having concluded the mapping, also had the cave explored.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 | WAH LAMBYRNAI (Krem) | ||
| 0.4 | SYMPTUNG (Krem) | ||
| 0.6 | WAH DIENGPIAN (Krem) | ||
| 0.7 | SHYMBRONG (Krem) | ||
| 1.1 | NONGTHYLLAM CAVES, Pontung (aa -) | ||
| 5.0 | LYMBIT (Smart et al. 2012) (Krem) | ||
| 5.7 | WAH DIENGROT (Krem) | ||
| 6.5 | POTTERY RIFT, Umkaram (aa -) | ||
| 6.7 | STEW (Krem) |