Tham Pang Kham - MH0074
19.677650,98.205870
Location
The upper entrance window is 500m south of Ban Pang Kham at the foot of the cliffs. A recently upgraded road leads from the 'Mae Lana' turnoff on the H1095 all the way to Ban Pang Kham, a distance of 23km. A good walking path leads to the cave from the village. The resurgence entrance is 700north of Ban Nam Jang along a steep path leading to the base of the cliffs. The dirt track to Ban Nam Jang starts in Ban Pha Puek and leads across the fields to a ford on the Huai Nam Pung. This track is impassable in the wet season, as is the cave itself.
Description
Tham Pang Kham is a large through cave with a total surveyed length of 1,370 m. The cave has a 40 m high, steep entrance chamber, with access into the cave by ladder. The first 200 m of the cave is formed along a vertical fault line and is spectacularly lit by a narrow shaft through which the tributary stream entres, The main stream enters through a large upper level chamber parallel to the shaft and linked to it by a steep scree slope. The cave has many active speleothems, including impressive orange flowstones. The 550 m long stream passage becomes progressively narrower towards the downstream exit, which is only 4 m wide and high. Below the resurgence entrance the stream drops down several waterfalls over black andesite bedrock. Human remains have been found in the cave and dated.
Topographie
The cave was surveyed by the 1986 Australian Expedition. The location of the survey notes is unknown. Published surveys: DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1986) - ASF Grade 43/32 KIERNAN, KEVIN (1990) - based on DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1986) SIRIPORNPIBUL, C. (2000). SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006)
Fauna
Snails:- Type and only known locality for Diplommatina nimanandhi Panha, Kanchanasaka & Burch, 1998 - found on surface
Documents
[Topo] Tham Pang Kham 12/05/2019Bibliography 09/05/2020
- +Anon. (2011b) "Baseline study for ecotourism development in Mae Hong Son" Final mission report by Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I) for the United Nations Joint Program on Integrated Highland Livelihood Development in Mae Hong Son, Output 1.3: Ecotourism. June 2011. 175p +CAI, BINGGUI; PUMIJUMNONG, NATHSUDA; TAN, MING; MUANGSONG, CHOTIKA; KONG, XINGGONG; JIANG, XIUYANG; NAN, SULAN (2010) "Effects of intraseasonal variation of summer monsoon rainfall on stable isotope and growth rate of a stalagmite from northwestern Thailand" Journal of Geophysical Research Vol. 115 10pp +COGGAN, MARJORIE; DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; ANDERSON, NEIL (EDS.) (1999) "Tham Sanuk: The Lighter Side Of Caving In Thailand" Canberra, 76pp +DILOKWANICH, S.; ET AL. (2000) "An Exploration and Database System of the Caves, Mae Hong Son Province" 6 Vols. Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok - STD601, STD602 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1995) "The Caves of Thailand" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-9-9 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1986) "Caves of North-west Thailand: Report of the Australian Speleological Expeditions 1983-1986" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-2-1 62pp +Kiernan, Kevin (1988e) "Geomorphology of a tropical intermontane basin in the Sino-Burman Ranges" 26th International Geographical Congress 1988, International Geological Union, Sydney pp1-24 +KIERNAN, KEVIN (1990) "Some Limestone Caves North-east of Mae Hong Son, Northern Thailand" Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society Vol. 38 No. 1 pp59-67 +Kiernan, Kevin (1991b) "Tropical mountain geomorphology and landscape evolution in North-west Thailand" Zeitschrift f³r Geomorphologie N.F. Vol. 35 No. 2 pp187-206 +Kreuss, Markus (2014) "Thailand" www.troglophil.de/?section=location&id=25 (german) [accessed April 2015] +Muangsong, Chotika; Cai, Binggui; Pumijumnong, Nathsuda; Hu, Chaoyong; Cheng, Hai (2014) "An annually laminated stalagmite record of the changes in Thailand monsoon rainfall over the past 387 years and its relationship to IOD and ENSO" Quaternary International Vol. 349 pp 90-97 +Muangsong, Chotika; Pumijumnong, Nathsuda; Cai, Binggui; Tan, Ming (2010) "Multi-proxy approach of a stalagmite for climate reconstruction in northwestern Thailand" Abstracts of PAGES 1st Asia 2k Workshop in Japan, Nagoya, 26-27 August 2010, 1p +MUANGSONG, CHOTIKA; PUMIJUMNONG, NATHSUDA; CAI, BINGGUI; TAN, MING (2011) "Stalagmite grey level as a proxy of the palaeoclimate in northwestern Thailand" ScienceAsia Vol. 37 No. 3 pp262-267 +Panha, Somsak; Kanchanasaka, Budsabong; Burch, John B. (1998) "New taxa of Diplommatina from Thailand (Prosobranchia: Diplommatinidae)" Walkerana Vol. 9 No. 22 pp153-170 +SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) "Caves of Northern Thailand" River Books, Thailand, ISBN 9749863135 +SIRIPORNPIBUL, C. (2000) +SPIES, JOHN (1994) "The Palaces of Darkness" Action Asia (Hong Kong) Vol.3 No.4 pp116-126 +Spies, John (1999) "Managing the cave and karst resources in the Nam Khong and Nam Lang catchment, Northwest Thailand" Proceedings of the Conference on Cave Resources, Bangkok, 4-5 August 1999, pp190-202 +SPIES, JOHN (2000) "Suggestions for Cave Management" in "An Exploration and Database System of Caves: Mae Hong Son Province" Vol. 6. Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok +WANNASRI, SINEENART (2004) "A Dendroarchaeological Study of Log Coffins: Bo Krai Cave and Ban Rai Rockshelter in Pang Mapha District, Mae Hong Son Province" MSc Thesis, Mahidol University, Bangkok 174pp
History
The cave was surveyed by the 1986 Australian expedition
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | Tham Pi Man Pang Kham East - MH0268 | ||
| 0.5 | Tham Pi Man Pang Kham West - MH0078 | 200 | 0 |
| 1.3 | Rock Shelter Cave - MH0081 | ||
| 1.3 | Cave MH0147 - MH0147 | 30 | 0 |
| 1.3 | Cave MH0148 - MH0148 | 15 | 0 |
| 1.3 | Tham Oon - MH0149 | 200 | 0 |
| 1.9 | Tham Bung Yam - MH0167 | 120 | 0 |
| 2.0 | Cave MH0168 - MH0168 | ||
| 2.0 | Coffin Cave MH85 - MH0085 |