Tham Ton Pan - KA0367
14.876858,98.871710
Location
Near the crest of a low ridge in the forest area 500 m south-south-east of Tham Sa Nam.
Description
The entrance is an impressive collapse feature 25-30m across and overhanging on all sides. A rubble cone beneath the entrance is crowned by a large palm tree which gives the cave its name. The best point of entry is on the southeastern side where after a short earth slope there is a free-hanging drop of about 21m. The entrance chamber is more than 130m long, up to 55m wide and 20m high. The hugh dimensions of the cave and its impressive speleothems can only be fully appreciated by descending into the cave. The pitch terminates near the top of the rubble cone. Beneath the entrance the cone is well vegetated with small shrubs, ferns and mosses. Apart from a few swallows the only fauna observed was a patterned, yellow-brown python-like snake about 40cm long. The southern part of the main chamber is a steep rockpile, largely covered with flowstone. Hugh columns, draperies and stalagmites dominate the area. There are also some large gours up to 1m deep and several metres across. Some of these contain a little water. At the other end of the chamber the rubble cone leads down to a large area of earth and silt traversed by a dry stream channel. The channel starts against the eastern wall and as it curves across the passage it increases in depth from less than a metre to about 6m. It drains to a funnel shaped depression against the northern wall. Water that formed the channel appears to have emerged from small fissures on the eastern wall. There is little evidence of recent water flow. The route to the Lower Level is hidden behind a forest of tall stalagmites and columns. From there a 3m climb down a crusty flowstone cascade leads to a tall, silt floored chamber on two levels. The split floor level results from some large gours which have completely filled with silt. A 2.5m climb down the face of the gours leads to the lip of a large pitch. This pitch is 36m deep. At the top of the pitch the rope is against flowstone and care should be taken to avoid rope abrasion. After a few metres the rope hangs free and affords a good view of the chamber below. The Lower Level is some 30m across and has a steeply sloping floor of rock and mud. There are also some massive decorations that are probably active during the wet season. The chamber drains to a mud sink. No open leads were found.
Topographie
BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1996) - ASF Grade 4.2 / 2.2
Documents
Bibliography 17/09/2019- +BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1996) "Khlong Ngu Karst Expedition April 1996. A Report Prepared for the National Parks Division, Royal Forest Department, Thailand" Canberra Speleological Society Inc. iv + 67pp +COGGAN, MARJORIE; DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; ANDERSON, NEIL (EDS.) (1999) "Tham Sanuk: The Lighter Side Of Caving In Thailand" Canberra, 76pp +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1997) "The Caves of Thailand - Addendum 1995-97" Speleological Research Council, Sydney
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 | Tham Sa Nam - KA0366 | 70 | 60 |
| 0.3 | Tham Ban Ton Maprow - KA0364 | 204 | 0 |
| 0.8 | Double Doline Sinks [KA0381] | ||
| 1.0 | Ban Ton Maprow Stream Sink - KA0380 | ||
| 1.0 | Camp Stream Sink - KA0382 | ||
| 1.3 | Ban Ton Maprow Stream Rising - KA0379 | ||
| 1.4 | Tham Nam Tok - KA0361 | 2710 | 134 |
| 1.8 | Tham Pong Chang - KA0373 | 65 | 41 |
| 2.2 | Tham Nok Huuk [KA0371] | 394 | 21 |