QOLE ZANG CHINAH / CHINEH (Cave at)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A complex cave (note 1) in iron doted limestone. SITUATION: About 50 km east along the road (30 km in a direct line due east) of Ghazni (N33°33'24”: E68°25'33”, WGS84) and some (sic!) kilometres without identified direction from Chatam (note 2), a village which is said to lie near (better: 4.5 km in a direct line ENE of) Rabat (note 3). The cave entrance itself lies at an elevation of 2990 m asl (LINDBERG 1958: 132; 1961a: 22) and close to the summit of a hill forming a part of what Lindberg called the Kouh Mostoufi massif (note 4). CAVE DESCRIPTION: Descending between boulders one arrives at a wide chamber (up to 15 or 20 m wide, 2 m high) with many small side chambers, rift pots and others which are round and often polished by the action of water. Passages at various levels come back to each other. The cave length (maximal extension?) is about 40 m, the vertical range approximately 8 m. Throughout the cave walls are covered with small and large cauliflower concretions (botryoida speleothems), -cannelures- (grykes, in German: Karren) and surfaces looking like wormholed. The stalactites are small. Some water falls in drops but does not re-assemble. The cave floor consists of rock and stones. CAVE CLIMATE: On 12th May 1958 a temperature of 9°C in the air was measured in the interior of the cave when the thermometer read 30°C at the entrance. speleothems), -cannelures- (grykes, in German: Karren) and surfaces looking like wormholed. The stalactites are small. Some water falls in drops but does not re-assemble. The cave floor consists of rock and stones. CAVE CLIMATE: On 12th May 1958 a temperature of 9°C in the air was measured in the interior of the cave when the thermometer read 30°C at the entrance.