MISSING FALLS SINK

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

An apparently perennial but comparatively small stream (at the peak of the dry season on 2006.03.15 an estimated 3 or 5 ltr/sec) sinks into an approximately east-west aligned, vertical rift of gravitational origin, about 6 m or 8 m long, up to a metre wide and about 5.5 m deep. The daylight-lit part of the rift shows a waterfall, which disappears among dislocated, angular sandstone boulders. In January 2015, however, the sinkhole was dry (Lindenmayr, F circa 2015.02.11 s.a. Mss: Meghalaya 2015 image ecopark4cave.JPG). ETYMOLOGY: The tourist distraction was expressively advertised as Missing Falls (Eco Park 2006.03.15 signboard). Expedition cavers, however, were able to distort such an original name (note 1) to Missing Waterfall (Arbenz, T 2008.03.10 Mss: Survey Summary) and Missing Waterfall Pot (Brown, M W 2008.02.03 Mss; Brown, M W et al. 2008 Mss: Diary: Sunday 3rd Feb). What probably was intended to be a Thliew Jah Kshaid (note 2) or disappearing / sinking (water) falls. SITUATION East of the road from lower Sohra (Saitsohpen 25°16'15”N: 91°44'10”E) towards Mawsmai (25°14'30”N: 91°44'E) and within the artificial tourist attraction -Eco Park- (entry fee on 15.03.2006 for adults / children IRs 10/5) which occupies an area about 100 m west of the small stream Um Tyngkong (note 3) and an estimated 30 m from the edge of the cliff facing south towards the plains of Bangladesh. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2008a: A concrete green + white fence surrounds a metal grill over a circa 2.5 m by 1 m wide pothole / shaft / rift where a stream of water runs through a culvert under the path into the sink, which is a rift in sandstone that shows rather erosional than so-called solutional features (unspecified and disputable) and contains breakdown rocks, gravel, water, mud, litter. The stream sinks into it and disappears into gaps between boulders below: c. 2.5 m x 1 m shaft top. 5.5 m pitch (suits ladder) in spray. 50 m of no more than 1 m wide rift, 5 m high. Choked at end. 6 m fom entrance is a floor level squeeze (Brown, M W 2008.02.03 Mss). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2008b: A 5 m shaft led into c. 50 m of sandstone rift (Brown, M W et al. 2008 Mss: Diary: Sunday 3rd Feb).CAVE DESCRIPTION 2015: A peculiar cave phenomenon, that is to say a small pothole in sandstone which is only a few metres distant from the edge of a cliff above a valley below. It is walled-in, grilled, and full of rubbish -- but is is there [note 4] (after Lindenmayr, F circa 2015.02.11 s.a. Mss: Meghalaya 2015). CAVE LIFE: Sort of spiders, webs (Brown, M W 2008.02.03 Mss). East of the road from lower Sohra (Saitsohpen 25°16'15”N: 91°44'10”E) towards Mawsmai (25°14'30”N: 91°44'E) and within the artificial tourist attraction -Eco Park- (entry fee on 15.03.2006 for adults / children IRs 10/5) which occupies an area about 100 m west of the small stream Um Tyngkong (note 3) and an estimated 30 m from the edge of the cliff facing south towards the plains of Bangladesh. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2008a: A concrete green + white fence surrounds a metal grill over a circa 2.5 m by 1 m wide pothole / shaft / rift where a stream of water runs through a culvert under the path into the sink, which is a rift in sandstone that shows rather erosional than so-called solutional features (unspecified and disputable) and contains breakdown rocks, gravel, water, mud, litter. The stream sinks into it and disappears into gaps between boulders below: c. 2.5 m x 1 m shaft top. 5.5 m pitch (suits ladder) in spray. 50 m of no more than 1 m wide rift, 5 m high. Choked at end. 6 m fom entrance is a floor level squeeze (Brown, M W 2008.02.03 Mss). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2008b: A 5 m shaft led into c. 50 m of sandstone rift (Brown, M W et al. 2008 Mss: Diary: Sunday 3rd Feb).CAVE DESCRIPTION 2015: A peculiar cave phenomenon, that is to say a small pothole in sandstone which is only a few metres distant from the edge of a cliff above a valley below. It is walled-in, grilled, and full of rubbish -- but is is there [note 4] (after Lindenmayr, F circa 2015.02.11 s.a. Mss: Meghalaya 2015). CAVE LIFE: Sort of spiders, webs (Brown, M W 2008.02.03 Mss).