CHIBANDAKOL 2

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A walking sized cave entrance (3 m wide, 2 m high) leads past crawls and speleothems to a T-junction: The about 20 m long downstream passage leads on a general bearing of 100° to collapse and the about 85 m upstream section continues for 15 m along a hot and moist, sand and mud crawl to what looks like a very shallow sump (note 1). According to Rob Harper (2008.02.08 Mss: Chibandakol.pdf), the main entrance [i.e. Chibandakol 2] is a window onto a stream passage (3 m in diameter) flowing from right to left [sic! qua: from north to south]. Upstream passage can be followed for estimated 15 m through mudbanks to a choke. Downstream 25 to 30 m of stream passage to low crawl to a 10 m of canal (1 by 1 m), to another 30 m of large passage lowering to a flat-out bedding plane passage [leading to a sump]. A second entrance [i.e. –>Chibandakol 3, which lies]15 m to the left [sic! qua: south-west] of the main entrance bypasses the canal to enter the second, largish section of streamway. SITUATIO: In the western corner of the letter -L--shaped –>Chibanda doline.POSITION 1: N25°21'29.2-: E090°31'42.0- (±8.4 m): 222 m asl (WGS84, H.D. Gebauer 2002.02.14, GPS Garmin 12); POSITION 2: N25°21'28.9-: E090°31'42.0- (ignored horizontal precision error): 245 m asl (WGS84, H. Jantschke 2003.02.05, GPS Etrex); POSITION 3: N25°21'29.1-: E090°31'42.0- (circa ±15 m): 234 m asl (arithmetic average). POSITION 4: Harper, Rob (2008.02.08 Mss: Chibandakol.pdf) recorded for Chibandakol 2 a GPS position (note 2) which indicates a spot that lies 370 m in a direct line too far east from the Chibanda doline. CAVE LIFE: Fish (pisces), pond skaters (Heteroptera: Rynchota: conf. Gerris sp.), shrimps (Crustacea: Palaemonida), and snot gobblers (larval stage of fungus gnats, Diptera: Mycetophilidae), in addition to fern plants in the entrance.: In the western corner of the letter -L--shaped –>Chibanda doline.POSITION 1: N25°21'29.2-: E090°31'42.0- (±8.4 m): 222 m asl (WGS84, H.D. Gebauer 2002.02.14, GPS Garmin 12); POSITION 2: N25°21'28.9-: E090°31'42.0- (ignored horizontal precision error): 245 m asl (WGS84, H. Jantschke 2003.02.05, GPS Etrex); POSITION 3: N25°21'29.1-: E090°31'42.0- (circa ±15 m): 234 m asl (arithmetic average). POSITION 4: Harper, Rob (2008.02.08 Mss: Chibandakol.pdf) recorded for Chibandakol 2 a GPS position (note 2) which indicates a spot that lies 370 m in a direct line too far east from the Chibanda doline. CAVE LIFE: Fish (pisces), pond skaters (Heteroptera: Rynchota: conf. Gerris sp.), shrimps (Crustacea: Palaemonida), and snot gobblers (larval stage of fungus gnats, Diptera: Mycetophilidae), in addition to fern plants in the entrance.