LUM LAWBAH: Doline (aa -)
25.254200,91.722500
Description
At a width of about 350 m by 550 m and a depth of approximately 60 m, the big doline and »circular depression or swallow-hole« (LATOUCHE, T H D 1889: 169) near the southern edge of (the hill) Lum Lawbah is a relatively impressive karst surface feature and, for that matter, one of the largest known closed depressions of the Indian Subcontinent. ETYMOLOGY: No autochthonous, indigenous or locally known name has been identified for what is here called the big doline (note 1) and possibly is in Khasi a "thliew" (note 2). The relatively big doline is marked as Coal Mine next to a dot with short tributary water courses on the 1913 edition of the Survey of India 1: 63'360 sheet 78-O/11 (One-Inch series) Cave on the 1917 edition of the Survey of India 1: 126'720 sheet 78-O/S.E. (Two-Inch series) Cave associated with a crossed hammer and pick-axe, the symbol for »Mine« (an excavation in the earth for extracting coal or other minerals) on the AMS (American Military Service) 1: 250'000 sheet NG46-10 Shillong (U502 series, 1959 edition) compiled in 1954 from Indian and Pakistan, 1: 126'720, Survey of India, editions 1916-1923. SITUATION: Close to the southern edge of Lum Lawbah (note 3), the isolated table hill, which culminates at the G.T.S. (Great Trigonometric Survey) station Rynsan U Bah (note 5) and lies at linear distances of 3 km south of Sohra Pdengshnong (note 4) and 2.2 km south-west from the Cherrapunjee Circuit House.DOLINE DESCRIPTION 1856: »… many sudden and sometimes nearly circular depressions … occur in this ridge [obviously Lum Lawbah], and have obviously been caused by the falling in of the rocks above, into a hollow or excavation below … The waters of the many streams which disappear underground in the adjoining district are undoubtedly gradually excavating the rocks beneath, and the support being removed from the upper beds these must inevitably fall in, and be themselves gradually removed« (OLDHAM, T 1854 / 1984: 29). »In several places about here, considerable streams go underground for some distance. The stream seen in Fig. 16, passes in this way under the cliff of limestone and coal« (OLDHAM, T 1854 / 1984: 29 note). DOLINE DESCRIPTION 1869: »… a case of underground erosion subsequent to the formation of both [sandstone capping the limestone] rocks, with consequent crushing in of the beds immediately above the excavation. The great extent to which this action has operated, and the remarkable superficial features resulting therefrom, have been fully described in previous accounts« (MEDLICOTT, H B 1869: 11 = 161-162). DOLINE DESCRIPTION 1889: »Cherra Poonjee coal field … In some cases, where the limestone beneath [the coal seam] has been largely removed, the surface beds have fallen in, forming circular depressions or swallow-holes, which sometimes extend [not only] down to the seam« but also several tens of metres vertically down to the very base of the underlying limestone. »A large one surrounded with a fringe of mines now being worked, occurs close to the G.T.S. station Ranzanobo [note 6]« (LATOUCHE, T H D 1889: 169). CAVE POTENTIAL: From the jungle-clad (note 7) sides above the the grass covered scree slopes of the doline rise not only slender, up to 10 m high karst pinnacles (of the eastern rim) but also four distinct, partly limestone outcrops (cliffs): North-west Outcrop (91°43'17”E: 25°15'19”N): Krem –>Soh Pang Bniat.West Outcrop (91°43'17”E: 25°15'15”N): Krem –>Soh Pang Bniat no.2.North-east Outcrop (91°43'25”E: 25°15'19”N): Andrew "Andy" Peter Tyler reports what he understood to be »impenetrable fissures« (February 98). Needs to be checked. East Outcrop (91°43'29”E: 25°15'11”N): Andrew "Andy" Peter Tyler found the jungle impenetrable on 11 February 1998 but a few days later Boycott, Antony 'Tony' and Anthony 'Tony' R Jarratt found here Krem –>Phyllud 2.Sink: At the southern end and lowest point of the doline lies the »Doline Entrance« (insurgence) of Krem –>Phyllud.
NOTE 1: doline (German) -- »circular closed depression, either saucer-shaped, conical or in some cases cylindrical. The name originates from the Slovene term for a valley, where in the classical karst [Istria, on the borderlands of Italy and Slovenia] there are no true valleys but only closed basins. Dolines may form by dissolution, collapse, or a combination of these, keyed to a central sinkhole or intercepted cave passage. They are ubiquitous features of limestone karst, but can form in or above any soluble rock; subsidence dolines are developed in insoluble sediment leached or collapsed into an underlying cavernous limestone. Dolines may be only a metre across, or as large as the giants of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, where the Minye doline has vertical sides 350 m deep and 350 m across« (LOWE & WALTHAM 1995: 13). Synonym »collapse sink« (US English): »A closed depression formed by the collapse of the roof of a cave« (MONROE 1970 ed. 1972: 6).NOTE 2: The Khasi noun "ka thliew" (SINGH, N 1906: 227; SINGH, N 1920: 66, 106, 134, 222, 279, 381; BLAH, E 2007: 15, 45, 78, 134, 225), also spelled: ka thliw (SINGH, N 1920: 21, 57, 83), ka tliw (GURDON, P R T 1906: 116), abbreviated: ka liew (SINGH, N 1906: 65, 117, 382; BLAH, E 2007: 78), ka liw (GURDON, P R T 1906: 49), a hole, pit, depression (SINGH, N 1906: 227); aperture, channel, cut, hole, hollow, kennel, pit (SINGH, N 1920: 21, 66, 106, 222, 279, 381); aperture, bore, cavern, cavity, cell, crevice, dike / dyke, gap, hole, hollow, pit (BLAH, E 2007: 15, 34, 45, 66, 78, 114, 134, 225). NOTE 3: Locally, I was told that "Lum Lawbah" is the name of the hill (Caldi Khongsit, Sohra, 1997 March personal communication). ka lawbah (Khasi; noun), a contraction of: ka khláw bah (SINGH, N 1906: 111), a dense forest (SINGH, N 1906: 111) but U Suid Lawbah, from: u ksuid (a pagan deity, a christian devil) + ka khlaw (a forest, a wood) + u bah (respected elder brother), is a cognomen used when referring to this »forest spirit« (GURDON, P R T 1906: 124). CHOPRA, P N (1994 edited by a certain Dr. Brah, vol. 22, page 5) teaches, literally quoted, that the »Caves in Khasi - Jaintia Hills are Lumlawbah, Mawsynram and Syndai. They are many miles long, full of water splashes. There are many images such as household furnitures, racks, cods, tables and platforms all in stone.« NOTE 4: Sohra Pdengshnong (Cherra Bazar), the »bazar of Chirra« (CRACROFT, W 1831: 174) or the »native village of Cherra Poonjee« (OLDHAM, T 1859 appendix A: ii) near (±250 m) 25°16'52”N: 91°43'20”E: 1404 m asl (WGS84 modified from 25°16'50”N: 91°43'30”E: 4607 feet, Everest 1830, Survey of India sheet 78-O/11 edition 1913).NOTE 5: Rynsan U Bah (Lookout [of the respected] Elder Brother), balcony (in Latin: podium), from ka rynsán (Khasi, noun) a raised platform (SINGH, N 1906: 178); flooring (BLAH, E 2007: 106); a gallery (SINGH, N 1906: 178; SINGH, N 1920: 197; BLAH, E 2007: 113); platform (SINGH, N 1920: 383; BLAH, E 2007: 227) + u bah (Khasi, noun, vocative case) an elder brother (a term of respect) (SINGH, N 1906: 7), a table hill that culminates near (±3.2 m) 25°15'22”N: 91°43'10”E (Gebauer, H D 2007.03.09 GPS Garmin 12) to an elevation of 1358 m Survey of India sheet 78-O/11 (edition 1974) 1363 m Gebauer, H D (2007.03.09 GPS Garmin 12) 1361.6 m or »4467« (feet) Survey of India 1938 topsheet 78-O/11 1357.0 m or »4452« (feet) Survey of India 1913 topsheet 78-O/11 and may be found spelled as Rangsanobo Survey of India 1974 toposheet 78-O/11 Rynsan-U-Buh [sic! Rynsan U Bah] Survey of India 1938 toposheet 78-O/11; LUM MAWSHUN Pvt. Ltd. (2002: 36 Figure 3.1) Rangsanobo Survey of India 1913 toposheet 78-O/11 Ranzanabo Glennie, Edward Aubrey (undated, circa 1948 Mss: Preliminary record …) Ranzanobo LATOUCHE, T H D (1889: 169). NOTE 6: Glennie, E A (undated, circa 1948 Mss: Preliminary record) copied LATOUCHE (1889: 169) as »In the Cherrapunji [sic!] coalfield, Swallow holes [sic] extend into the coal seam due to solution of limestone below. There is a large one near the Great Trigonometrical Survey station of Ranzanabo [sic!] (Mem. Geol. S. of I. Vol. XXII p 169).« NOTE 7: »The small woods about Mamloo [Mawmluh], Moosmai [Mawsmai], and the coal-pits [on Lum Lawbah], are composed of Symplocos, laurels, brambles, and jasmines, mixed with small oaks and Photinia, and many tropical genera of trees and shrubs« (HOOKER, J D 1854-1855, 2: 281).
Histoire
Latouche, Thomas Henry Digges 1889; Oldham, Thomas 1854 / 1984, 1859; Zimba, Dawa Tsering 1977 / 1978, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1991: 152, 2005.
EXPLORATION HISTORY: Thomas Henry Digges LaTouche had drawn the attention of coal mine watchers to »a large [swallow-hole], surrounded with a fringe of mines now being worked, occurs close to the G.T.S. [Great Trigonometrical Survey] station of Ranzsanobo …« (LATOUCHE, T H D 1889: 169). 1998.02.10: H. D. Gebauer, Andrew "Andy" Peter Tyler and Valery Lalvula visited, photographed and positioned the doline. Some of the coal mines were found to be still worked, though only occasionally on a small scale.
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | SOH PANG BNIAT 2 (Krem) | ||
| 0.1 | SOH PANG BNIAT 3 (Krem) | ||
| 0.1 | SOH PANG BNIAT 4 (Krem) | ||
| 0.2 | SOH PANG BNIAT (Krem) | ||
| 0.3 | PHYLLUD, 2nd (Krem) | ||
| 0.3 | LUM LAWBAH: Sink 1 (aa -) | ||
| 0.4 | PHYLLUD, 3rd (Smart 1994) (Krem) | ||
| 0.4 | DAM UM, Nongthymmai (Krem) | ||
| 0.4 | RONG UMSOH - SOH PANG BNIAT (Krem) |