Dimba N°2

General description

Michael Laumanns - 28/11/2015

The cave has a number of entrances in form of horizontally accessible roof collapses and vertical daylights, which are all connected by subterranean passages. It is currently the second longest cave known in Mozambique. Some guano excavations took place near the most northern entrance. Rocks were piled up to facilitate work. The cave is characterised by a network of phreatic widened rift passages and tubes. Sometimes the passages were widened to large chambers have daylight openings, which leads to chambers by phreatic solution. Because of a good ventilation of the cave, an air temperature development is near to the surface most of these of 18.9°C was measured. The larger cave passages are developed in well bedded limestone with layers up to 1 meter thick. However, the upper parts of the limestone deposit consist of very thin limestone layers, which tend to breakdown and form bell shaped passage roofs. Calcite formations are rare. Dripstones and calcite floor coverings were noted in the NW extensions and in a passage in the south part of the cave. Small rimstone pools and calcite pearls (pisolithes) were registered in one of the rooms in the N part of the E extensions of Dimba No. 2. No big bat colonies were observed. No evidence of conglomerate infillings.