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Domanului Mountains: Comarnic Cave (Pestera de la Cantonul Comarnic, Pestera din Ogasul Ponicovei)

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Cave and Karst Systems of Romania

Part of the book series: Cave and Karst Systems of the World ((CAKASYWO))

Abstract

Comarnic Cave is situated in southwestern Romania, in a region in which the Mesozoic limestones cover an area of ~600 km2 and form parallel ridges with high plateaus that are fragmented by deep gorges. The karst plateaus are dotted by sinkholes and sinking streams that recharge permanent or temporary karst springs. Comarnic Cave (6201 m) represents a hydrological penetration of the Ponicova Creek across the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous limestone bar. Its passages are mostly descending and develop on three levels (inactive, temporarily active, and active), with an offset of 101 m between the access points. The upper (inactive) level is rich in speleothems, such as draperies and stair-stepped rimstone pools, well developed in the Virgin Chamber. Along the lower level, erosional and/or solutional features are abundant. Comarnic Cave is well known for its spectacular chert layers (in the Zebras’ Chamber) protruding from the limestone along the bedding planes. Adventure caving trips can be arranged at the Semenic-Cheile Carașului National Park Headquarter.

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Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to his colleagues Dr. A. Giurginca and V. Gheorghiu for the data concerning the subterranean fauna and to Asociația Speologică Exploratorii Reşiţa for the photographs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. “Emil Racoviță” Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, Frumoasă 31, 010986, Bucharest, Romania

    Ioan Povară

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  1. Ioan Povară
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Correspondence to Ioan Povară .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Groundwater Assessment Program, Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

    Gheorghe M. L. Ponta

  2. School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Bogdan P. Onac

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Povară, I. (2019). Domanului Mountains: Comarnic Cave (Pestera de la Cantonul Comarnic, Pestera din Ogasul Ponicovei). In: Ponta, G., Onac, B. (eds) Cave and Karst Systems of Romania. Cave and Karst Systems of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90747-5_29

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