Bolshaya Oreshnaya Cave

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Bolshaya Oreshnaya Cave is located on the left bank of the Taizhny Bajei River, 3 km southeast of the village of Oreshnoye.

It is a complex system of horizontal and inclined passages developed along cracks in Ordovician carbonate conglomerates. Three floors can be distinguished in the cave. Grottoes are mostly small, the area of the largest of them is 2400m². There is a stream with a flow rate of 2.5 l/sec. in the Kamenny Grotto. Small lakes were found in the lowest parts of the cave.

The floor of grottoes and passages is covered with clay, pebbles and pieces of rock. The thickness of clay deposits exceeds 1 m in some places. Beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and translucent draperies were found in the grottoes Skazka, Teatralny and Zvezdny. Moon milk was found in the anteroom. The Bolshaya Oreshnaya Cave is mapped for 8500 m, although its total length is apparently more than 11 km. The maximum depth of the cave is 160 m and its volume is 120 thousand m³. Plan and section of the Bolshaya Oreshnaya cave (by Zh.L. Tsykina and R.A. Tsykin)

1 - entrance; 2 - Rucheyny grotto; 3 - Grandiose grotto; 4 - Bell grotto; 5 - Ozerny grotto; 6 - Tale grotto; 7 - Column grotto; 8 - Kamenny grotto.