Cuesta Cave

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The Kueshta cave is located on the right bank of the Sim River, 1.5 km west of the village of Kuznetsovka (6 km downstream from Kaltovka, Russia). It was formed in gypsum and anhydrite of the Permian system, which compose a low watershed escarpment known locally as Mount Kueshta.

The cave is a through cave. The length of the main corridor is 410 meters, and the total length of the cave is 571 meters. There are four grottoes in the cave, which are connected by wide (up to 8 m) and high (up to 4 m) passages. The largest grotto - Kruzhkovtsev - reaches 45 m in length, 21 m in width and 6 m in height. The floor of the cave is covered with viscous clay and in many places is covered with stone fragments. Overcoming the chaotic pile of stones, a stream slowly flows along the bottom of the cave, which in some places widens to 2.5 m and reaches a depth of 0.7 m.

In the far part of the cave (Kruzhkovtsev Grotto), where the air temperature does not fall below 6° even in the coldest winters, the stream does not freeze. In summer, the air temperature in the cave rises to 11°, and in winter it drops to -3°.