Iazoni Cave Natural Monument
| Iazoni Cave Natural Monument | |
|---|---|
| Jazon Cave, Tskaltsitela Cave | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Kutaisi |
| Coordinates | 42°16′19.62″N 42°44′1.63″E / 42.2721167°N 42.7337861°E[1] |
| Established | 2007 |
| Governing body | Agency of Protected Areas |
| Website | Iazoni Cave Natural Monument |
Iazoni Cave Natural Monument (Georgian: იაზონის მღვიმე) also known as Tskaltsitela Cave[2] is a karst cave located across the river Tskaltsitela near village Godogni, Terjola Municipality, just outside Kutaisi in Imereti region of Georgia, 135 metres above sea level.[3] Cave is on the right bank of Tskaltsitela river, the tributary of the Rioni, near Godogni village bridge.
Morphology[edit]
Iazoni cave is carved in the Lower Cretaceous limestone, which is a riverbed material. Cave total length is 40 meters. Cave is notable for it arch-shaped ceilings naturally decorated with small stalactites accompanied by stalagmites on the floor. Width of the cave is quickly reduced to 2.5 m at a distance of just 10 m from the entrance and the ceiling height decreases to 0.5 m closer to the cave end section. Silty muck makes cave floor slippery and access to cave difficult.[4]
Fauna and paleontological findings[edit]
The cave provides shelter to various animals.[2] It is home to troglofauna such as Troglocaris (Xiphocaridinella) kutaissiana (Sadowsky, 1930).[1] Paleontological findings of animal bones and flint tools established presence of cave dwellers of the Paleolithic Age.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Marin, Ivan. Troglocaris (Xiphocaridinella) kumistavi sp. nov., a new species of stygobiotic atyid shrimp (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) from Kumistavi Cave, Imereti, Western Georgia, Caucasus Zootaxa 4311 (4), pp. 576-588: 578, 2017. http://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.848469
- ^ a b Barjadze, Sh., Arabuli, T., Mumladze, L., Maghradze, E., Asanidze, Z., Kutalia, T. Tskaltsitela Cave Cave Biodiversity of Georgia, Open Access Database. 2019. Institute of Zoology at Ilia State University
- ^ Iazoni Karst Cave in Georgia Protected Planet
- ^ (in Georgian) Natural Monument Iazoni Cave
- ^ Iazoni Cave Natural Monument
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