Jortsku Cave Natural Monument ( ka, ჯორწყუს მღვიმე) is a

karst cave Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

located 5.5 km to the north of village Second Balda in

Martvili Municipality Martvili ( ka, მარტვილის მუნიციპალიტეტი) is a district of Georgia, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. Its main town is Martvili. Martvili Municipality is located in the north-eastern part of wes ...

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti ( Georgian: სამეგრელო-ზემო სვანეთი) is a region (Mkhare) in western Georgia with a population of 308,358 (2021) and a surface of . The region has Zugdidi as its administrative center, ...

region of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, 653 meters above sea level. Cave is on the left bank of Jortsku river, the tributary of Abasha river.

Morphology

Jortsku Cave has two

storey A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...

and maximum length of 276 m. Large entrance hallway leads to a meandering corridor, 3-5 m high and 4-5 m wide. Near the cave entrance ceiling collapsed in the past. Further inside, about 100 meters from the entrance, two branches emerges, one of which opens to the second floor with 30 m long hall.

Stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

s are predominant feature of Jortsku Cave, but a few

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

s also can be seen. 3.5 to 4 m thick plastic clay is in abundance in the cave hall. The stream flows into the cave, than joins the second stream, and after 15 m passes through to emerge as a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

on the left bank of the Jortsku river. The temperature in the entrance part of the cave is 18°C, gradually dropping to 11.5°C in the last section of the cave.

Paleontological findings

Paleontological findings established presence of

cave dweller A cave dweller, or troglodyte, is a human being who inhabits a cave or the area beneath the overhanging rocks of a cliff. Prehistory Some prehistoric humans were cave dwellers, but most were not (''see'' ''Homo'' and Human evolution). Such ...

s in an ancient past. Bones of

cave bear The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ' ...

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

, and other animals also has been found in the cave.Jortsku Cave Natural Monument
National Parks of Georgiaჯორწყუს მღვიმის ბუნების ძეგლი
/ref>Barjadze, Sh., Arabuli, T., Mumladze, L., Maghradze, E., Asanidze, Z., Kutalia, T
Jortsku I Cave
Cave Biodiversity of Georgia, Open Access Database. 2019 Institute of Zoology at

Ilia State University Ilia State University ISU (Georgian: ილიას სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი) was founded in 2006 as a result of a merger of six different academic institutions with long and varied histories. Currentl ...

http://cbg.iliauni.edu.ge/en/caves/show/46/dh.iliauni.edu.ge

References

Natural monuments of Georgia (country) Caves of Georgia (country) Protected areas established in 2013 Geography of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti {{Georgia-geo-stub