Vrtiglavica, also Vrtoglavica (both from Slovene ''vrtoglavica'' 'vertigo'), is a

karst 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 ...

shaft on the

Kanin Plateau Kanin may refer to: Geography *Kanin Peninsula, in northwestern Russia *Kanin (mountain), a mountain on the border of Slovenia and Italy *Kanin, Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village in Poland *Kanin, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village in Poland P ...

, part of the

Kanin Mountains 280px, Big Mount Kanin The Kanin Mountains or the Canin Mountains (Resian: ''Ćanen'', fur, Mont Cjanine), mostly simply Kanin or Canin, are a mountain range in the Western Julian Alps, on the border of Slovenia and Italy. Their highest summi ...

, Western Julian Alps, on the Slovene side of the border between

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It has the deepest known single vertical drop in the world, at .http://www.caverbob.com/pit.htm The cave formed in a

glaciokarst Glaciokarst is a karst landscape that was glaciated during the cold periods of the Pleistocene and displays major landforms of glacial influence. Examples of glaciokarst landscapes are found in the United Kingdom and in the Dinaric Alps especiall ...

landscape; that is, a

landscape that was subjected to Pleistocene glacial activity. The total depth of the cave is . It contains one of the tallest cave waterfalls in the world; the estimated height of the falls is . It was discovered in the summer of 1996 by Italian speleologists and the bottom was reached on October 12, 1996, by a joint Slovene–Italian expedition.

References

Caves of the Slovene Littoral Julian Alps Karst caves Subterranean waterfalls {{caving-stub