Optimisticeskaja
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Optimisticeskaja (Ukrainian: печера Оптимістична; meaning "optimistic") is a gypsum cave in the Ternopil district of Ukraine. As of 2005, it has 230 km of mapped passageways, which makes it the second longest cave in the world, after the Mammoth Cave System (by some other sources it is referred as having about 133 miles (214 kilometers) of surveyed passageways, that makes it the third-longest cave in the world, after Mammoth Cave and Jewel Cave).
The entire cave lies under a 2-kilometer square area in a layer of Upper Tertiary gypsum that is less than 20 meters thick. The passages tend to be low and often choked with mud. They comprise a dense network on several levels, making Optimisticeskaja what is known as a "maze cave."
The cave was first explored in 1965. There have been more than 50 expeditions since then, but exploration has slowed significantly in recent years, and very little surveying is currently being done. The cave is located very close to Ozernaja, the eleventh-longest cave in the world at 75 miles (122 kilometers), but the two caves have not yet been found to be connected.
Sources
- [Description of a 1990 trip to Optimisticeskaja by British cavers]
- [Table of cave lengths]
- [The Fund of Support Scientific and Creative Initiatives]
External links
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