| Ayvaini Cave | |
|---|---|
| Ayvaini Mağarası | |
  Location of Ayvaini Cave in Turkey | |
| Location | Bursa, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 40°07′35″N28°42′25″E / 40.12639°N 28.70694°E Coordinates: 40°07′35″N28°42′25″E / 40.12639°N 28.70694°E |
| Length | 5.5 km (3.4 mi) |
| Discovery | 1970 |
| Entrances | 2 |
| List of entrances | Ayvaköy and Doğanalanı |
| Show cave opened | 2008 |
Ayvaini Cave is a show cave situated southeast of Lake Uluabat at the district border between Mustafakemalpaşa and Nilüfer in Bursa, Turkey. The cave has two entrances, one in the village Ayvaköy and the other between the villages Doğanalan and Kazanpınar. [1] [2] [3] It is named after the nearby village Ayvaköy. [4]
A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits.
Lake Uluabat is the name of a freshwater lake in the vicinity of Bursa, Turkey. It is a large lake, covering an area of between 135 and 160 km2 depending on the water level, but very shallow, being only 3 m deep at its deepest point. The lake contains eight islands and one other that is sometimes an island and sometimes a peninsula. The largest island is known as Halilbey Island. In the southwest the lake is fed by the Mustafakemalpaşa River, which has formed a silty delta. Water leaves the lake by way of the Ulubat stream, flowing to the west, and reaches the Sea of Marmara via the Susurluk River.
Mustafakemalpaşa is a town and district in Bursa Province, in the Marmara region of Turkey.
It is possible to enter the cave at one entrance and leave it from the other. Generally, the cave is entered through its upper entrance in Doğanalanı, where it starts with a 17 m (56 ft) descent. [4] The otherwise horizontally developed cave has a length of 5.5 km (3.4 mi), [5] which makes it the longest in southern Marmara Region and the sixth longest in Turkey. [3] The Mesozoic era-constituted cave features dripstone formations such as stalagmites, stalactites, pillars, wall and drapery dripstones, leakage stones, and around 60 pools and ponds of size 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft). [1] At the exit, the cave features a 400 m (1,300 ft)-long lake. The water level of the ponds and the lake varies depending on seasonal effects. [3]
The Marmara Region is a geographical region of Turkey.
A stalagmite 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 may be composed of lava, minerals, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter and amberat.
A stalactite is a type of formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or manmade structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble, can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension, or is capable of being melted, may form a stalactite. Stalactites may be composed of lava, minerals, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter, and amberat. A stalactite is not necessarily a speleothem, though speleothems are the most common form of stalactite because of the abundance of limestone caves.
The cave was discovered by a team of three Spanish people in 1970. [3] Ayvaini Cave is open to public since 2008. [4]
