List of caves in Kyrgyzstan

A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, ^{[1] [2]} specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word cave can also refer to much smaller openings such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos, though strictly speaking a cave is exogene, meaning it is deeper than its opening is wide, ^[3] and a rock shelter is endogene. ^[4]

List of Caves in Kyrgyzstan

Name	Location	Notes
Azhiadar-Unkur	Nookat District	Azhiadar-Unkur or Ajidaar-Unkyur is a cave near the Dangi Canyon in Aravan, Kyrgyzstan. It consists of a large tunnel which goes more than 120 metres into the limestone mountain and is notable for the fact that it is home to Kyrgyzstan’s only colony of bats. [5] The bat colony consists of Lesser Mouse-Eared Bats and Greater Horseshoe Bats. [6]
Chil-Ustun	Aravan District	Chil-Ustun Cave is located in the Southwest of Kyrgyzstan in the Osh Mountains, 3.5 km from Aravan. The entrance to the cave forms a 15 meter tall and approximately 25 meter wide arc. The cave is 380 meters long. [7] It is located in a rock formation at 1100 meters above sea level. The entrance is located on a steep, oblique rock face. The cave's existence has been known since ancient times as attested by Arabic inscriptions on the walls.
Kan-i-Gut	Batken District	Kan-i-Gut (or Kanigut or Kani-Gut, "mine-of-loss") cave is a geological protected area (nature monument) located at north slopes of Turkestan Range in Batken Region of Kyrgyzstan. The cave consists of 18 large caverns, deep cavities, narrow passageways and tunnels. It is 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) long and 100 metres (330 ft) deep. From the 6th to the 11th century the cave served as a lead and iron mine.
Surprise cave	Aravan	The 450-metre-long Surprise cave is on the right side of the Dangi Canyon in Aravan, Kyrgyzstan. A small round opening in the wall of the canyon leads to an underground gallery decorated with crystals and stalactites.
Victorious cave	Aravan	The Victorious cave near the Dangi Canyon in Aravan, Kyrgyzstan. The Victorious cave is 1,200 m (3,900 ft) long and lies further to the east along the northern slope of Hoschan Mountain. The crevice at the watershed of the range leads to a maze of underground passages and cavities created by the rising flow of thermal springs.

References

1. Whitney, W. D. (1889). "Cave, n.1." def. 1. The Century dictionary: An encyclopedic lexicon of the English language (Vol. 1, p. 871). New York: The Century Co.
2. "Cave" Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009
3. Moratto, Michael J. (2014). California Archaeology. Academic Press. p. 304. ISBN   9781483277356.
4. Lowe, J. John; Walker, Michael J. C. (2014). Reconstructing Quaternary Environments. Routledge. pp. 141–42. ISBN   9781317753711.
5. "Caves - Kyrgyzstan". www.kyrgyzjer.com.
6. Ошская область: Энциклопедия[Osh Oblast Encyclopedia] (in Russian). Frunze: Chief Editorial Board of Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia. 1994. p. 445.
7. "Chil-Ustun Cave". Centralasia-adventures.com. 1990-01-01. Retrieved 2014-06-07.