Kő-lik-völgyi No 6 Cave

The Kő-lik-völgy 6th chamber is a cave located in the Vértes Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Csákvár. The chamber formed in Triassic dolomite breccia.

Description

The cave is situated in the outskirts of Csákvár, in a specially protected area, within a forest. Its entrance is on the eastern side of the Kő-lik valley, in a limestone wall, about 10 m north of the Kő-lik, which is easily visible from a distance. The Kő-lik-völgy 6th chamber can be reached most simply via the educational trail that runs through the Kő-lik valley. The trail leads near the entrance of the Kő-lik. From there, after the huge collapse that occurred in the summer of 2002–2003, one can ascend a debris pile to approach the rock wall hiding the cave entrance, and then climb up a steep, gorge‑like cut to reach the cave entrance. The cave entrance is 3.5 m wide, 1.6 m high, of natural origin, irregular in shape and oriented horizontally.

The two‑part cave in the dolomite breccia was created along a tectonic fracture due to dissolution below the karst water level. The lower rock‑like entrance of the chamber is located on a small terrace. By passing over a small stepped area inside the cave, one can reach the upper chamber, which is also spacious and comfortably walkable without equipment. From there a wide opening leads to the opposite side of the rock wall. Because of regular fires, the cave walls are very blackened with soot. Among the formations that have developed in the cave, the tiny pea‑size stones deserve mention. The floor is covered with soil and stone debris. No permission or lamp is required to visit the cave, which is difficult to approach (steep terrain) but can be walked in ordinary street clothing.

In 2003 the cave was first called Kő-lik-völgyi 6. sz. üreg in the literature. The cave appears in the literature under the names Csákvári-sziklaodu (Horváth 1966), Csákvári sziklaodu (Horváth 1966), Csákvári-sziklaodú (Kordos 1984), Csákvári-sziklaüreg (Horváth 1966), Kőlik-völgyi 6. sz. barlang (Kordos 1984), Kő-lik-völgyi-barlang (Bertalan 1976), Kőlik-völgyi-barlang (Kordos 1984) and Kő-lik-völgyi–barlang (Kocsis 1975). The Csákvár 19.sz. barlang name (Kordos 1979) is also probably the name of this cave.

Research history

The Supplement No. 230 of the Scientific Journal of 1943 states that based on the 1935 IV. part concerning nature protection, since the establishment of the National Nature Conservation Council in 1939, the Minister of Agriculture, in agreement with the Minister of Religion and Public Education, made decisions on the basis of the National Nature Conservation Council's proposals, under which, for example, the Csákvár area (Vértes Mountains) containing the Csákvári rock cavity and its surface area of 4 square roods was placed under legal protection (by the FM decision No. 49.952/1941 dated June 20, 1941).

In a manuscript written by János Horváth (FTC speleology group) on 17 May 1966 there is mention that in the Vértes Mountains, in Csákvár (Fejér County, Bicske district), the Csákvár rock cave is located in the Kő-lik valley. The cave lies 2.2 km north of the Csákvár church, 500 m north of the large cemetery, at an altitude of 250 m above sea level (measured from the map). The cavity is in a rock wall on the east side of the middle of the Kő-lik valley. It can be reached by train or bus to Csákvár and then on foot along the cemetery, Kő-lik valley route. The cave was previously explored (c. 1926–1928) by Ottó Kadić. (The used literature is cave‑cadastral sheet No. 81 held by the Hungarian Speleological Society.) The research carried out by János Horváth in the cave was done as a supplement to the cave survey made in 1928. The research was initiated by Károly Bertalan.

The cave is a senile rock cavity whose enclosing rock is Triassic dolomite. Its fill consists of some rock debris and clay. There is no stalactite formation inside. The cave, formed by tectonics, corrosion and erosion, has two entrances and one niche. No work clothing is required to enter the rock cavity suitable for bivouac. The actual length of the cave is 6 m. The greatest vertical extent measured from the entrance is 4 m. It has a floor area of 11 m² (planimetric) and a volume of 13 m³. János Horváth was in the cavity on 4 April 1966. (The red entries in the manuscript are from Károly Bertalan, 11 March 1966.)

On the southern edge of Csákvár, a few gorge-like valleys descend toward the settlement from the steeply rising Haraszt Hill. The Kő-lik Valley, whose caves are on the eastern side, can be reached via the Gánt road and then the footpath leading east‑northeast beside the cemetery. Only a narrow rock fissure separates the Kő-lik from cave No 3 (Csákvár rock cavity, Csákvár rock chamber). This small cave consists of a single chamber located above the narrow entrance of the cave. The chamber is about 4.5 m wide and 2.5 m high. On the eastern side of the cave there is another entrance, which is comfortably passable from the rock‑wall plateau. The FTC speleology group, during its cave‑mapping work on 4 April 1966, supplemented the cave survey carried out by Ottokár Kadić with cross‑section maps.

A map of Csákvár is attached to the manuscript. The map indicates the eastward direction. The geographic location of the Kő-lik Valley cave No 6 (cave No 3) can be seen on the map. The terrain report includes the floor‑plan map of the Csákvár rock chamber, its longitudinal section map and three cross‑section maps. The maps depict the cave at a scale of 1 : 100. The floor‑plan map shows the eastward direction marked on the map sheet. The location of the three cross‑sections in the cave can be observed on the floor‑plan map and the longitudinal section map. The maps were drawn based on the cave survey performed by Ottokár Kadić and the data added by the FTC speleology group.