No 1 Cave of Róka-hegyi tunnel

The Róka-hegy Reservoir No. 1 cave is one of the caves located in the Budai Landscape Protection Zone of the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in District III of Budapest.

Description

In one of the already abandoned stone quarries of Róka-hegy, the southeasternmost mountain of the Pilis range, on a nature‑protected area at the base of a rock wall, there is an artificial reservoir closed with a metal grate, through which the cave entrance opens. The quarry is on the DK side of the reservoir. Therefore, the cave entrance can be reached only by squeezing through the openings of the metal grate, and this can be done only by slender‑bodied persons.

The horizontal cave’s entrance, oriented along the horizontal axis, is at the reservoir floor level, opposite the Róka-hegy Reservoir No. 3 cave, on the left side. The Róka-hegy Reservoir No. 1 cave was formed in Triassic limestone by solution in water. Slightly eroded pea‑sized stones can be observed in it. To visit the cave without a permit, basic caving equipment is required.

According to the cave map, the cave’s other name is Reservoir No. 1 cave (Sásdi 1997).

Research history

The cave was revealed as a result of stone mining. The Budapest Lexicon, which saw the light of day in 1973, mentions that from the depressions of quarries operating or abandoned on the top and sides of Róka-hegy, two small (water‑origin) pits and several small artificial cavities open. The cave’s name does not appear in the national cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984.

The cave was surveyed on 22 March 1997 by László Sásdi and Richárd Kovács, after which László Sásdi prepared the plan map and the cross‑section map of the cave based on the survey. The plan map shows the location of the cross‑section within the cave. At that time a longitudinal section map was also made, showing both the Cave of the First Chamber of Róka‑hegyi Spring and the Cave of the Third Chamber of Ráka‑hegyi Spring together. On the plan maps of the Cave of the First Chamber of Róka‑hegyi Spring and the Cave of the Third Chamber of Róka‑hegyi Spring the position of this longitudinal section can be seen in the two caves. The Cave of the First Chamber of Róka‑hegyi Spring is presented on three maps at a scale of 1:100.