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ae Science
The
Transactions
o the
Briti h Cav ch A sociation
BeR
I
Volume
1
Number
June
983
I
unung Sewu
Java
Scallops
in
Norway
Peak
Speleothem
Dates
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BRITISH C VE RESE RCH
ASSOCIATION
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ISSN 0263-7
60X
CAVE SCIENCE
TRANSACTIONS OF
THE BRITISH
CAVE
RESEARCH
ASSOCIATION
Volume 10 Number 2
June 1983
CONTENTS
The
caves
of Gunung
Sewu
Java
A.C.
Waltham P.L.
Smart H.
Fr iede r ich
A.J . Eavis T.C. Atkinson 55
Mean annual runoff and the sca l lop flow regime in a
subarc t ic
environment: Prel iminary r e su l t s from
Svar t i sen
North
Norway
S-E. Lauri tzen
A.lve
B.Wilkinson
97
Speleothem da tes
and Ple is tocene Chronology in the Peak
D is t r i c t o f Derbysh i re
T.D. Ford M Gascoyne J . S . Beck
103
Cover
photo: The
70 metre sha f t
in Gua
Lebak
Bareng
by
A.C. Waltham
Publ i shed
by
and
obta inable from
The
Br i t i sh
Cave Research Associa t ion
30 Main Road
Westonzoyland
Bridgwater
Somerset
TA7 OEB
Copyright
the Br i t i sh Cave Research Assoc ia t ion 1983.
No
p a r t of t h i s
publ ica t ion
may be reproduced in any o ther
pub l i ca t ion /used in a dve r t i s i ng s to red in an
e l ec t ron i c
r e t r i e v a l
system
or otherwise
used fo r
commercial purposes except for s ingle
copies
for r esea rch
purposes wi thout the pr i o r
w r i t t e n consent
of
the authors and
o f
the Associa t ion .
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C VE SCIENCE
Trans. Brit ish Cave Research Association.
v o ~ . ~ o
no.2, pp.55-96. June 1983
TH CAVES
OF
GUNUNG SEWU , JAVA
by A. C . Waltham, P.
L.
Smart , H.
Fr iede r ich ,
A. J . Eavis T. C. Atkinson
BSTR CT
Gunung Sewu
i s an area of
spectacular
l imestone cone kars t in southern Java. Hundreds
of cave entrances are known to exist , and many of them were
explored
for
the f i r s t time in
1982. Eight
caves
have more
than
a kilometre
of
mapped
passage, and sixteen reach depths
of over 100 metres. Most of the cave streams drain to a s ingle resurgence, and some of
the caves provide
valuable
water resources.
THE
GUNUNG SEWU K RST
Gunung Sewu
l i e s ad jacen t to the south coast of cen t ra l Java (Fig .
1) .
The
l imestone h i l l s have an area
of over 1000
kID
2
and
r i s e
to
a l t i t udes of
around
500
m,
though
most
of the area
i s
a t
under
300
m.
The
name
Gunung Sewu
t r ans l a t e s
as Thousand H i l l s
and
der ives from the small l imestone
cones
which dominate the landscape.
Immediate ly
to the
nor th
l i e s
the Wonosari
Plateau; the c i ty of Yogyakarta i s 30 kID away and not fa r beyond
i s
the
ac t ive volcano of
Gunung
Merapi (Fig . 2) .
Located
j u s t
south of
the equa to r ,
Gunung Sewu
has a Warm
cl imate , sh ie lded
from extremes
by
breezes from the Indian Ocean.
Average
tempera tures a re
i nd ica ted by t ha t
of
the water in
the
caves
(27
0
C)
and there i s remarkably
littl
var i a t i on from t h i s , day
or n igh t . Ra in fa l l
i s
mainly in
the
months
of
November
to May,
and averages
around
2000
mm
per year .
The
dry seaSon var ie s
from t h r ee to seven
months,
and may
be
completely dry;
August
1982
had
c loud less sk ies th roughout . Though the cl imate may
be
i dea l
for
caving, the
dry
season
c rea tes
undue
hardship fo r the loca l populat ion.
Over
a
quar te r
o f a mil l ion people l i ve
within
the kar s t .
Small
v i l l a g e s
are s c a t t e r e d
th roughout
the
ar e
a , and
pr ac t i ca l l y
everyone i s occupied b t
farming.
Good
vOlcanic
clay
so i l s in the va l l ey f loo r s are
in tens ive ly
cu l t i va t ed while t e r rac ing on the th in so i l s of the l imestone
h i l l s
provides
fu r the r
land of
poorer q u a l i t y
. The
c r i t i c a l
r e s t r i c t i on on economic
development
i s the t o t a l l ack of
sur face
water or r ead i ly ava i l ab le ground -
water th roughout the dry
season, and consequently
the populat ion of
Sewu
are
among
the poores t in Java. They are however, hard-working and
ext remely
f r iend ly people.
The
whole area i s
eas i l y
access ib le
by a
dense network of
very rough roads almost
complete ly
devoid
of
t r a f f i c . A robus t veh ic l e i s
es s en t i a l but
few
p laces a re
more than
a ki lometre
from
a dr iveab le
t r ack .
Finding
cave
en t rances i s no
problem,
as any
loca l
person
knows
the
way
to
the neares t luwang ( s inkho le ) .
GEOLOGY
Massive
r ee f l imestones o f Miocene
age
suppor t the kars t fea tures which
d is t ingu ish Gunung
Sewu.
They have
a t o t a l th ickness of
a t l ea s t 650
m,
and
through most of the a rea dip
very
gen t ly towards the
coast , though
they are
s t ruc tu ra l ly more complex
along
t he i r nor thern margin. They are under la in
by
var ious volcanics and c l a s t i c s ,
and are
only over la in by
c lays
mainly
of
weathered
volcanic
ash or ig in which
f loo r
the va l l eys with in the kar s t .
Towards the nor th and
nor theas t
the reef l imestones
show
a t r ans i t i on
in to
chalky ,
bedded, lagoonal
l imestones
whose
l a r ges t outcrop
i s
on the Wonosari
Plateau
(Fig . 2) .
This boundary i s complex and
i n t e r d i g i t a t ed
but i s
a
major
hydro log ica l f ea tu re
with
cons iderab le in f luence on
the pa t te rn
of
cave
development
within
Gunung
Sewu.
The
chalky l imestones of the Wonosari Pla teau
are b a s i c a l l y non-cavernous ,
though
i s o l a t e d small cave passages are
known;
sur face streams from the P la t eau s ink where they meet the reef l imestones
•
.
In de ta i l ,
t he
Gunung Sewu
l imestones
show
a cons iderable
range
of
l i tho logy .
Compact,
f ine-gra ined , cream
coloured
c a l c i l u t i t e s dominate ,
bu t au tobrecc ia
s t ruc tures are
common.
Some breccias are spec tacu la r , with c r ys t a l - l i ned vugs.
Beds
of chalky
l imestone occur sporad ica l ly
through
the main l imes tone,
but
increase
in propor t ion
towards the
nor thern
fac ie s boundary where they
are
55
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o
100 Ill.
: 0 :
_ . .
,
• •
_
..
'lldian
Ocean
• v
. . . . . .
/ /
I I
Merap
l
Volcano
f,
VOGV K U
•
Kall Progo Plain
Co• • k.r .
........
le
• •
r
......
r
0
- '-
Dr
•• Ha,
\
Fi
gure
1
Kar.t
area. of
Java
lawoe
Vo l
cano
Wono.arl
Plateau
WOlloa II,
•
•
...... ......
~ I I A C ' ' ' ' ' T O I I O
~ ' ' r ~ ~ ' - '
,
~ ~ . . . . . ~ ~ ~
,
/
/
0 ,-... ,-..
.
_'
... ,...... ......
r--..
r'
f '
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commonly very
t h i n l y
bedded. Elsewhere, a
crude
and massive bedding may be
r ecogn i sab le ,
bu t
many
outcrops have an
almost s t ruc tu re l e s s appearance.
Biohermal s t ruc tu re s , wi th ree f maSses and fo re ree f b recc ia s lopes are
i den t i f i ab l e in some p laces . A
d i s t i nc t ive
fea tu re of
the Gunung
Sewu
l imes tones i s i t s content of
i so l a t ed ,
l en t i cu l a r or i r r egu la r ,
masses
of
vOl
canic ash . Indiv idual
ash pockets
may be from cent imetres
to t ens
of
metres
ac ross ,
and t would appear t ha t they
may
be dense enough
in some
of
the eas tern
areaS to
cause perching with in the
kar s t
aqu i fe r ; the c lay
matr ix
of
some
of
the
l imes tone
brecc ias
may
a l so con t r ibu te to
t h i s
e f f ec t .
In most a reas , the base
of
the
l imestone i s
not
seen
and in Cent ra l Sewu t
would
appear
to be wel l below
sea - l eve l .
SURF CE K RST
Gunung Sewu i s an
ex t remely wel l developed
cone
kar s t
(Lehmann,
193
6) .
The
landscape i s en t i r e ly
dominated
by
the
conical
l imes tone
h i l l s . There
are probably
10,000 of
them a l l
of remarkably
cons i s ten t
s i ze ,
the mean
being around 200 m in diameter and 50 m high. The l ack
of f o r e s t cover means
tha t the cones are c l ea r ly v i s i b l e and they
s t r e t ch
to the hor izons in almost
monotonous uniformi ty . The
dominant
shape
i s
a hemisphere, though some are
more s inusoida l ,
o the rs are purer cones with
uniform s lopes and only
rounded
tops , while a
few are more
i r r egu la r . Ter races , c l i f f s , overhangs and notches
occur i r r egu la r ly
and
appear to
have
no more than l oca l s igni f i cance . The so i l
cover
i s
t h i n
and
patchy
and
t he re
i s
neg l ig ib le sc ree ;
bare rock
and
var ious
kar ren forms
cons t i t u t e
most of
the
slope su r faces .
A r t i f i c i a l
t e r rac ing i s
almost ub iqu i tous , p r ese rv ing narrow s o i l s t r i p s between s teps of
bare
rock or
hand-bu i l t rubble wal l s .
The
cones are not simply r e l a t ed t o
g
eo log ica l
s t r uc t u r e
and are ce r t a in ly not s imple,
exhumed
reef-Knol ls . The only
geological inf luence i s
the
deve
lopment
o f
f l a t t e r ,
more
rounded
cones in the
cha lk ie r l imes tones
of
the fac ie s
t r ans i t i on
zone
towards
the
Wonosari
Pla teau .
Between
the cones, va
ll
eys are
f loored wi th
c lay
which may
be 10
m
deep
.
In
some cases
the re
i s
only
a low rocky col between ad jacen t cones, but
l i nea r ,
t e r r aced , c lay - f loo red depress ions
in teg ra ted i n to dendr i t i c dry val l ey
systems)
are
much
more
common. Some
of
these sys tems feed to the coas t
or
s inkholes
along
the edge
of
the Wonosari
Pla teau ;
others
te rminate in c losed basins
wi th in
the cone ka r s t , and t hese mayor may not have
conspicuous
open
s inkho les .
A r t i f i c i a l l y
dammed
l akes ,
Known
as t e l agas , are
formed
on the th icke r c lay
f l oo r s . Without
the ubiqui tous
t e r r ac i ng , sur face run-of f
would cause major
s o i l
eros ion
in
these
va l l eys .
The
propor t ion
of
con ica l
h i l l
to
va l ley f loo r
does vary , though through most of Gunung Sewu
the
l imestone h i l l s occupy two
to
three t imes the are
of
the c lay - f loo red va l leys . In some
of
the higher
cent ra l
pa r t s , the va l leys are reduced to narrow winding s t r i p s between the cones,
while in par t s
of
nor theas t Sewu and c lose to t he coas t the cones are only
i so l a t ed
h i l l s
in wider a l luv i a l
t r ac t s .
A fea tu re
o f
Gunung
Sewu
i s the
general concordance of
cone
summit
a l t i tudes ,
r i s i ng from each f lank towards the
cen t r a l
eas t-west
c re s t l i ne (Fig.
3) .
Even
the
f i ne r
de ta i l s of t h i s summit sur face
match
c l ose l
y
to
the geological
s t ruc tu re , and sugges t the
poss ib i l i t y of
development
of
the cones by d issec t ion
of an
an t ic l ina l
s t ra t imorph
.
The i n t egr a t
i on
of
the va l ley
systems
ind ica te s
the
importance of ear ly
f l uv i a l
eros ion ,
but the prec i se
or i g i n
of the cones i s
open
to
debate
con t r ibu t ions to which
were
no t
among
the ob jec t ives
of
the
1982
f i e ld
work. Never the less , the Gunung Sewu
cone ka r s t
remains a remarkably
impress ive
product
of
l imes tone eros ion .
C VE EXPLORATION
Cave ent rances
abound
in Gunung Sewu.
Foss i l
caves , commonly with profuse
s ta lagmi tes , open in to the s ides of the conical h i l l s , but
f a r
more
impor tant
are
the sinkholes
s i t e d
on the
edges of
the
val l ey f loor s
between the cones.
From almost
any point in Sewu t i s poss ib le to j u s t walk
downhil l
and
a r r i ve
a t
a s inkhole
wi th in
a ki lometre
or so . Most
ent rances
descend
s teep ly
or
ve r t i c a l ly , and
many have been
modif ied by loc a l people who have b u i l t s tone
wa
ll
s , behind which f loodwaters drop sediment, bu i ld ing up f l a t f i e ld s
r i gh t
to the
l i p
of the
ent rance
drop.
A
few ent rances have
been
blocked, but
sinkho l es
are
st ll a major component
of the Sewu
kars t .
Vil lage rs have exp l ored some
caves
in search
of
dry - season water suppl i es .
Most
hor i
zo
n t a l
ent rance have
been
explored, though
commonly
only as fa r as
the f i r s t water
and
they
appear always to have
stopped a t deep wate r .
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GUNUNG
f f i ~
J V
1 . Cone
ka r s t with an a l luv ia ted va l l ey f loo r in nor thern
Gunung
Sew
u
Waltham)
2.
Dam
around the Pule
eng
sinkh
ole on
the dge
of
the
renovated t e l
aga
Waltham)
3. Andy Eav
i s and
Sudiyono r ig
the en t rance
drop of Luwang
a lak
Bromo
58
nvaltham)
8/21/2019 BCRA 10-2-1983
9/74
V e r t i c a l drops have fo i led them through
lack
of equipment,
though
they
have
managed
some
spec tacu la r cl imbs and have used bamboo ladders for drops of up
to
about
10
metres
where
water was v i s i b l e
below. The
dominance of
s h a f t
en t rances has reduced the overa l l
impact
of these exp lo ra t ions .
Of
ea r ly
fo re ign v is i to r s
to
the area Danes was the mo s t
s i gn i f i can t .
His
enthusiasm was cons iderab le and
h is
wr i t ings 1915) descr ibe
many
of the
cave
en t r ances , but
he
nowhere explored fa r beyond day l igh t . Since then, Balazs
1968) and
many o the rs ,
including
Br i t i sh , kars t
geomorphologis ts have v i s i t ed
Gunung
Sewu, but they e i the r
ignored
o r did not
no t ice
the caves . Indonesian
cavers , from
the Specavina
na t iona l group, together with
var ious
fore ign gues ts
have v i s i t e d a
handful
of
the Sewu
caves , but have done little s y
s temat ic
exp lo ra t ion .
In summer 1982,
a f t e r a br i e f
reconnaissance
in 1981, the au thors of t h i s
paper explored
many
of the caves
as
par t of a
groundwater explora t ion pro jec t
see
below). The
pro jec t id
en t i f i ed
250 en t r ances , explored
170 of them
and
surveyed
62
of the caves with a combined surveyed l eng th of near ly
28
ki lometres .
Deta i l s of t h i s work appear in an
unpubl ished
r epor t
Waltham
e t a l 1981),
copies o f which are held in the BCRA
and
RGS l i b r a r i e s .
Only
the
major
caves
are descr ibed in t h i s paper , though
br i e f
notes on a l l known s i t e s are in the
Gunung Sewu
Luwang
Regis t e r as an appendix.
In
1982,
a
group
of Belg ian
cavers from
the Verbond
van Vlaamse
Speleologen
en Alp in i s t en led by Denis Wellens, a l so v i s i t ed
Sewu
on a f i lming pro jec t .
They made the f i r s t exp lo ra t ion and
survey
of
Luwang
Grubug.
THE CAVES
AND
CAVE HYDROLOGY
The caves o f
Gunung Sewu f a l l in to
a number of reasonably
def inable
groups.
One group comprises the fo s s i l s ta lagmite caves within individual cone h i l l s ;
these
are common,
but
are un l ike ly to be
of any cons iderab le
length ,
and
due to
t he i r low
water
resource p o te n t i a l were a l mo s t t o t a l l y
ignored
by the 1982
p r o j e c t .
A major
group
of caves l i e s along the nor thern
margin
of
Sewu where
it
borders the Wonosari Pla teau . Surface r iver s from the Plateau s ink where they
meet
the outcrop of
the
cavernous
Sewu
l imes tones ,
and
t he re i s a l so a
cons iderab le underground water input due
to southward
leakage from the
Wonosari
Pla teau
aquifer .
The r e su l t i s a
s u i t e
of ac t ive r iver caves
which
in
the
wet
seaSon must be near ly a l l
impassable or f looded to the roof , and in the dry
season
still con ta in some
s izeab le
f lows. Great
lengths
of
explorable
s t ream
passages do no t ex i s t because
near ly a l l the
known caves
descend
r ap id ly
to
a
f looded zone between 10 and 30 m above sea l eve l . Dye
t r ac ing
of the two major
r i ve r s inks has
proved a connection
over more
than 15 kID
r i gh t
beneath
the
Gunung Sewu
r idge ,
to the Baron resurgence
on the
coas t .
t i s l i ke l y t ha t a l l
of
the caves
in
t h i s group drain to Baron Fig. 4) . The flow a t the Baron
ranges
between about 6
and 30 cumecs, and
it appears
to
account for
the drainage
of a
very la rge propor t ion o f
Gunung
Sewu. The resurgence i s on the beach and behind
the
boulders of the en t rance
co l l apse
only 100
m of
r i ve r
passage i s explorable
up
to
a
deep
sump. The curved l i ne of
the major uhderground l i n k on Fig .
4 i s
based
on
the assumption t ha t the
major zone
of
cave
condui ts
con t ro l s
the
pos i t ion
of
a conspicuous groundwater
t rough
recognisable on a
contoured
water
t a b l e map. Deta i l s of
t h i s
map, its compilat ion
and i t s
impl i ca t ions ,
are
in
the main
repor t
Waltham
e t
a l , 1981) and wi l l a l so appear in a fu tu re
pub l i ca t ion by the same
au thors .
In
con t ras t to
the
l a rge
cave
passages
assoc ia t ed
with
the
major
s inks
o f
the
nor thern
margin, the cent ra l area of
Sewu
i s charac te r i sed by
s teep ly
descending
shaf t systems. They a
re
located in the va l l eys and depress ions between the
con ica l h i l l s and
mostly
have qu i te
small
catchment areas . In the dry seaSon
the en t rances a re a l l dry, but some do progressively p ick up water a t inc reased
depths; i n the wet season they are
important
ac t ive dra ins and some back up
water to the surface . Most have little hor izon ta l ex ten t before terminat ing in
e i t he r
s t a t i c pools , ac t ive
sumps
or c lay
chokes
formed of the v a s t amounts of
inwashed sur face sediment. Only
a
few reach sub-hor izonta l condui ts ,
and
these
rap id ly sump. Only one shaf t cave, Buhputih, has
been
dye t e s ted again
to
the
Baron resurgence
Fig. 4) .
t i s
l i ke l y t ha t
most dra in
d i r ec t
to Baron,
or
a l t e r na t i ve l y
northwards in to the marginal groundwater
t rough
and then to
Baron;
those
fu r the r to the southeast
probably
drain to other coas ta l
spr ings
a l l
of
which are much
smal ler than
Baron.
The
four th ,
and ra
th e r l e s s well def ined,
group
of caves comprises a number
of
more
general ly hor izon ta l
systems
in the nor th
and
e a s t
of
Gunung Sewu.
59
8/21/2019 BCRA 10-2-1983
10/74
There i s some spac ia l
over lap with ve r t i c a l
sha f t systems which a l so
occur
wi th in t h i s a rea . The
l a rge r
number of
hor izonta l
caves i s a t l e a s t
pa r t l y
due to the geology, in t ha t ash beds wi th in the l imestone increase in number
to the eas t
and
must reduce the ve r t i c a l permeab i l i t y of the aqui fe r .
Dye
t e s t s
have
def ined
the hydrology
of
the
area (F ig .
4) . The underground
Kal i
River) Brib in i s an
anomalously
l a rge ,
major
condui t a t high
l eve l with in
the
cone ka r s t . t
must
have a l a rge catchment , and th ree
cave
streams have
been
dye-t raced
to
it
F ig
.
4)
. Downstream it has
been
t raced through Ngreneng, i n t o
the marginal
groundwater
t rough and thence
to Baron. The
edge of the Baron
catchment
has
been pa r t l y
def ined
by
the
dye t r ace from the
Sodong Mudal)
cave
to
the Pracimantoro spr ing on a low l eve l p la in across a f ac ie s
boundary
comparable to t ha t
onto
the Wonosari Pla teau. There
i s
no access ible
cave
a t
Pracimantoro
i t s e l f .
The
fo l lowing
descr ipt ions
of
the
caves are
i n t en t i ona l l y
very
shor t .
They
define jus t the
charac ter
of the caves , and the . surveys provide the de t a i l s .
All
the smal ler
caves
are onl
y
r e fe r red to in the appendix
r eg i s t e r .
convent ional
nota t ion
i s used on the
cave
surveys , except fo r th ree
addi t iona l
i tems added to evaluate the water resources
which
were the
or i g i na l
purpose
of
the
surveys .
These
are :
1)
Figures
bes ide water
-
flow arrows r e fe r
to
dry
season
flows in l i t r e s / s econd
2) Figures in square boxes r e fe r
to
the
depth
in
metres
below the
en t r ance
3) Figures
in rounded
boxes re fe r
to
pool capac i t i e s in cubic metres .
STRE M
C VES
OF THE NORTHERN
M RGIN
GU SEMULUH
Length 1250 m Depth 52 m Grade 5 survey (Fig .
5) .
A
l a rge , seasona l ly
dry ,
l eve l
passage
extends
from
the
nor thern
ent rances
to the main
ent rance
jus t
a t
the
s t a r t
of a cana l which i s heavi ly used fo r
water supply . Beyond the canal , the large passage cont inues with gours and
s ta lagmi tes
and then cont
inues unsurveyed to
a
p a r t i a l
mud
blockage.
An
ent rance
in the next depress ion
to
the south drops i n t o a l a rge unexplored
passage
which
may be the cont inuat ion and
may
connect with the upstream i n l e t in Gua Br ib in .
From the
gour
passage , the Semuluh water dra ins down a smal l e r ,
younger
canyon
to
a t e rmina l sump.
LUW NG CEBLOK
Length
600 m
Depth 92
m
Grade
5
survey
(F ig .
6) .
Two
25
m
ent rance pi tches drops in to
a
roomy
passage leading to a
th i rd pi t ch .
This gives access to two l a rge sloping boulder chambers separa ted by a
spec tacula r ly
low
duck.
The lower chamber
ends
in
a
wide and deep t e ~ m i n l l ake
which
has a
w at e r f a l l
dropping s t r a igh t
in to
it from an
inaccess ible
roof passage .
The cave i s
qu i t e sho r t ,
but very var i ed and ext remely p leasan t ; it may
in
the
fu ture be used
fo r
water abs t rac t ion
from
e i t he r the
entrance or term
ina l pool .
GU
SUCI
Length 260
m
Out l ine survey
Fig .
7) .
The Kali suc i r i ve r s ink
i s
one
of
the most impressive in
Sewu, but it
does
not l i v e up to i t s
promise .
A powerful stream
flows
in a passage 5 to 10 m
high
and wide,
which connects
through
to two
l a rge co l l apse windows,
but
not 100 m
from
day l igh t
the th i rd segment
of
cave ends in
a
deep sump
pool overlooked
by
massive s ta lagmite .
The
sump
i s
however
very
shor t ,
and
connects
to
the
ha l f
Buri
Omah.
This
cave
has a
shor t t r i bu t a ry canyon dra in ing
large gent ly graded r i ve r passage
which
sumps a t both ends.
to
Luwang
Grubug, a t almost the same
l eve l .
LUW NG GRUBUG
Length 2290
m
Depth 161
m
Outl ine survey
(F ig .
7) .
ki lometre
long
Gua
i n t o about 400
m of
Downstream
it
dra ins
Grubug i s
the
f i ne s t cave yet found in
Sewu.
t was or i g i na l l y
explored ,
in
1982, by
Denis
Wellens and h i s Belgian col leagues , who are publ i sh ing t he i r own
desc r ip t ion
and survey.
The out l ine
survey
in F ig .
7 i s a compi la t ion of
the
w r i t e r s own low grade surveys with the downstream passage
s impl i f i ed
from the
Belg ians survey.
The Grubug ent rance i s a
dramat ic
64 m f ree hanging p i t c h in to the
centre
of
a chamber crossed
by
the
underground
Suci r i ve r . The narrow su r face opening
c rea te s magnif icen t v i s ua l
e f fec t s
when
sunbeams,
f i l t e r e d through overhanging
t r e e s ,
and
picked
out
by
a
t h i n
mis t ,
s t r i ke
the f loor
of
the
chamber and
slowly
60
8/21/2019 BCRA 10-2-1983
11/74
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8/21/2019 BCRA 10-2-1983
13/74
move across
it during
the
day.
Three passages
r ad ia te from
the
chamber.
A
wide,
dry, high l eve l tunnel leads to the l ~ g e Jomblang ent rance, the
eas i e s t
way in
with a
broken
40 m
p i t ch .
Upstream to the nor th
i s
over
hal f
a ki lometre of
wading or swimming
in
a wide passage. The
downstream
canyon
has
over ha l f a
cubic
metre per second
of whi te
water in an extremely spor t ing passage.
Cascades, rap ids , pools and wa terfal ls a l t e rna te as
f a r
as a terminal sump,
from
where the water
has
been
dye- tes ted to
the
Baron
resurgence.
LUW NG SEROP N
Length 650 m Depth
65
m Grade 5 survey Fig . 8) .
A
broken entrance shaf t
and a shor t canyon
passage l ead d i r ec t l y
to a length
of r iver passage . This i s mostly 8 m wide
and
a lmost
l eve l ,
character ised
by
deep
pools and low ducks
as
fa r as
sumps
both up
and downstram.
The
source
of
the
water
i s unknown, and
downstream
it
flows in to
the Bedesan cave.
LUW NG BEDES N
Length
1025
m Depth 104 m Grade 5 survey (Fig. 10) .
A
narrow,
meandering canyon
passage descends
a
s e r i e s of
pi tches and
c l imbs,
to junct ion
with
a l a rge
s t ream
passage .
Upstream
t h i s
is
wide and almost l eve l
to a
sump
a t
about
the Same l eve l as the cont inuat ion in the Seropan cave.
Downstream there i s a magnif icen t f l i gh t of la rge gours and cascades as far
as a deep,
depress ing and
very muddy terminal sump
pool ,
before which there are
severa l
t r i b u t a r
y passages .
The
t e r r aced
gour pools
make
t h i s
cave
one
of
the
more spec tacu la r
and exc i t ing
ye t found in
the S ewu area .
LUW NG SERPENG 2
Length
220
m Depth 96 m Grade 5 survey Fig. 12) .
Serpeng 2 has
the
smal l es t en t rance o f a
t r i o of holes
near
the
Serpeng
v i l l age . A 47 m s ha f t drops
in to
a la rge dry passage
which
i s unexplored
ups lope.
Downstream
a
s e r i e s of small climbs and p i t ches l ead
down a
la rge
canyon to the
edge
of
a l a rge and impressive terminal lake
which
i s a po ten t ia l
t a r ge t for
a
fu ture
abs t rac t ion borehole . A
shor t
d is tance
eas t o f
the entrance
l i e s the enormous
c r a t e r - l i k e Serpeng
1
potho le wi th
a s lop ing , crumbling 60 m
p i tch
to
a
shor t
passage and sump.
Adjacent to
th i s , a
deep
bl ind va l ley
ends
a t
the massive
en t rance
of
Gua
Serpeng
which
sumps hardly out
of
day l igh t .
GU MULO ND GU NGINGRONG
Lengths
170
and
380
m
Depth
74
m
Grade
5
survey
(Fig.
9) .
The Mulo caves are in two
par t s .
Valleys from the nor th end
a t
Gua Mulo
which
has
a
low,
wide, l eve l passage
through to an ex i t
in to a
la rge b l ind
depression ,
par t l y r inged
by
rocky
c l i f f s , ind ica t ive
of
some
co l l apse in
i t s
or ig in .
Another
va l l e
y
system
en te r s it from the
south , and in
i t s
eas t wal l
i s the t a l l arch ent rance to Gua Ngingrong. The l a rge and .impressive passage
l eads
to a
s e r i e s of
p i t ches each i n to a deep pool , and then in to a l a rge
chao t i c chamber
and
a t e rmina l sump complex a spec tacu la r piece of cave but
again one which does not l i ve up to the sca le
of i t s
ent rance.
GU SUMURUP
Length 1435 m Depth 58 m Grade 5 survey
(Fig. 11) .
With
i t s en t rance
in
the dry gorge
j u s t
beyond the sumped
r iver
s ink of the
Kal i Tegoan, Gua
Sumurup
su rp r i s ing ly and
unfor tunate ly
does not lead back in to
the
underground r i ve r . I t s impressive entrance passage leads
to
a 24 m
p i tch
in to
a
deep
lake ,
beyond
which
l i e s
a
spacious
chamber.
But
the
fu r the r
passages
are j u s t roomy l eve l tunnels with abundant mud
from
t he i r annual complete
f looding, and they a l l end in
murky
sumps.
The
main
r iver
s ink
has
been
dye- t es t ed
to the Baron r
esurge
nce.
POTHOLES OF THE
CENTR L
RE
LUW NG BLEKON NG
Depth 134 m Grade 5 survey
Fig.
15) .
A
success ion of
dry
sha f t s provide
a
s t eep descen t
in
an ever diminishing
passage to a depth
of
134 m.
Beyond t ha t
point a narrow
ri t
cont inues .
LUW NG
BUHPUTIH
Length
850
m
Depth 200
m Grade 5 survey (Fi g . 14) .
A
s e r i e s
of cl imbs ,
rope
pi tches
and r i f t s drops
in to a
l a rge dry
canyon
which
cont inues
to the
head
of
a
p i tch .
From
tha t
point
the
cave
sp i ra l s
down
63
8/21/2019 BCRA 10-2-1983
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©
GUNUNG
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JAVA
1982
SITE 104 G.R.
574124
OE
AREA MAP
0L
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-100
-100
LUW ANG
GOPLAK
LUWA'NG KENTENG
LUWANG JOMBLANG
SITE 3 GR
538068
SITE 9 GR
621004
@ GUNUNG SEWU CAVE SURVEY JAVA 1982
o
Figure 17
LUW
NG
NGIR
N
©
GUNUNG SEWU CAVE SURVEY JAVA, 1982
N
SITE
171 G.R. 638058
.J
1
~ ~ v
~ ~
o
11
Met,
L
Sump
P8
FLOOR DETAIL
OFFSET
Ooure and
pool.
74
SITE 10 GR
613032
ao ,et,.,
EXTENDED SECTIONS
(
·
T,e
r L dge
}
P90
I
I
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EXTENDED SECTION
Figure 18
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-100
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beneath
i t s e l f
for more
than
130 m A
t r i o
of
spacious
sha f t s leads to a smal l
s t ~ e m w y which con ta ins a f ine success ion of gaur pools , s teepening in to
climbs
and p i t ches
and two
deeper sha f t s . Various i n l e t s
combine to
give a
subs tan t ia l
f low down
the
gent ly
graded
lower
streamway, which has ex tens ive
f lowstone
deposi t s and
a se r i e s
of long
pools
some of which have minimal
a i r space , before the terminal sump. Buhputih i s the deepest
cave
ye t explored
in Sewu,
and
i t s f ine
sha f t s and
lower streamway combine to make
it
an
exce l len t
system. There
i s
the
poss i b i l i t y
of upstream
ex tension
from
the
foot
of
the main
sha f t s .
LUW NG D REN
Length
240 m Depth 122 m
Grade
3 survey Fig. 13) .
An impressive f ree-hanging 65 m entrance
p i tch
i s fol lowed by another p i tch
in
the
same
sha f t ,
and then
a
passage broken by shor t cl imbs which
sp i r a l s
round
beneath the en t rance chamber. This ends a t a
drop
overlooking a noisy
streamway, and two
a l t e r na t i ve descen ts ]
ead to upstream and
downstream
sec t ions
ne i the r
of which
can be
fol lowed f a r .
LUW NG G NDEK
Depth 138 m Gr a de 3 survey Fig. 16) .
Two f ine
sha f t s
each
about 70
m deep
drop to
a very low bedding plane
passage which cont inues h a l f fu l l
of water .
LUW NG GOPL R
Depth 85 m
Grade
3 survey Fig. 17) .
An
impress ively la rge opening has
completely
overhanging
wal l s
in
a
superb
bel l shaf t with a minimum drop of
70
m This
lands
on a s loping boulder
f loo r
and
t he re i s no wayan .
LUW NG J L K BROMO
Depth
105 m Gra
de
3
survey
Fig. 16) .
A
sp i r a l l i ng success ion of
shor t
p i t ches leads to
a
much
l a rge r shaf t
over
40 m deep, from the foot of
which
a climb
descends to
the edge of a
~ u r t h e r
undescended
dry sha f t of
unknown
depth .
LUW NG
JERO
Depth 151
m
Grade
3
survey
Fig.
20).
A
f ine
descen t o f 78 m
in
a
la rge
entrance
sha f t
leads
to
a
shor t
dry
descending passage
ending a t
a
second p i tch . This immediate ly be l l s
out
in to
a f ree
hanging drop
down
the
cen t r e of a chamber, the f loo r of
which
s lopes
down
boulders a t
one
end to
a t e rmina l
sump pool.
LUW NG
JOMBL NG 10)
Depth 95
m
Grade
3 survey Fig. 17) .
A s ing le cyl indr i ca l s h a f t drops v ia a 93 m
p i tch
to an impassable f loo r
of
mud and boulders .
LUW NG JOMBL NG
· 1
75)
Depth
106 m
Grade
3
survey Fig.
23).
A spec tacu la r
77
m en t rance sha f t has a
s ing le
ou t l e t which r ap id ly diminishes
in
s i ze .
This has another
p i tch
and a
small
canyon which cont inues to
the
top
of
an undescended drop
of
20
m; ·
t h i s
en te r s a
la rge chamber which
appears
to
cont inue
as
a s i
zeable
passage.
LUW NG K R NG
Length 325 m Depth 94 m Grade 3 survey Fig . 19) .
An
entrance p i t c h
of
44
m
drops to the head
of a
meandering canyon with
a
phrea t ic
roof tube in
i t s
f i r s t
sec t ion .
Shor t cl imbs break the s teady descen t
to where mud shows the l eve l o f annual f looding, 10 m above the normal
sump
leveL
LUW NG
KENTENG
Depth 72
m
Grade
3
survey
Fig .
17) .
A
s teep ly
descending dry
canyon has
a se r i e s of
pi tches
fol lowed down 72 m
to
the l i p of an
undescended
20 m p i tch beyond which the passage appears to
cont inue as a narrow rift
GU
LEB R
B RENG
Length
470
m
Depth
166
m
Grade
5
survey
Fig.
22).
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A l a rge and i n v i t i n g entrance y ie lds an easy
wa lk in
g pas s
age
which barely
descends
. This
ends
a t
the top
of a
spectacular sha f t system which drops 140
m
with unbroken ve r t i ca l wal l s .
At i t s
foot
i s
a
deep
pool
under
a showerbath,
and an
ou t l e t
streamway which, though p leasan t and decora ted , ends prematurely
in a deep c lear
sump
pool . Even
though
of no grea t
length ,
Lebak Bareng
provides
some
exc i t ing ve r t i ca l caving .
LUW NG
NGEPOH
Depth 182 m Grade 3 survey Fig. 21).
An unassuming entrance
climb
and a
low,
wide boulder -s t rewn chamber lead
to
the top
of
a
f ine
dry, broken
shaf t over
60 m
deep
.
At i t s foot
a small
opening reveals
the blackness
of another
s ha f t , the
b e s t pa r t
of 100 m
deep
which i s charac te r i sed by a ra in
of
dr ipping water .
The
67 m p i tch ends on what
appears
to be
a
f loo r
but
i s in f a c t
a number of
very l a rge ,
loose
s l abs
of
dubious
s t a b i l i t y . From the foot of the next
p i tch
a
few
metres of canyon
ends
a t an undesended
20 m
p i t c h where there
appea r s
to be
a
way on below. It
i s
l i ke l y
t h a t with very little e f f o r t , Ngepoh could become the deepest
cave
in
Sewu
.
LUW NG NGIR T N
Length 325 m Depth 168 m Grade 5 survey Fig. 18) .
A
broken
en t rance
drop i s
fol lowed
by
a to r tuous
and cons t r ic ted
passage
to
the
head
of a
106
m
s ha f t .
This
i s
a magnif icen t
ve r t i ca l
fea tu re ,
draped
in
s t a l a c t i t e s and
f loored
by
a
deep pool .
The
cont inuing
passage
f ea tu res
s ta lagmi tes ,
f lowstone gours and pools but
unfor tunate ly ends in
a su mp a f t e r
little
fu r the r
descent .
LUW NG
PUNIRAN
Depth
100
m Grade 3 survey Fig. 23).
A s t a i r cas e
of f ive p i tches
f l
oors
a
s t eep ly descending canyon
. A
fu r the r
climb ends a t the l i p of a n
undescended
20 m
p i tch in to
a
pool
which appears
t ha t it may
be
a
sump.
LUW NG
SE
TRO
Length
250 m
Depth
140 m
Grade
3 survey Fig . 24) .
A l a rge high
canyon
passage has a ser i es of shor t drops fol lowed by
two
deeper p i t ches and a f ina l s t a i r cas e
in to
a terminal
sump
pool .
LUW NG TONG POCOT
Length 900
m
Depth 142
m
Grade
5 survey
Fig. 25)
.
The
roomy
en t rance shaf t
soon narrows in to
a fo s s i l rift so t ha t
the only
way
on i s in a small youthful overflow passage .
This
has a success ion of nine
shor t
drops ,
in te r spe rsed with an
i n t e r e s t i ng
swim and
a
pa i r
of thought -
provoking squeezes , before opening out in to a hor izon ta l ga l le ry . This contains
a s e r i e s o f long pools , and
has plenty
of length
though unfor tunate ly
a g
eneral
shor tage of s tand ing he igh t . A pa i r of w a te r f a l l s provide i n t e r e s t near to the
halfway
po in t
to
the terminal sump. The combination of
sha f t s
and s t ream
cave
make
Tong Pocot a f ine system, but
the
r e s t r i c t ed passage
s izes make
it
more
memorable
for
i t s spor t ing cha l l e
nge than for
i t s grandeur .
C VES OF THE NORTHE S TERN RE S
GU
BRIBI
N
Length
3900 m
Depth 33
m G
rade
5 survey Fig . 26).
n un insp i r ing en t rance passage
b la
c kened by the soot from para f f in torches
eOnds
a t
a
T- junct ion
with a
major
r iver ga l le
r y .
The cave r iver i s
dammed by a
subs tant i a l
masonry
s t r uc t u r e with overf low channels , and
la rge pumps
feed a
p ipe l ine to
a water d i s t r i bu t i on scheme for the surrounding v i
ll
ages . upstream
of the
dam
the cave i s
occupied
by
a l
ake one ki lometre long
most of which
i s
deep and so r equ i r es
a
monumental amount
of swimming. Beyond
the lake
a shor t
sec t ion of
r i ve r passage
ends in an upstream sump which has been proved to
dra in
a wide catchment area towards the
eas t .
A la rge dry t r ibutary passage has
been
fol lowed
for
500
m
in
a
nor the r ly d i rec t ion ; it cont inues
unexplored an d may
r e l a t e t o the fo s s i l
passage
in Gua Semuluh.
Downstream of the dam l i e s a ki lometre of gen t ly descending and very f ine
r iver cave. Foaming r ap i d s and deep, smooth, fast-movin g water a l t e r na t e with
canals and l akes bordered by a v a r i e ty of sh ing le beaches and
rocky
t e r r aces .
The
mostly
b lack
wallS
are
broken
by
jus t
patches
of
white
s t a l a c t i t e s and
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GUNUNG SEWU JAVA
7 . Main s t ream passage in Gua
Sodong a t
Mudal
8
ater fa l l
i n l e t
in Luwang
Ceblok
Waltham)
Eavis)
9. The
6
metre
sha f t in Gua Lebak Bareng
Eavi
s)
10.
Upper passage in
Gua
Ng i
n
grong Waltham)
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f lowstones. A s ing le
muddy
i n l e t passage i s
not
completely explored but
probably
connects to Luwang
Sindon.
Below the
i n l e t junct ion a f ina l
f a s t
s lu i c e takes the r iver i n to i t s terminal lake over 300 m long,
much
of which
i s deep enough to requi re swimming. Beyond the
sump
the water i s next seen
in
the
f looded rift of the Gua Ngreneng co l l apse ,
where
the main conduit i s
f r us t r a t i ng l y
i naccess ib le ; and
from
t he re
it has
been dye- t raced to the Baron
resurgence
. The
Bribin
i s a f ine piece of r iver
cave
wel l
worth
a
v i s i t ; l i f e
jackets
are
es s en t i a l
for
i t s
explora t ion together
with
some
f l oa t
rope
for
the
downstream
sec t ion
.
GU
GILAP
Length 1090 m Depth 71 m
Grade
5 survey (Fig . 27).
A
la rge col lapse
do l ine
has
a
massive, arched entrance in
one
wal l
. A
th in
path snakes down a long boulder s lope wel l
in to
the darkness zone, r ight down
to
the
cave
s t ream.
The
pa th i s
heav i ly
used by vi l l ager s who depend on the
cave stream for t he i r
so le dry
seaSon water
supply . Two f a i l ed pump
schemes
remain
in the cave, though
be t t e r
engineer ing should one day lift the water a t
l e a s t
to
the
dayl ight
area and
Save
the v i l l age r s scrambling
in to
the darkness.
Downstream the
cave sumps in
the boulders of the co l l apse ,
though
a higher level
route
leads to
an undescended p i t ch
which
may provide
the way on.
Upstream the passage is open and
shor t ly
leads to a l a rge chamber with a
f loor
of mud
and col lapse
debr i s bu t a roof
still in t a c t .
Beyond t h i s ,
the streamway
cont inues
as
a
splendid
keyhole
ga l le ry
with a
meandering
canyon
cut in
the
f loor
of a tube
over
5 m
,in
diameter . The
water f lows
through an endless success ion
of
gour
pools f loored wi th crunchy, c r ys t a l l i ne c a l c i t e , and most of the
keyhole
ledges
are
decorated
wi th whi te
s ta lagmites
. The
upstream sump
i s
created where
the roof plunges
in to
a pool ponded behind a gour-covered
zone
of
col lapse
debr i s .
Upstream
of
i t s chamber, the Gilap
cave
i s one
of
the bes t decorated in Sewu and
provides
easy
and most en joyable caving.
GU
SODONG
D