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Non-karstic Caves of the Bakony Mountains

The 4000km² Bakony Mountains form the most extensive region of the Trans-Danubien Mountains between Lake Balaton and Marcal River.  They have a typical medium relief, which includes plateaus at various elevations, denudated fault blocks interspersed with itermontane basins.  In the southern and western areas of the mountains basalt cones and basaltic sheets are frequently found.  In the central area the variously sloping landscape is inclined towards the blocks.

 

The geological formation reveals many differing aspects.  Various calcareous, quartziferous and organogenic sediments as well as volcanic rock formations occur from the Paleozoic to the Holocene.  Predominant constituents are limstones and dolomites with extensive karst regions and numerous karst caves.  Of course, from the point of view of the non-karstic caves these regions are insignificant.

 

Significantly smaller is the occurence of quartziferous (sandstone and conglomerate) and basalt rocks , however 185 non-karstic cave are known in these rocks, and in addition, 20 artificial cavities, considered as caves, are listed.

 

Most of the 82 non-karstic caves have been developed in basalt.  Non-karstic caves can be found in most of the basalt hills such as "Badacsony", Mount Kovácsi, and Mount Szent György.

 

Forty-one caves are listed in the geyserite of the Tihanyi Peninsula.  Thirty-five non-karstic caves appear in the Miocene calcareous conglomerate of South Bakony and 13 caves are known in the Pannonian quartziferous sandstone of the Kali Basin.  Furthermore 13 caves have developed in basaltic tuff and one in loess.  The artificial cavities were generally dug in basaltic tuff (Tihany) and in Pannonian fine sandy clay (Balatonkenese).

 

Some of the non-karstic caves have a syngenetic origin, for example the gas bubble cavities in Szigliget and the cavities in Tihany, have been formed by gaseous explosion.  In the overwhelming majority of cases the non-karstic caves have been developed by postgenetic processes.  Typically, the caves have formed along the movement of fault lines.  The "Pokol - lik" in Kapolcs and the Remete Cave in Zalaszántó are fissure caves, which were formed at the same time as the outcroping rim of the rock formation.  In contrast the fissure cave of  "Tátika" has developed perpendicular to the rim of  the outcrop.  The basalt cave in Pula and the caves between the basalt columns of "Badacsony and Mount Szent György are the result of rock fragmentation.  Forty caves on the Tihanyi Peninsula have been developed in geyserite as a result of  alkaline solution.

 

In the talus deposits of the basalt cones, typical atectonic pseudocaves such as the "Vadlán-lik" in Mount Kovácsi or the Sárkány Ice Caves in Mount Szent György are to be found. In the Tihanyi Peninsula near the Kis-erdő-tetői Rock Shelter not cave size tafoni are to be found in the basaltic tuff.

 

In the Bakony Mountains the following non-karstic caves are longer than 10 m:

 

 

1.	Pulai Basalt Cave	Basalt	Pula	151	/-22 m
2. 3.	Halász Árpád Cave Panka Shaft Cave	Basalt Basalt	Nagyvázsony Badacsonytomaj	72 58	/-6 m /-18 m
4.	"Pokol-lik"	Basalt	Kapolcs	51	/+3 m
5.	Remete Cave	Basalt	Zalaszántó	39	/20 m
6.	1. Sárkány Ice Cave	Basalt	Tapolca	32	/-10 m
7.	"Halápi-bazaltlyuk"	Basalt	Zalahaláp	appr. -30 m
8.	Araszoló Cave	Basalt	Raposka	26	/-10 m
9.	"Vadlány-lik"	Basalt	Nagygörbő	24	/-4 m
10.	Gödrösi Explosion Cave	Basalt tuff	Tihany	16	/-6 m
11.	Ternye Cave	Basalt	Badacsonytomaj	14	/+5 m
12.	Forrás Cave	Geyserite	Tihany	14	/+2 m
13.	"Kőkamra"	Basalt	Nagygörbő	12	/+4 m
14 15.	Orgonabillentyű Cave Pulai Basalt Tuff  Cave	Basalt Basalt tuff	Badacsonytomaj Pula	11 10	0 m /+2 m
16.	Fehér-parti 1. Cave	Geyserite	Tihany	10	/+1 m

 

Most of the non-karstic caves can be found at Tihany (45 caves), at Badacsonytomaj  (31 caves) and at Nagygörbő (11 caves).  The total length of the known natural non-karstic caves is 1181 m and the listed 20 artificial cavities total 84 m.

 

 

  

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