Golubinsky Proval is the most famous and visited cave in the
Arkhangelsk region. Until the middle of the 20th century, few people
knew about it, and it was not mentioned in the literature. For the
first time the cave was examined by Leningrad cavers in August 1967.
The Golubinsky Proval cave is located on the right bank of the
Pinega River, on the territory of the Golubinsky geological reserve,
about 17 kilometers below the Pinega village. Its length is 1622
meters, area - 5267 square meters, volume - 8255 cubic meters,
amplitude - 17 meters. The entrance to the cave is located at the
mouth of the Tarakanya Shchelya ravine. There is a small platform
from which you can see the picturesque rocky walls of the log, and
from it a steep descent into the cave, equipped with a wooden
staircase, begins. The roof of the cave is located at a depth of 17
to 37 meters from the surface. There are 3 tiers of passages in the
cave, which reflect the stages of its development.
Golubinsky
Proval begins with a vast entrance grotto (hall) about 9 meters high
and 15x20 meters in size. The vault descends in steps into the
depths of the cave. There is a blocky talus on the floor. From this
grotto into the depths of the cave there are several passages. The
cave in this area is frozen to such an extent that after the spring
flood passes, the water is again covered with ice, and snow crystals
appear on the walls.
The Forum Hall stretches in the
sublatitudinal direction 30 meters from the entrance grotto. Its
height is about 5 meters, dimensions - 8x24 meters. Section -
arched, floor - accumulative-basement with single blocks. The bottom
of the hall has a temporary stream bed, along which a stream flows
during the spring flood.
The main passage (tunnel) 500 meters
long begins in the northeast of the Forum hall. Section - flattened
oval, rhombic and complex. Width ranges from 2.5 to 4 meters, height
- from 1.2 to 3 meters. The floor is presented by the basement and
accumulative-basement type. On the walls you can see the mesh of
sculptural symbols of pressure flows.
The northern zone of
the course is called the Metro. Width - about 5 meters, height - up
to 4 meters. This is the most voluminous part of the cave. In
spring, the course is flooded with water. In the far area of the
Metro passage there are fireplaces related to the intersected nodes
of tectonic cracks. They are vertical channels that open in the roof
of the tunnel. The youngest fireplace is located 15 meters north of
2 adjoining fireplaces (height 5 to 7 meters, diameter 1.5 to 3
meters) Sink (height - 4 meters, diameter - about 1 meter) with a
constant streamy source ... The water flowing down from the
fireplace makes musical sounds in the silence of the cave. She
washed a hole in the plaster wall.
Walking along the Metro,
you will find yourself in the Round Hall. Its height is from 1.5 to
6 meters, dimensions - 7.5x16.5 meters. The eastern border of the
hall is a landslide. The section is flattened and
rectangular-arched. The blocky floor in the western direction turns
into a steep talus. To the north of the Round Hall (at a distance of
55 meters) there is a low course. Its width is from 3.5 to 5 meters,
and its height is from 0.9 to 1.5 meters. The floor is covered with
clay. The course ends with a siphon.
The territory of the
cave is mostly dry. There are 2 watercourses: northern and southern.
The length of the northern watercourse is 30 meters, the southern
one - 20.
Ice formations and water-mechanical sediments are
typical for the Golubinsky Proval cave. Ice formations formed in the
supercooled part of the cave entrance. Ice crystals, drifts of ice,
frost are born here all year round. There are perennial ice: cover,
vein, firn. In winter, with unstable cold weather, lenses of the
hypothermic crust are formed, occupying small cracks in the walls
and on the floor of the main passage and tracing 100 meters deep
into the cave from the Forum hall.
Clays, silts, loams, sand
lenses represent water-mechanical deposits of the cave. Their
maximum capacity is 3.7 meters. The clays contain 2 horizons with
formations of radial-radial gypsum, and episodes of carbonate crust
were revealed at the base of the section. The age of the cave filler
is approximately 10.2-7.8 thousand years. Carbonate incrustations
are very rare and valuable decorations of the cave.
Bats
spend the winter in the cave. They live in its warm part, in
crevices and hard-to-reach places. They can only be seen with a
close inspection of the cave.
The cave is easily traversed
throughout the main route. It is intensively visited by tourists and
locals.