Caving in Tunisia
Encyclopedia
Caving in Tunisia is a relatively rare sport
in the country. Caving
emerged in the late 1970s and includes a limited number of practitioners. Tunisia
has a number of sites suitable for the sport.
began in 1979, in the youth house in the city, and particularly aroused the interest of the club Youth Science Bizerta. In 1981, a second club was opened in Zaghouan
, while Tunisian speleologists began to participate in national and international speleological meetings.
land whose limestone
's reef summit are almost all of outcrop
s. The sides of the djebel
are very pronounced, forming a safe fold structure.
The site is interesting, both from the ecological point of view and that of archeology. There are sources emerging in wild vegetation and Roman ruins such as the bridge Sidi Amara.
There are many caves, the most important step is the cave of El Kef Biadh whose access is via a series of wells or galleries, most of which come from mining. The first large room of m long and 267 metres deep shelters concretion
s and huge boulders; its walls are covered with bushes of Eccentric
. The hall ends with a diaclases which opens a well. It measures about 150 metres long and 50 metres wide. The vault is located some thirty metres above the ground.
It then goes to the second room that looks much like the previous one with the presence of concretions and basins . This last room is closed on a crack up to two metres above the ground. There is a significant colony of bat. The second room is over 200 meters long and 75 metres wide and has a vault located about forty metres above the ground in places.
is an extension of the mine Ghanguet Kef at Jebel El Damous which peaked at about 202 metres. The latter is formed by land dating from the Cretaceous
, the Eocene
, and the Oligocene
. At these sites are deposits of zinc
and lead
.
The cavity, with a total length of 310 metres and a height of 60 metres, contains a tectonic accident: its cross section shows a general shape of a triangle with a straight wall western wall and a shaped Eastern staircase reversed. A gallery of thirty metres, covered in concentric circles and ovals, about eight metres above the ground, leads to a first room that leads to two lanes of forty metres in length, at different levels, leading to a large room in which there are two columns of stalagmites. A narrow conduit leads to a third room containing concretions and eccentrics. At this level, progress is blocked by a narrow conduit.
and Cretaceous
. The caves in this area are located more precisely in the region Errouaha.
Access to the cave of El Blida is difficult: it is entered through a narrow conduit that leads to a very small room leading into the main room; the passage between these two rooms is made through a slope of approximately 20°.
Access to the cave of Bou Touil is relatively easy: the entrance is from a fairly broad which leads to narrow corridors on the left side. It leads to a large room with good stalactite
s and stalagmite
s and columns. A large, steep (about 45 ° to 50 °) corridor in the back is ended by a narrow passage that stops the progression. This cave has been subject to a thorough study, including petrography
and mineralogy
analysis performed on many samples.
in the National Park Ichkeul covering an area of hectares including a lake of hectares. Limestone
, Dolomitic
, and marble
rocks date from Triassic
and Jurassic
and are located above a collapsed ditch.
The cave itself has a narrow entrance allowing access to a vast room with large cracks along the length of the walls and showing several cavities. The room is followed by a narrow corridor formed by the wall and giant calcitic
concretions, which ends with a stack of 32 metres. On the sides of the second room there are draperies, small stalactites and young stalagmites. The cave is well lit and ventilated, and it has a diverse wildlife, including bats, birds and reptiles.
Sport in Tunisia
Football is the most popular sport in Tunisia. The most watched sports in Tunisia are football, handball, volleyball, basketball, tennis, and rugby union.Sport is encouraged in school, and local sports clubs receive financial support from the local governments....
in the country. Caving
Caving
Caving—also occasionally known as spelunking in the United States and potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems...
emerged in the late 1970s and includes a limited number of practitioners. Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
has a number of sites suitable for the sport.
Practice
The caving club of BizerteBizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
began in 1979, in the youth house in the city, and particularly aroused the interest of the club Youth Science Bizerta. In 1981, a second club was opened in Zaghouan
Zaghouan
Zaghwan is a town in the northern half of Tunisia. Situated on a low ridge of the Dorsale Mountains, the town has a mild climate and presents a green aspect. Cold water from here was taken by aqueduct to Carthage. The town is famous for its roses, originally cultivated by Muslim refugees from...
, while Tunisian speleologists began to participate in national and international speleological meetings.
Cave Mine
The two massive caves Jebel Serj and Jebel Bargou are important places for caving. They culminate respectively and (m) m and are oriented southwest and northeast. The first of these is composed of two parallel ridges separated by deep notch. All of the backbone is formed by massive AptianAptian
The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch or series and encompasses the time from 125.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 112.0 ± 1.0 Ma , approximately...
land whose limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
's reef summit are almost all of outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s. The sides of the djebel
Djebel
Djebel was a French Thoroughbred racehorse, who won 15 of 22 races during 1939-1942 and was later a leading sire.-Breeding:Djebel was sired by Tourbillon, a stallion owned by Marcel Boussac, who had won the French Derby and the Prix Lupin, and went on to become a notable sire. Toubillon's dam-sire...
are very pronounced, forming a safe fold structure.
The site is interesting, both from the ecological point of view and that of archeology. There are sources emerging in wild vegetation and Roman ruins such as the bridge Sidi Amara.
There are many caves, the most important step is the cave of El Kef Biadh whose access is via a series of wells or galleries, most of which come from mining. The first large room of m long and 267 metres deep shelters concretion
Concretion
A concretion is a volume of sedimentary rock in which a mineral cement fills the porosity . Concretions are often ovoid or spherical in shape, although irregular shapes also occur. The word 'concretion' is derived from the Latin con meaning 'together' and crescere meaning 'to grow'...
s and huge boulders; its walls are covered with bushes of Eccentric
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
. The hall ends with a diaclases which opens a well. It measures about 150 metres long and 50 metres wide. The vault is located some thirty metres above the ground.
It then goes to the second room that looks much like the previous one with the presence of concretions and basins . This last room is closed on a crack up to two metres above the ground. There is a significant colony of bat. The second room is over 200 meters long and 75 metres wide and has a vault located about forty metres above the ground in places.
Cave Nefza
The cave NefzaNefza
Nefza is a town and commune in the Béja Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a total population of 6039....
is an extension of the mine Ghanguet Kef at Jebel El Damous which peaked at about 202 metres. The latter is formed by land dating from the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
, and the Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
. At these sites are deposits of zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
.
The cavity, with a total length of 310 metres and a height of 60 metres, contains a tectonic accident: its cross section shows a general shape of a triangle with a straight wall western wall and a shaped Eastern staircase reversed. A gallery of thirty metres, covered in concentric circles and ovals, about eight metres above the ground, leads to a first room that leads to two lanes of forty metres in length, at different levels, leading to a large room in which there are two columns of stalagmites. A narrow conduit leads to a third room containing concretions and eccentrics. At this level, progress is blocked by a narrow conduit.
Caves Joumine
The region of Joumine has land dating to the TriassicTriassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
and Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
. The caves in this area are located more precisely in the region Errouaha.
Access to the cave of El Blida is difficult: it is entered through a narrow conduit that leads to a very small room leading into the main room; the passage between these two rooms is made through a slope of approximately 20°.
Access to the cave of Bou Touil is relatively easy: the entrance is from a fairly broad which leads to narrow corridors on the left side. It leads to a large room with good stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s and stalagmite
Stalagmite
A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...
s and columns. A large, steep (about 45 ° to 50 °) corridor in the back is ended by a narrow passage that stops the progression. This cave has been subject to a thorough study, including petrography
Petrography
Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. Petrographic descriptions start with the field notes at the...
and mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
analysis performed on many samples.
Cave Ichkeul
The Ichkeul cave is located in the Jebel Ichkeul, located about twenty kilometres from the city of BizerteBizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
in the National Park Ichkeul covering an area of hectares including a lake of hectares. Limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, Dolomitic
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
, and marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
rocks date from Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
and Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
and are located above a collapsed ditch.
The cave itself has a narrow entrance allowing access to a vast room with large cracks along the length of the walls and showing several cavities. The room is followed by a narrow corridor formed by the wall and giant calcitic
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
concretions, which ends with a stack of 32 metres. On the sides of the second room there are draperies, small stalactites and young stalagmites. The cave is well lit and ventilated, and it has a diverse wildlife, including bats, birds and reptiles.