Jama Pekel / Pekel Cave EarthCache

Jama Pekel je kraška jama, stara več kot 3 milijone let in ima bogato zgodovino. Leži sredi Ponikvanskega krasa, dobre 4 km severno od Šempetra v Savinjski dolini. Je ena največjih za turiste urejenih kraških jam na Štajerskem. Jamo je izdolbel tok potoka Ponikvica, ki pred jamo ponikne, iz nje pa priteče z imenom Peklenščica. Jama je odprta za obiskovalce, po njej pa je speljana 1159 metrov dolga turistična pot.

Naloga za vpis obiska:

1. Oglej si skalno steno ob vhodu v jamo. V njej lahko opaziš številne razpoke, nastale zaradi potresov, ki so jih sprožili premiki v zemeljski skorji. Največja razpoka je desno ob vhodu. Kakšna je približna dolžina te razpoke? Razmisli o tem kakšno vlogo so igrale skalne razpoke pri nastanku jame in v odgovoru napiši kratko obrazložitev.
2. Oceni približno višino stene nad vhodom v jamo. S pomočjo informacij, ki so ti na voljo v opisu, razloži približno koliko časa je voda potrebovala, da je ustvarila razjedo skozi deset metrov skale?
3. Zgornji del jame je kapniško veliko bogatejši kot spodnji del. Razmisli zakaj je temu tako in obrazloži svoj odgovor.

Pomembno:

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The Pekel Cave is a karst cave with a long history. It's more than a 3 million years old, and it lies in the middle of the Ponikvanski kras region, about 4 km north of Šempeter v Savinjski dolini. The cave was created by the Ponikvica Stream that disappears in front of the cave and reappears in the cave as the Peklenščica Stream. There is a 1159-meter's long path through the cave and the guided tours are available.

Logging requirements:

1. Observe the rock near the cave entrance. Notice a number of cracks all over the rock? All those cracks were formed during the earthquakes, caused by movement in the earths crust. The biggest crack can be seen on the right side, next to the cave entrance. What is the approximate size of that crack? Think about what role did the cracks play in the process of forming the cave and explain your answer.
2. Observe the rock where the cave entrance is, and evaluate it's overall height. Given the information on this listing about the age of the cave, tell us approximatelly how long did it took for the water to dissolve through the ten meters of the rock?
3. The upper part of the cave is a treasury of cave structures. How can you explain that there are more cave structures in the upper part of the cave?

Important:

• Before you log the cache, send us your answers in English language via message system or GC profile.
• After sending the answers, you can log your find, you don't need to wait for log permission.
• Logs without an accompanying answers will be deleted!
• Do not write answer directly to your log. Logs containing answers to the questions will be deleted!
• If you have taken any photos, please upload them and attach them to your log.

JAMA PEKEL:

Vhod v kraško jamo Pekel se nahaja na nadmorski višini 275 metrov. Ker je v jami stalna temperatura 10°C, se pozimi, ko je notranja temperatura jame višja kot temperatura zunanjega zraka, iz jamskega vhoda včasih dviguje vodna para, kar izgleda kot da iz jame prihaja dim. Našim prednikom, ki si tega pojava niso znali razložiti, se je to zdelo strašljivo in bili so prepričani, da temačna luknja v podzemlje ne more biti nič drugega kot vhod v pekel, ki ga varuje v skalo vklesana podoba peklenščka na vhodu, zato so jami nadeli ime »jama Pekel«.

Vhod v jamo Pekel

Značilnost Jame Pekel so ozke vodne tesni, večji in manjši sifoni in ozke razpoke, ki imajo v višjih predelih ohranjene fluvialne alohtone naplavine, kar je tudi dokaz o pretoku vode, ki danes teče po spodnjem delo jame. Povsod lahko opazimo tudi erozijske kotlice in fasete. Jama ima suho zgornjo ter spodnjo vodno etažo.

Notranjost jame

V spodnjem delu jame nas spremlja peklenščica s svojimi slapovi, zasigane stene ter različne kapniške oblike, od stalaktitov, stalagmitov in kapniških stebrov vse do kalcitnih kristalov. Je edina kraška jama v Sloveniji, kjer preko 4 metre visoke stopnje pada voda v slikovitem slapu.

Slap v jami

Nad potjo, ki vodi v zgornji del jame, se boči naravni most, ki je nastal z združitvijo dveh sigastih grebenov. Zgornje, suho nadstropje je s stalaktiti, stalagmiti, ponvicami in jezerci prava zakladnica kapnikov. Ta, kapniško bogatejši del jame krasijo kapniki podobni špagetom, čebulasti kapniki, ponvice, veliki stalaktit, ki spominja na šop banan in velike kapniške orgle.

Notranjost jame

ZGODOVINA JAMSKIH RAZISKOVANJ:

Za prvo omembo in začetek urejanja jame je zaslužen zdravnik dr. Travber iz Žalca, ki je leta 1860 uredil jamo za obiskovalce in dal postaviti prve lesene brvi v začetnem delu jame. V drugi polovici 19. stoletja je za jamo izvedela širša javnost. Zasluge za to ima graški profesor Reibenschuh, ki je leta 1866 prvi strokovno raziskal jamo in kasneje svoje izsledke objavil v raznih publikacijah. Ponovno je zanimanje za jamo naraslo med leti 1890 in 1905, ko je za njo skrbel žalski tajnik Ivan Kač. Podpisi iz leta 1880 in pozneje dokazujejo, da so jamo v prejšnjem stoletju radi obiskovali, v njej pa naj bi prirejali celo zabave.

ARHEOLOŠKE NAJDBE:

Jama Pekel je edina jama v Sloveniji, v kateri so našli neposredne ostanke (kosti) pračloveka. Drugod so našli zgolj sledove kot so razno orodje, orožje, ognjišča in druge sledove njegovega obstoja. Žal pa nahajališče ni dobro raziskano, saj najdbe niso bile strokovno dokumentirane.

Koordinate Zemeljskega zaklada so postavljene na prostor pred vhodom v jamo, kjer boste našli podatke, ki vam bodo v pomoč pri odgovorih na vprašanja. Za vpis zaklada notranjosti jame ni nujno obiskati, vendar vam ogled jame zelo prioporočava. Načrtujte torej svoj obisk kadar so organizirani vodeni ogledi.

Urnik ogledov in ostale informacije najdete na spletni strani jame: - Jama Pekel -

Viri:
- spletna stran turističnega društva Šempeter;
- spletna stran in informacijske table Zavoda RS za varstvo narave

CAVE PEKEL:

Entrance to the cave is at a height of 275 meters abowe the sea level. The cave has constant internal temperature of 10°C, that's why in the winter when the air temperature inside the cave is higher than the air temperature outside, a "smoke" of vapours can be seen coming out of the cave. Our ancestors could not explain that natural phenomena, that's why they were afraid of it. They were certain that the black hole was an entrance to hell where the devil dwelt, hence they named the cave Pekel (eng.: Hell).

Cave entrance

The cave characteristics are narrow water passages, large and small siphons and narrow cracks, with preserved fluvial sediments, which is a direct evidence of a water flow, which today runs throught the lower part of the cave. Everywhere we can see the erosion potholes and facets. On two floors, the visitor can see two faces of one cave: the water part and the dry part.

Inside the cave

Through the lower, water part of the cave runs the Peklenščica Stream, leading to the bigest attraction in the cave, a beautiful 4-metre waterfall can be seen there, the highest underground waterfall in Slovenia that can be seen from the immediate vicinity.

Underground waterfall

In the water cave many stalactites, stalagmites and columns can be seen, as well as calcite crystals that glitter wonderfully in the light. When you walk through the lower part of the cave, the sound of water is always there. The only exception is Tihi rov (eng. the silent gallery) which is completely silent and has great acoustics.

Inside the cave

A path leading from the lower part takes you up to the dry part of the cave. The ascent is similar to walking up to the 13th floor of a building. The upper part of the cave has stalactites and stalagmites, rim stone pools and small lakes. It is really a treasury of cave structures with spaghetti-like stalactites, bulbous dripstones, large stalactites resembling a stalk of bananas, and a great stalacpipe organ. There is also a natural bridge arching over the path to the upper cave. In the past, there was running water in this part of the cave as well, but it gradually moved to lower areas.

HISTORY OF SPELEOLOGICAL RESEARCH:

The first one to promote the cave and to arrange it for public view was Dr. Tavber from Žalec, who had wooden footbridges set up in 1860, thus making the cave suitable for visitors. The cave became very popular after professor Reibenschuh from Graz had published his expert findings in various publications in 1866. Another period of cave's popularity was between 1890 and 1905 when a secretary from Žalec Mr. Ivan Kač was managing the cave. Signatures in the cave dating from 1880 and later prove that it was a popular destination already in the 19th century, some say that even a number of parties were organized inside.

ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDS:

Pekel Cave is the only cave in Slovenia in which human bones were found. In other caves only tools, weapons, fireplaces and other traces of prehistoric human existence were found. Unfortunately the research was not completed as the finds were not properly and professionally documented.

Coordinates of this EarthCache will lead you to the place near the cave entrance, where you will find informations that will help you to answer the required questions. Visiting inside of the cave is not required, but we highly recommend you to do it. Guided tours are available at the cave site.

For more information about and the opening hours visit their website: - Pekel Cave -

Sources:
- Tourist society of Šempeter’s website;
- The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation's website and information billboards