Resava Cave () or Resavska Cave is a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

near Jelovac in eastern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, about from

Despotovac Despotovac ( sr-cyr, Деспотовац) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. It is 130 kilometers southeast of Belgrade. Its name stems from Despot, a title of Serbian medieval prince Stefan Lazar ...

. It is one of the largest cave systems in Serbia, with the corridors about long.

Geography

The cave is located in the

Upper Resava Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

region. The cave is estimated to be 80 million years old while the oldest

speleothems A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depend ...

date from 45 million years ago. It has four halls on two levels each and the speleothems are colored in red, yellow and white. Altitude at the entrance into the cave is and the lowest point inside is at . The cave was formed by the

sinking river A losing stream, disappearing stream, influent stream or sinking river is a stream or river that loses water as it flows downstream. The water infiltrates into the ground recharging the local groundwater, because the water table is below the bo ...

in the limestone substrate. Cave formations are right at the entry. They are formed through the dissolving of the

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

. The color depends on the mineral through which the water flows: red from the

iron oxide An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust. Iron ...

, white from the crystallized calcium and yellow from the traces of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

. The symbol of the cave is a massive

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

, tall and wide. After its appearance, it was named the Statue of mother with a child. The cave consists of 8 halls.

Wildlife

In 2020, the survey which began in the mid-1990s, showed that the large cave, and some smaller surrounding caves in the Resava valley, host 28 species of

bats Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

. Researchers from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

's Biology Faculty calculated that even the smallest bats can eat up to 3,000 mosquitos per night, which may explain the apparent lack of mosquitos in the Resava valley and on the slopes of the

Beljanica Beljanica () is a mountains of Serbia, mountain in the Homolje region in eastern Serbia, near the town of Žagubica. Its highest peak has an elevation of 1,339 meters above sea level. References

Mountains of Serbia Serbian Carpathians ...

mountain.

Human history

Resava cave was accidentally discovered by the local shepherds in 1962. After being explored for 10 years, the cave was officially opened for visitors on 22 April 1972. On 1 May 2017, the Adrenalin Park, a new attraction was opened in the cave. It consist of 15 obstacles (hanging bridges, hanging cables,

zip-line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide''Who Really Benefits from Tourism'', Publ. Equations, Karnataka, India, 2010. Working Papers Series. "Canopy Tourism"page 37/ref>Jacques Marais, Lisa De Speville, ''Adventure Racing'', ...

, beams, etc.). It had 56.500 visitors in 2017. Out of its , is explored in detail, while is adapted for the visitors. A popular tourist story developed around a specific

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

and a stalagmite, their "love yearning and a kiss". They are just few millimeters apart, but it will take a 1,000 years before they reach each other. Since 2010, Resava Cave is member of ISCA, International Show Caves Association. In 2017 it became the first hydrological monument with the decorative lights in Serbia. LED, cold lights are used, so that it wouldn't affect the microclimate. Glowing info tables in each of the halls and new hand rails were also added. North of Resava Cave is the

cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

Lisine, which comprises two waterfalls, Veliko Vrelo and Veliki Buk. The Lisine hydro-complex and Resava Cave are under one administration, covering an area of . In 2017 the Government of Serbia and Institute for Nature Protection began preliminary actions into creating a new

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

, which would cover the mountainous

Kučaj Kučaj (, ) is a mountain range in eastern Serbia. Its highest peak, ''Velika Tresta'' has an elevation of 1,284 meters above sea level. They belong to the Serbian extension of Carpathians, which separate the valleys of Great Morava and Timok. ...

Mountains of Serbia Serbian Carpathians ...

region. It is supposed to be the largest national park in Serbia, which would, among other, encompass the Resava Cave, Lisine complex and some of the oldest, intact forest in the country, like the Vinatovača

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

, which remained intact since the mid 17th century.

References

{{reflist Caves of Serbia Show caves in Serbia Pomoravlje District Geography of Šumadija and Western Serbia

Geography

Wildlife

Human history

See also

References