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The Optymistychna (, also known as Peshchera Optimistitscheskaya) is a
The entire cave lies under a 2 km square area in a layer of Neogene period gypsum that is less than thick. The passages tend to be fairly small, no more than wide and tall for most, although at intersections they can be up to tall. They are often choked with mud. They comprise a dense network on several levels, making Optymistychna known as a "maze cave".
Optymistychna's gypsum bed is topped with a limestone layer, which has seeped through into the cave via erosion and formed into
Chapter II.9, Gypsum Karst in the Western Ukraine by Alexander Klimchouk
article appearing in: International Journal of Speleology, vol. 25, #3-4, 1996, p. 263-278. {{DEFAULTSORT:Optymistychna Caves of Ternopil Oblast Gypsum caves Natural heritage sites in Ternopil Oblast
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
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 ...
located near the Ukrainia
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
n village of Korolivka, Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast
Ternopil Oblast (), also referred to as Ternopilshchyna () or Ternopillia (), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its Capital (political), administrative center is Ternopil, through which flows the Seret (river), Seret, a tribu ...
. Approximately of passageways have been mapped within. As a result, it is the longest cave in Europe and the seventh-longest cave in the world, after Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in south-central Kentucky. It encompasses portions of Mammoth Cave, the List of longest caves, longest known cave system in the worl ...
, Sistema Sac Actun, Jewel Cave, Shuanghedong and Sistema Ox Bel Ha
The Sistema Ox Bel Ha (, ; short Ox Bel Ha) is a cave system in Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is the longest explored underwater cave in the world and ranks second including dry caves. As of February 2025 the surveyed length is of underwater passa ...
. It is also the longest gypsum cave in the world.
History
The cave complex was discovered by members of the Lviv speleological club "Cyclope" in 1966. It was entirely unknown before then. There have been more than 50 expeditions since its discovery, but exploration has slowed significantly in recent years, and very little surveying is currently being done. The cave is located very close to the Priest's Grotto or Ozerna Cave, the eleventh-longest cave in the world at , but the two caves have not yet been found to be connected. In 2008, the cave was recognized as a Natural Wonder of Ukraine.Geology
The entire cave lies under a 2 km square area in a layer of Neogene period gypsum that is less than thick. The passages tend to be fairly small, no more than wide and tall for most, although at intersections they can be up to tall. They are often choked with mud. They comprise a dense network on several levels, making Optymistychna known as a "maze cave".
Optymistychna's gypsum bed is topped with a limestone layer, which has seeped through into the cave via erosion and formed into calcite
Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
speleothem
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, depen ...
s. At other places, the gypsum has formed crystals, often tinted a multitude of colors by mineral salts. In some areas, large gypsum rosettes have formed, colored black by manganese oxide Manganese oxide is any of a variety of manganese oxides and hydroxides.Wells A.F. (1984) ''Structural inorganic chemistry'' 5th edition Oxford Science Publications, . These include
* Manganese(II) oxide, MnO
* Manganese(II,III) oxide, Mn3O4
* Man ...
.
Notes
See also
* List of longest cavesReferences
External links
*Chapter II.9, Gypsum Karst in the Western Ukraine by Alexander Klimchouk
article appearing in: International Journal of Speleology, vol. 25, #3-4, 1996, p. 263-278. {{DEFAULTSORT:Optymistychna Caves of Ternopil Oblast Gypsum caves Natural heritage sites in Ternopil Oblast