Tham Lot cave () is a cave system with a length of 1,666 meters near Sop Pong in Pang Mapha District, Mae Hong Son Province, northern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The Nam Lang River flows through the cave which is filled with

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 ...

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 ...

s, columns, and

flowstone Flowstones are sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals, formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothe ...

. The cave is a

karst cave Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. There is some eviden ...

set in Permian age

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The cave has a large population of bats and

Himalayan swiftlet The Himalayan swiftlet (''Aerodramus brevirostris'') is a small swift. It is a common colonial breeder in the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Some populations are migratory. This swiftlet was formerly placed in the genus ''Collocalia''. Two of i ...

s. In Tham Lot and other caves nearby

teakwood Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...

s have been discovered which are thought to have been carved by the Lawa tribes people thousands of years ago. Another cave in the area, the second longest known cave in Thailand, is Tham Mae Lana, which is 12 kilometres long. This was explored by Australian expeditions between 1984 and 1986. Other caves in the area which are over one kilometre long include Tham Nam Lang (8,550 m), Tham Bung Hu (4,442 m), Tham Pha Mon (4,050 m), Tham Seua/Tham Lom (3,100 m), Tham Susa (2,617 m), Tham Huai Kun (1,747 m), Tham Pang Kham (1,370 m) and Tham Plah (1,365 m). Spirit Well (Nam Bua Phi), a large collapsed

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

, one of the largest known natural holes in Thailand, is south of the Hwy 1095. It is more than 200 m across and 90 to 130 m deep. It was first descended, by Australians, in 1985.

See also

References

Further reading