Spasskaya Cave

Spasskaya Cave is the longest known cave in Primorsky Krai, its passages stretching over 2,200 meters. It lies in the Spassky municipal district of Primorye, 2 km from the city of Spassk-Dalny, at the foot of the northern slope of Mount Malaya Sopka. The entrance to the cave sits inside the territory of the Spassky cement plant's quarry and takes the form of a sinkhole about 10 meters across and 5.5 meters deep.

Geology and nature

The cave formed within the limestone beds of the Spassky reef massif, a geological structure built on a thick limestone layer 400–700 meters deep, capped by a twenty-meter bed of calcareous sandstone. The passages and chambers themselves date back to the Cenozoic era, roughly 20 million years ago: groundwater gradually dissolved the limestone, carving out the system of cavities.

The cave contains 11 chambers, several of them named: Kapelka (Droplet), Amfiteatr (Amphitheater), Paltsy (Fingers), and Khod Zabludivshikhsya (Passage of the Lost). The cave system holds one large, deep lake and several smaller ones, including Lake Prozrachnoye (Transparent Lake).

History of exploration

Local residents learned of the cavity beneath Malaya Sopka in the 1960s, when groundwater was pumped out of the future quarry site and the underground voids were exposed. The first dedicated speleological surveys began in 1972, when the chambers and passages were explored and described. In 1983 Spasskaya Cave received the status of a geological natural monument of Primorsky Krai, formalizing its protection as a karst feature that is rare for the region.

Getting there

The cave is only 2 km from Spassk-Dalny, but its entrance lies within the territory of an active quarry operated by the Spassky cement plant — worth keeping in mind when planning a visit, since this is an industrial site rather than a developed tourist spot. The nearest major landmark is the city of Spassk-Dalny itself and Mount Malaya Sopka, at whose northern slope the cave is located.