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Caves of the "Kemenesalja"

"Kemenesalja" is the western area of the Marcal Basin. This 200 km² area extends from the Marcal River to the Kemenes Hills. The geological base of the region is a denudated Pannonian plane, which consists of sandy and pebbly sediments. Along the fault lines one million years ago there occurred a basalt intrusion. The sign of this intrusion are the 12 hills formed of basalt and basaltic tuff.

Three natural non-karstic cave were found in the basalt hills and in the sandstone. One in the basalt of Mount Ság and the other in the basalt tuff of Mount Pet near Miske. The third cave was formed in the sandstone beside the railway station of Nagysimony village. The cave in Mount Ság, the so called Vass Pál Cave, was the most significant cave of the area, but it was demolished in 1914 during quarrying operations. The smaller cave in Mount Pet is a tectonic cave formed along a fault line. The Vasút-menti-barlang (Cave at the Railway) near Nagysimony village is a consequence cave, which was resulted by a break up during the sandstone excavation. An artificial cavity in Mount Ság was made by the quarry workers to secure themselves from falling rock during blasting.

The length of the natural caves today is only 8.5 m though formerly it could have been 20-30 m.

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