vissza a nyitó térképhez
to the index map to the alphabetic list of cave names to the tables of the index map
Non-karstic Caves of the Soproni Mountains
The medium height Soproni Mountains are to be found in the eastern
foothills of the Alps in the vicinity of the Lake Fertõ (Neusiedler
See). They cover an area of 500 km2. Three-quarters of the mountains
belong to Austria (Ödenburger Gebirge) and only one-quarter are
in Hungarian
territory. The central part is the Soproni Block. They were formed
by crustal movements and the denudation. Further north and northwest
are found four lower, intermonane basins divided into blocks: the Balfi-,
Ruszti-, and Darufalvi Blocks and the Dudlesz Forest.
The bedrock of the mountain is Upper Carbonic crystalline schist and
gneiss. This formation outcrops in a significant area, while in other
parts it is overlain by Miocene pebble, sand and "Lajta Limestone". Pleistocene
and Holocene fluvial deposits are the uppermost layers of the intermonane
basins. One cave was found in the crystalline bedrock. Four caves are
known in the Miocene (Sarmatian) conglomerate and sandstone. Nineteen
karstic caves were found in "Lajta Limestone". These are formed in the
Balfi- and Ruszti Blocks.
Several artificial cavities were excavated in the "Lajta Limestone"
for mining purposes and in conglomerate as air raid shelter (Szálasi
Air Raid Shelter). The cavities in the Fertõrákos quarry
and Szentmargitbánya quarries date from the Roman Age. The Mithrász
Cave is remarkable. It is a partly excavated, and partly built Roman
sanctuary.
Of the five non-karstic caves, one is developed in gneiss two are
developed in calcareous conglomerate and two are formed in calcareous
sandstone. All the five caves have a complex development. The cave in
the gneiss had developed by the influence of along the fault lines rising
hot solutions. These solutions caused a rock fragmentation. The fine
rock fragments were fallen out as the quarry operation had reached the
fragmentation zone of the faults. In the case of the caves formed
in sedimentary rocks in the first phase water seeping along the bedding
planes dissolve the calcareous cemented material. The holes were widened
as the erosion washes away the grains of the loosened rock. Finally the
caves were further widened as collapses occurred along the bedding planes.
The non-karstic caves of the Soproni Mountains:
1. Bécsi Hill Cave conglomerate Sopron 24/+0,5 m
2. Ferenc Cave calcareous sandstone Sopron 26/+2,5 m
3. Ottó Cave calcareous sandstone Sopron 15/+4 m
4. Szikla Rock Shelter calcareous conglomerate Sopron 2/+1,1 m
5. Cave of the Bánfalvi Quarry gneiss Sopron – Bánfalva 2,3/+1,8 m
Total length: 70 m