Peştera Movile

Movile Cave


Useful Information

Location: Near Mangalia, SE part of Romania, near the Black Sea coast.
Open: closed [2006]
Fee: closed [2006]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: none
Dimension: L=300 m.
Guided tours: No. The cave is closed. Visits are extremely restricted to preserve the unique environment.
Photography: n/a
Accessibility: n/a
Bibliography:
Address: Mangalia Field Center, P.O. Box 57, Mangalia 8727, E-mail: contact
Serban Sarbu (PhD), The Ross School, 18 Goodfriend Park, East Hampton, New York 11937, Tel: +1-516-329-5245-143, Fax+1-516-329-1931 E-mail: contact
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History

1986 discovered by engineers, excavating for a major construction project.
1990 start of exploration.

Description

Movile Cave contains one of Earth's most unusual ecosystems, populated with invertebrates surviving on bacteria and fungi that derive energy from the sulfide hot springs beneath the cave. The atmosphere of this cave is very strange:

The invertebrates adapted to the cave's environment in a process called Biologytroglomorphy. This lead to a unique and very fragile ecosystem, even normal air is able to destroy it. Other problems are temperature fluctuations and species immigration.

So the cave entrance is closed by two gates and an airtight lid. Trips into the cave are limited at two per month, two hours max, and not more than three people at the same time. Clean footwear and coveralls have to be worn to avoid contamination of the cave. Access into the cave is permitted only for research purposes.

The cave is declared as a protected area, both by the city council of Mangalia and by the Romanian Academy of Sciences. It falls under the regulations of the Environmental Protection Law of Romania.