Camooweal Caves, Barkly Karst Region (Qld)

Selected photographs and diagrams

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Five O'Clock Cave
Kalkadoon Cave
Great Nowranie cave
Theatre in the Round

Five O'Clock Cave: a multi-level system.


Profile of Five O'clock Cave.
Descending the fissure from upper to middle levels. Note the horizontal bedding
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"The Flattener" in the middle level of Five O'Clock cave. The far wall is out of sight and there are only occasional pillars to hold up the roof. Is this an old watertable slot, or a soluble bed, or a flood bypass of the mud-clogged vadose passage?
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Climbing up the vadose canyon of the lowest (wet) level. The slot of The Flattener is behind the belay-man
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Kalkadoon Cave:

Kalkadoon is a large multi-level system which is only partly explored. The lowest levels comprise low, muddy, hot (30 degrees C), crawlways that meander off into the distance without apparent end!
Map of Kalkadoon Cave with the main levels colour-coded. Some other less-extensive levels also occur.
The two red dots are the (large) collapse dolines. From these the upper level is large collapse passage, but with areas of phreatic sculpturing remaining. Lower levels are progressively smaller passage and become hotter, muddier and more humid. There are a few small pools in the lowest parts.
The main collapse doline entrance to the cave. The second entrance is beyond this one.
Large collapsed passage in the Upper Level of Kalkadoon cave.
The next photo is taken above the rockpile in the far distance.
Also in the Upper Levels, but here we see the original phreatic solutional sculpture.
The floor is covered with guano from the large Ghost Bat Macroderma gigas
Mixed solutional and collapse passage in the transition from the Upper Level to the Middle Level.
Note the general lack of speleothems.
In the lower levels, this passage is unusually high and clean (we don't take cameras into the others!)
There is a roof notch and floor notch (also unusual).

Great Nowranie Cave:

Great Nowranie is another large multilevel cave, though not as extensive as the others. Recently cave divers have followed an extensive underwater passage that dips to water-depths of 30m.
Deep entrance dolinne of Great Nowranie cave.
The Glory Hole that drops from the Upper to Middle levels.
The terminal pool. A flooded shaft drops 30 m, then runs off horizontally for more than 300 m.

Theatre in the Round:

Theatre in the Round cave is just a single shallow collapse chamber that is connected to a collapse doline.

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