Difference between revisions of "Gunung Mulu National Park" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
(article inserted)
Line 90: Line 90:
 
| footnotes =
 
| footnotes =
 
}}
 
}}
−
'''Gunung Mulu National Park''' near [[Miri]], [[Sarawak]], [[Malaysia]]n [[Borneo]], is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] that encompasses incredible [[cave]]s and [[Karst topography|karst formations]] in a [[mountain]]ous [[equator]]ial [[rainforest]] setting.<ref>Avijit Gupta. 2005. ''The physical geography of Southeast Asia. Oxford regional environments'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press), p. 175 </ref> The park is famous for its caves and the expeditions that have been mounted to explore them and their surrounding rainforest, most notably the [[Royal Geographic Society|Royal Geographic]] Expedition of 1977-1978, which saw over 100 scientists in the field for fifteen months.
+
'''Gunung Mulu National Park''' near [[Miri]], [[Sarawak]], [[Malaysia]]n [[Borneo]], is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] that encompasses remarkable [[cave]]s and [[Karst topography|karst formations]] in a [[mountain]]ous [[equator]]ial [[rainforest]] setting.<ref>Avijit Gupta. 2005. ''The physical geography of Southeast Asia. Oxford regional environments'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press), p. 175 </ref> The park, famous for its caves, has been renown for the expeditions conducted to explore them and their surrounding rain forest, most notably the [[Royal Geographic Society|Royal Geographic]] Expedition of 1977-1978, with more than 100 scientists in the field for fifteen months.
  
 
==Description==
 
==Description==
−
Within Gunung Mulu National Park is the world's biggest natural enclosed space: [[Sarawak chamber]], found in [[Gua Nasib Bagus]].<ref>S. L. Wong. 1998. ''Exciting Malaysia: a visual journey'' (HK [i.e. Hong Kong]: Periplus), p. 43. </ref> It is 2,300 feet (700 m) long, 1,300 feet (396 m) wide and at least 230 feet (70 m) high; according to the guides it is big enough to fit [[St. Peter's Basilica]] or several [[Boeing 747|jumbojets]] inside. Other notable caves are [[Benarat Cavern]], Deer Cave, Wind Cave, and [[Clearwater Cave]], which exposes parts of a long underground river going through the park.<ref> K. S. Chon, 2000. ''Tourism in Southeast Asia: a new direction'' (New York: Haworth Hospitality Press), p. 43</ref>
+
Within Gunung Mulu National Park, the world's biggest natural enclosed space, exists: the [[Sarawak chamber]], found in [[Gua Nasib Bagus]].<ref>S. L. Wong. 1998. ''Exciting Malaysia: a visual journey'' (HK [i.e. Hong Kong]: Periplus), p. 43. </ref> At 2,300 feet (700 meters) long, 1,300 feet (396 meters) wide and at least 230 feet (70 meters) high, the space could accommodate [[St. Peter's Basilica]] or several [[Boeing 747|jumbojets]]. Other notable caves include [[Benarat Cavern]], Deer Cave, Wind Cave, and [[Clearwater Cave]], which exposes parts of a long underground river going through the park.<ref> K. S. Chon, 2000. ''Tourism in Southeast Asia: a new direction'' (New York: Haworth Hospitality Press), p. 43</ref>
  
 
Today Mulu continues to retain the sense of adventure associated with its original exploration through the provision of adventure caving and other adventure activities. The primary focus however has shifted to the promotion of an awareness of the significance of the park and its [[natural environment|environment]] through the provision of [[ecotourism]] activities that foster understanding and appreciation of the parks values. Accommodation is available at the five star luxury resort [[Royal Mulu Resort]], or there are cheaper lodgings across the river. The park HQ also has limited accommodation.
 
Today Mulu continues to retain the sense of adventure associated with its original exploration through the provision of adventure caving and other adventure activities. The primary focus however has shifted to the promotion of an awareness of the significance of the park and its [[natural environment|environment]] through the provision of [[ecotourism]] activities that foster understanding and appreciation of the parks values. Accommodation is available at the five star luxury resort [[Royal Mulu Resort]], or there are cheaper lodgings across the river. The park HQ also has limited accommodation.
Line 110: Line 110:
  
 
The cave was in a region filled with at-that-time newly-discovered caves in the [[Gunung Mulu National Park]], and this particular one is called ''[[Lubang Nasib Bagus]]'' or [[Good Luck Cave]]. To reach the Sarawak Chamber one must follow the river upstream from the cave entrance. This long passage has a roof of at least 230 metres high, and does require some swimming and a traverse along a ledge. The story of how it was discovered is told in a 1985 book "Underground Worlds" by [[Donald Jackson]] and also in "Giant Caves of Borneo" by Meredith, Wooldridge and Lyon.
 
The cave was in a region filled with at-that-time newly-discovered caves in the [[Gunung Mulu National Park]], and this particular one is called ''[[Lubang Nasib Bagus]]'' or [[Good Luck Cave]]. To reach the Sarawak Chamber one must follow the river upstream from the cave entrance. This long passage has a roof of at least 230 metres high, and does require some swimming and a traverse along a ledge. The story of how it was discovered is told in a 1985 book "Underground Worlds" by [[Donald Jackson]] and also in "Giant Caves of Borneo" by Meredith, Wooldridge and Lyon.
 +
 +
===Benarat 2005 Expedition===
 +
The '''Benarat 2005 Expedition''' to Gunung Mulu National Park, [[Sarawak]] in [[Malaysia]] took place between September 8th and October 7th 2005. The expedition was the latest in a series of Anglo-Sarawak cooperative activities which commenced in 1977. Sixteen UK based cavers were in the field for varying periods of time, together with a number of officers from the [[Gunung Mulu National Park]].
 +
 +
====Objectives====
 +
 +
The expedition was one of a series of explorations in [[Gunung Benarat]] and the northern end of Gunung Api. At the end of the 2003 expedition, a series of promising underground leads remained outstanding in the [[Benarat Cave]]s and the discovery of [[Whiterock Cave]] (Gua Batu Putih), close to [[Blackrock Cave]], offered new hopes of major extensions in Gunung Api.
 +
 +
The expedition primary objectives in Gunung Benarat were to
 +
 +
*prove the connection of the [[Blue Moonlight Bay Cave]] and the [[Terikan Cave]] systems through the sumps which separated the components of this system.
 +
*make the connection from Cobweb Cave to adjacent systems
 +
*access the remaining high level entrance to the east of [[Tiger Cave]], via a climb up the Benarat Cliffs.
 +
*carry out further exploration of Sakai's Cave (last explored in 1984).
 +
 +
In Gunung Api to
 +
*explore Whiterock Cave
 +
*locate and explore Canopy Cave
 +
*locate new entrances in the northern slopes of Gunung Api.
 +
 +
=====Outcomes=====
 +
======Gunung Benarat======
 +
'''Blue Moonlight Bay and Terikan Connections'''
 +
The sumps separating Terikan East/Terikan West and Terikan East/Terikan Rising were dived successfully, creating a single system of 32.573km.
 +
The upstream sump in Blue Moonlight Bay was dived to -53m. The sump is a vertical shaft which was circled at -6m and -20m depth with no obvious leads off at these levels. The sump continues vertically downward.
 +
 +
'''High level entrance'''
 +
The climb to the high level entrance was started but abandoned after approximately 80m. At 60m the climbers found a new draughting cave entrance and this immediately became the focus of attention.
 +
This system named Moon Cave or Gua Bulan in Malay, consists of a main passage heading straight along the strike. It was explored over a number of visits to a total length of 6.635 km to a concluding boulder ramp with no draught. All exploration was carried out on the single level and a number of outstanding leads remain in the form of upward and downward trending ramps.
 +
 +
'''Exploration of [[Whiterock Cave]]'''
 +
Substantial extensions were made to Whiterock Cave. A further 17.261km of passage was explored, bringing the total to 20.968km.
 +
Whiterock is a multi-level system, providing a key to the cave formation at the northern end of Gunung Api. Its upper levels consist of large passages, partially blocked with sediment, including extensive deposits of rotted cobbles reminiscent of similar deposits in [[Clearwater Cave]] and indicative of great age.
 +
The cave includes the [[Api Chamber]], approximately 300x200m in dimension with a surveyed circumference of 900m.
 +
Two connections were established to [[Blackrock Cave]], via the Eagle Ramp and Firecracker. The inclusion of Whiterock brings the total length of the Clearwater System to over 130k (precise details to be confirmed).
 +
The Racer Entrance to Blackrock was relocated and a GPS position was fixed.
 +
Whiterock was not fully explored and a number of leads remained outstanding.
 +
 +
======Location and examination of [[Canopy Cave]]======
 +
Canopy Cave was relocated and it was confirmed that there was no open passage.
 +
======Location of new entrances in the northern slopes of Gunung Api======
 +
A number of small entrances were located. None of those were considered promising and they were not pushed. GPS coordinates were fixed for future reference.
 +
 +
===Surveying===
 +
All explored passage was surveyed to the accepted standards. Data was entered into the Survex programme and processed to produce field surveys.
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
Line 132: Line 177:
 
* [http://www.mulu.info Gunung Mulu Information Center]. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
 
* [http://www.mulu.info Gunung Mulu Information Center]. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
 
* [http://daveclucas.com/Benarat2005/Pages/Api.html Benarat Caving Expedition 2005]. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
 
* [http://daveclucas.com/Benarat2005/Pages/Api.html Benarat Caving Expedition 2005]. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
 +
* [http://www.mulucaves.org/index.html Mulu Caves Project]
 +
* [http://www.daveclucas.com/Benarat2005/Pages/Api.html Benarat 2005 Expedition]
 +
* [http://mulucaves.org/SVN/Benerat%202003%20report.pdf Benarat 2003 Expedition Report]
 +
* [http://www.mulupark.com/html/index/index.htm Mulu National Park]
 +
* [http://www.survex.com/ Survex]
  
 
[[Category:World Heritage Sites]]
 
[[Category:World Heritage Sites]]
Line 139: Line 189:
 
[[Category:Asia]]
 
[[Category:Asia]]
  
−
{{credits|Gunung_Mulu_National_Park|240029415|Gua_Nasib_Bagus|242522238|Sarawak_Chamber|243038898|}}
+
{{credits|Gunung_Mulu_National_Park|240029415|Gua_Nasib_Bagus|242522238|Sarawak_Chamber|243038898|Benarat_2005_Expedition|176745578|}}

Revision as of 21:59, 11 October 2008

Coordinates: 4°03′N 114°56′E / 4.05, 114.933

Gunung Mulu National Park
Protected Area
Api Chamber in Whiterock Cave, Gunung Api
Api Chamber in Whiterock Cave, Gunung Api
Country Flag of Malaysia Malaysia
State Flag of Sarawak Sarawak
Highest point
 - location Mount Mulu
Area 754 km² (291 miles²)
Geology Extensive caves including the world's largest cave chamber
Founded 1974
Management Sarawak Forestry
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Name Gunung Mulu National Park
Year 2000 (#24)
Number 1013
Region Asia-Pacific
Criteria vii, viii, ix, x

Gunung Mulu National Park near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses remarkable caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting.[1] The park, famous for its caves, has been renown for the expeditions conducted to explore them and their surrounding rain forest, most notably the Royal Geographic Expedition of 1977-1978, with more than 100 scientists in the field for fifteen months.

Description

Within Gunung Mulu National Park, the world's biggest natural enclosed space, exists: the Sarawak chamber, found in Gua Nasib Bagus.[2] At 2,300 feet (700 meters) long, 1,300 feet (396 meters) wide and at least 230 feet (70 meters) high, the space could accommodate St. Peter's Basilica or several jumbojets. Other notable caves include Benarat Cavern, Deer Cave, Wind Cave, and Clearwater Cave, which exposes parts of a long underground river going through the park.[3]

Today Mulu continues to retain the sense of adventure associated with its original exploration through the provision of adventure caving and other adventure activities. The primary focus however has shifted to the promotion of an awareness of the significance of the park and its environment through the provision of ecotourism activities that foster understanding and appreciation of the parks values. Accommodation is available at the five star luxury resort Royal Mulu Resort, or there are cheaper lodgings across the river. The park HQ also has limited accommodation.

Mulu is a very inaccessible area; the only practical way of getting to and from it is by air, mainly from Miri airport. It is possible to travel to the area by riverboat, but it requires a chartered long boat for the last part - and the whole trip by river would take around 12 hours to complete from Miri, while the flight takes only 30 minutes. The national park is named after Mount Mulu, the second highest mountain in Sarawak.

Gua Nasib Bagus

Gua Nasib Bagus (Good Luck Cave) or Lubang Nasib Bagus is a cave located in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is one of many caves found within Gunung Mulu National Park, a World Heritage Site on the island of Borneo. The cave houses the largest known underground chamber in the world called the Sarawak Chamber.[4]

Sarawak chamber

The Sarawak Chamber is a huge chamber in Gua Nasib Bagus (Good Luck Cave), which is located in Gunung Mulu National Park, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo.[5] It is considered the largest known underground chamber in the world.

The chamber was discovered by three Englishmen in January 1981. Andy Eavis, Dave Checkley and Tony White (all experienced cave explorers) had been exploring the dense, unpopulated area of the Gunung Mulu National Park jungle in Sarawak, in the north of Borneo, in an expedition led by fellow Englishman Ben Lyon. While they were surveying some of the newly found caves in the region, they stumbled into what seemed to be a huge cavern. Even with their powerful lamps, the other end of the chamber couldn't be seen through the thick darkness.

Although they did not know it yet, the three explorers had walked into the largest known enclosed space in the world, which they later named the Sarawak Chamber. It was three times the size of the Big Room in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, previously thought to be the largest underground chamber. The Sarawak Chamber measured 700m (2,300 feet) long, 400m (1,300 feet) wide and at least 70m (230 feet) high. The chamber is so massive it could hold 10 jumbo jets nose-to-tail in it. The chamber is now firmly situated in the record books.

The cave was in a region filled with at-that-time newly-discovered caves in the Gunung Mulu National Park, and this particular one is called Lubang Nasib Bagus or Good Luck Cave. To reach the Sarawak Chamber one must follow the river upstream from the cave entrance. This long passage has a roof of at least 230 metres high, and does require some swimming and a traverse along a ledge. The story of how it was discovered is told in a 1985 book "Underground Worlds" by Donald Jackson and also in "Giant Caves of Borneo" by Meredith, Wooldridge and Lyon.

Benarat 2005 Expedition

The Benarat 2005 Expedition to Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak in Malaysia took place between September 8th and October 7th 2005. The expedition was the latest in a series of Anglo-Sarawak cooperative activities which commenced in 1977. Sixteen UK based cavers were in the field for varying periods of time, together with a number of officers from the Gunung Mulu National Park.

Objectives

The expedition was one of a series of explorations in Gunung Benarat and the northern end of Gunung Api. At the end of the 2003 expedition, a series of promising underground leads remained outstanding in the Benarat Caves and the discovery of Whiterock Cave (Gua Batu Putih), close to Blackrock Cave, offered new hopes of major extensions in Gunung Api.

The expedition primary objectives in Gunung Benarat were to

  • prove the connection of the Blue Moonlight Bay Cave and the Terikan Cave systems through the sumps which separated the components of this system.
  • make the connection from Cobweb Cave to adjacent systems
  • access the remaining high level entrance to the east of Tiger Cave, via a climb up the Benarat Cliffs.
  • carry out further exploration of Sakai's Cave (last explored in 1984).

In Gunung Api to

  • explore Whiterock Cave
  • locate and explore Canopy Cave
  • locate new entrances in the northern slopes of Gunung Api.
Outcomes
Gunung Benarat

Blue Moonlight Bay and Terikan Connections The sumps separating Terikan East/Terikan West and Terikan East/Terikan Rising were dived successfully, creating a single system of 32.573km. The upstream sump in Blue Moonlight Bay was dived to -53m. The sump is a vertical shaft which was circled at -6m and -20m depth with no obvious leads off at these levels. The sump continues vertically downward.

High level entrance The climb to the high level entrance was started but abandoned after approximately 80m. At 60m the climbers found a new draughting cave entrance and this immediately became the focus of attention. This system named Moon Cave or Gua Bulan in Malay, consists of a main passage heading straight along the strike. It was explored over a number of visits to a total length of 6.635 km to a concluding boulder ramp with no draught. All exploration was carried out on the single level and a number of outstanding leads remain in the form of upward and downward trending ramps.

Exploration of Whiterock Cave Substantial extensions were made to Whiterock Cave. A further 17.261km of passage was explored, bringing the total to 20.968km. Whiterock is a multi-level system, providing a key to the cave formation at the northern end of Gunung Api. Its upper levels consist of large passages, partially blocked with sediment, including extensive deposits of rotted cobbles reminiscent of similar deposits in Clearwater Cave and indicative of great age. The cave includes the Api Chamber, approximately 300x200m in dimension with a surveyed circumference of 900m. Two connections were established to Blackrock Cave, via the Eagle Ramp and Firecracker. The inclusion of Whiterock brings the total length of the Clearwater System to over 130k (precise details to be confirmed). The Racer Entrance to Blackrock was relocated and a GPS position was fixed. Whiterock was not fully explored and a number of leads remained outstanding.

Location and examination of Canopy Cave

Canopy Cave was relocated and it was confirmed that there was no open passage.

Location of new entrances in the northern slopes of Gunung Api

A number of small entrances were located. None of those were considered promising and they were not pushed. GPS coordinates were fixed for future reference.

Surveying

All explored passage was surveyed to the accepted standards. Data was entered into the Survex programme and processed to produce field surveys.

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Avijit Gupta. 2005. The physical geography of Southeast Asia. Oxford regional environments (Oxford: Oxford University Press), p. 175
  2. ↑ S. L. Wong. 1998. Exciting Malaysia: a visual journey (HK [i.e. Hong Kong]: Periplus), p. 43.
  3. ↑ K. S. Chon, 2000. Tourism in Southeast Asia: a new direction (New York: Haworth Hospitality Press), p. 43
  4. ↑ Eco Over Easy: A Guide to Malaysia's Eco Resorts. Wild Asia. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  5. ↑ Shaharin Yussof. 1997. The natural and other histories of Batu Caves (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysian Nature Society), p. 12.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Chon, K. S. 2000. Tourism in Southeast Asia: a new direction. New York: Haworth Hospitality Press. ISBN 9780789007322.
  • Gupta, Avijit. 2005. The physical geography of Southeast Asia. Oxford regional environments. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199248025.
  • Reader's Digest Ltd. (1989). Facts and Fallacies - Stories of the Strange and Unusual. Reader's Digest Ltd. Page 14-15. ISBN 0864380879.
  • Time Life Books. Earth Series - Underground Worlds. Time Life Books.
  • Wong., S. L. 1998. Exciting Malaysia: a visual journey. HK [i.e. Hong Kong]: Periplus. ISBN 9789625933283.

External links

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Gunung_Mulu_National_Park&oldid=826779

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki