Gökgöl Cave

Hikayemiz

Gökgöl Cave is a show cave in Zonguldak Province, Turkey. It is the fifth biggest cave of the country. It is close to a main highway and is well-decorated with stalactites and stalagmites and attracts many visitors.LocationThe cave is located at 5km southeast of Zonguldak on the roadside of Zongıldak-Ankara highway.Formation and geologyThe cave is situated at 82m above main sea level on the eastern bank of Erçek Creek, which has eroded its riverbed to a deeper level. It is an active or semi-active speleogenesis cave system that has been forming since the rocks were laid down in the Neogene period, between 7.0 and 2.5 million years ago. The karst cave was formed horizontally inside carboniferous limestone. The cave consists of four distinct rock layers, which show that the region underwent four different geomorphological periods. An east-west directed fault was also instrumental in the formation of the cave in addition to the dissolution of limestone by carbonic acid.The total length of the east-west directed cave is 3350m. It consists of a main gallery and two auxiliary galleries, one stretching towards north and the other southwards. The cave has three entrances, two of them being from previous periods, and one is still active. Situated beside Erçek Creek, the hydrological active entrance is inaccessible to humans because it is narrow and wet. The cave is entered through a large mouth located at a higher level. A 875m-long portion of the cave is open to public.