Table Of ContentCave and Karst Systems of the World
Nikolay Maksimovich
Olga Kadebskaya
Olga Meshcheriakova
Sulfate Karst
of Perm Region
(Russia)
Cave and Karst Systems of the World
Series Editor
James W. LaMoreaux, P. E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
This book series furthers the understanding of cave and karst related processes and facilitates
the translation of current discipline-specific research to an interdisciplinary readership by
dealing with specific cave or karst systems. Books in this series focus on a specific cave or karst
system, on the cave or karst systems of a specific region, on a specific type of cave or karst
system, or on any other perspective related to cave and karst systems of the world. The book
series addresses a multidisciplinary audience involved in anthropology, archaeology, biology,
chemistry, geography, geology, geomorphology, hydrogeology, paleontology, sedimentology,
and all other disciplines related to speleology and karst terrains.
Nikolay Maksimovich • Olga Kadebskaya •
Olga Meshcheriakova
Sulfate Karst of Perm Region
(Russia)
123
Nikolay Maksimovich Olga Kadebskaya
Institute of Natural Sciences Mining Institute of the Ural Branch
Perm State University Perm, Russia
Perm, Russia
Olga Meshcheriakova
Perm State University
Perm, Russia
ISSN 2364-4591 ISSN 2364-4605 (electronic)
Cave andKarstSystems of theWorld
ISBN978-3-031-18971-5 ISBN978-3-031-18972-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18972-2
TranslationfromtheRussianlanguageedition:“СульфатныйкарстПермскогокрая”byNikolayMaksimovichetal.,
©N.Maksimovich,O.Kadebskaya,O.Meshcheriakova2021.PublishedbyПГНИУ,ГИУрОРАН.–Пермь.All
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Dedicated to the outstanding karstologist Klara A. Gorbunova ...
Preface
The scientific work (monograph) provides a characteristic of sulfate karst, the features of its
distribution and development in the Perm Region, based on their own research and general-
ization of data accumulated in recent years. An updated zoning of the territory is given, partly
based on the use of GIS technologies.
A detailed description of areas with characteristics of geological and hydrogeological
conditions for the development of karst and karst phenomena is given. A detailed description
of a number of caves is given, information about specially protected natural areas associated
with sulfate karst is provided, and new unique objects that need protection are proposed. The
book describes the influence of karst on economic activity and the ecological situation.
The publication is intended for geologists, geographers, ecologists, karst scientists, spele-
ologists, local historians, teachers, and students of specialties related to earth sciences, as well
as a wide range of karst and cave enthusiasts.
Perm, Russia Nikolay Maksimovich
Olga Kadebskaya
Olga Meshcheriakova
vii
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to colleagues from the Perm State National Research University:
E. O. Bezmaternykh, M. V. Bogomaz, O. A. Berezina, A. D. Demenev, E. V. Gubina,
A. S. Kazantseva, V. T. Khmurchik, I. V. Kitaeva, A. V. Krasikov, Ya. R. Polyakova,
S. V. Pyankov, A. M. Sedinin, Yu. N. Shutova, as well as L. N. Basharina, I. Yu. Gerasimova,
O. O. Dodonova, and other cavers for their help in the preparation of this scientific work.
ix
Introduction
ThePermRegionisakindofamodelformostoftheprocessesofkarstdevelopment,despite
thesmall area (1% ofRussia), whichischaracterizedbyawidevarietyofnatural conditions.
Tectonically, this region is located at the junction of the East European platform and the
Central Ural uplift, connecting with the latter through the Cis-Ural foredeep and the forward
foldzoneoftheUrals.Thisdeterminesthepresenceofrocksofvariousagesandoriginsanda
wide variety of minerals. About 30% of the territory is occupied by karst rocks: carbonates,
sulfates, and salts.
The location of the Region within the temperate zone, its considerable length in the
meridional direction, and the complex relief determine the presence of latitudinal and altitu-
dinal zoning. On the territory of the Region there are zones of taiga, subtaiga, and mountain
tundra.AlmosttheentireRegionisthecatchmentareaoftheKamaRiver,thelargesttributary
of the Volga River. Within the territory of the Region, two large reservoirs have been
created—Kama (1954) and Votkinskoye (1964).
The technogenic impact on the territory of karst development is also diverse. The Perm
Region is an old industrial region with a long history of development, which began in the
fifteenth century, when salt production emerged here. The first salt pans, built by the Stro-
ganovmerchantsinthenorthoftheregion,servedasapowerfulincentivefortheinfluxofthe
economically active population here.
Soon after the discovery of salt deposits, copper sandstone deposits were found, on the
basis of which the first copper smelter was built in 1640. In the eighteenth century, 16 ore
deposits were discovered here, with the development of which the emergence of the largest
metallurgical centers began.
Smelting the metal required significant energy costs, which were compensated by the
annealingofcharcoal.Bytheendoftheeighteenthcentury,charcoalwasreplacedbycoal.Its
deposits were discovered in 1786 within the Kizel Coal Basin.
1929was marked bythediscovery ofthePermianoil.Someofthedepositsarelocated in
areas of sulfate karst development. It is currently being produced at 800 wells. In addition to
oil,oneoftheworld’slargestdepositsofpotassiumandmagnesiumsalts,Verkhnekamskoye,
is being developed. Chromium ores, gold, diamonds, ornamental stones, building materials,
etc. are mined. The natural resources of the region are the basis for the development of
chemistry and petrochemistry, power engineering, mechanical engineering, metalworking,
forestry, pulp and paper, and woodworking and mining industries.
The level of resource availability and economic development made the Perm Region one
ofthemostindustriallydevelopedregionsofRussia,butatthesametimeitcouldnotbuthave
a significant impact on its natural and ecological potential and in some cases led to the
technogenic activation of karst.
Sulfaterocks—gypsumandanhydrite—spreadover23thousandkm2(15%)oftheterritory
ofthePermRegionlargelydeterminetheoriginalityofitsnaturalconditions,primarilydueto
the development of karst processes, which condition a wide variety of surface and under-
ground landforms and their inherent landscapes.
xi
xii Introduction
Sulfatekarst,incomparisonwiththecarbonateone,whichismorewidespreadintheworld,
hasaspecificityassociated,firstofall,withthehighsolubilityofgypsumandanhydrite,and,
accordingly, the activity of karst processes, which must be taken into account especially in
conditions of intense anthropogenic impact.
A distinctive feature of the Perm Region is the areas of joint occurrence of sulfate and
salt-bearingrocks.Extensivewetlandsareformedhere,includingthelargestlakesinthePerm
Region.Theareasofdevelopmentofsulfaterocksarecharacterizedbyextensivedepressions,
swamps, an abundance of karst lakes, dry lands, and disappearing and reappearing rivers.
Groundwater and surface waters contain large amounts of calcium sulfate, which in some
cases make them unsuitable for water supply and create difficulties for the local population.
A serious problem of sulfate karst regions is the development of sinkholes that damage
buildings and structures, industrial enterprises, communications, and lead to the death of
people.
Karst regions are characterized by increased water exchange, low protection of ground-
water from pollution, which contributes to the development of environmental problems.
At the same time, gypsum and anhydrite are valuable mineral and construction resources.
About 270 objects of sulfate rocks in 20 administrative districts are known in the Region.
Karst forms—caves, lakes, rivers, and others—are unique natural monuments, some
of them have been declared as specially protected natural areas. The Kungur Ice Cave is the
oldest tourist cave in Russia, and the world’s longest underwater gypsum cave—The Orda
Cave—is a world-famous center of underwater speleology.
This monograph is devoted to these and other unique features of the sulfate karst regions
of the Perm Region.
The authors refer to regions of sulfate karst which includes both regions where only
gypsumandanhydritearekarsted,andthosewheregypsumandanhydritearekarstedtogether
with carbonate rocks and salts.
The last major work devoted to this problem, “Karst and Caves of the Perm Region” was
publishedontheinitiativeofK.A.Gorbunovain1992.Thezoningofkarstcarriedoutbyher
has become generally recognized, and the monograph is widely cited in Russia and abroad.
When writing this monograph, the authors adhere to the principles of zoning and the
structure of the description of karst phenomena proposed by K. A. Gorbunova.
Overthepastalmost30years,newdatahasappearedonsulfatekarstanditsmanifestations
in regions not covered by the previous zoning. During the work on the monograph, the GIS
“SulfateKarstofthePermRegion”wascreated,whichcontainsinformationonthenumberof
karst sinkholes within the regions since 1920, places of discharge of sulfate waters, the
presence of sulfate rocks in outcrops, coordinates of caves, their morphometric parameters,
andexistingandtheproposedprotectednaturalareaswithmanifestationsofgypsumkarst.To
summarize the information, the ArcGIS program was used. Based on this, some boundaries
of the regions were clarified. The authors considered it possible to combine the karst sites
identified by K. A. Gorbunova into a single Lysva Region, where sulfate rocks do not have
continuous distribution, but the processes have common features.
The study of the karst of the Perm Region began in the 60s of the eighteenth century
and is reflected in the works of such scientists as I. P. Falk, I. I. Lepekhin, and G. Benedict.
In the nineteenth–early twentieth centuries, the study of karst was continued by Chekletsov,
Ryshkovsky, Meyer, Platonov, I. F. Erdman, M. Kittary, R. I. Murchison, P. I. Krotov,
I. S. Polyakov, E. S. Fedorov, S. I. Sergeev, A. A. Kruber, N. I. Karakash, A. A. Shtuken-
berg, and V. A. Varsanofieva. In the post-revolutionary period, significant contributions to
research were made by G. Frederiks, N. P. Gerasimov and E. I. Tikhvinskaya, S. M.
Orlyankin, S. Gurevich and E. A. Petrova, N. K. Tikhomirov, G. S. Burenin, V. P. Gulden-
balk and M. S. Polozova, A. A. Turtsev, I. M. Pereslegin, and others.
The first brief global reviews specifically dealing with gypsum karst were provided by
Maximovich(1962).Sincethenknowledgeofgypsumkarst,intermsofitsmorphologicaland
hydrogeological peculiarities, development mechanisms, and geographical distribution, has
