Long Drop Cave
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| Long Drop Cave | |
|---|---|
| Location | Leck Fell, Lancashire, England |
| OS grid | SD 66967917 |
| Coordinates | 54°12′26″N 2°30′28″W / 54.207282°N 2.507677°W |
| Depth | 61 metres (200 ft) |
| Length | 283 metres (928 ft) |
| Elevation | 351 metres (1,152 ft) |
| Discovery | 1965 |
| Geology | Carboniferous limestone |
| Entrances | 2 |
| Hazards | Verticality, water |
| Access | Unrestricted |
| Cave survey | cavemaps |
Long Drop Cave is a cave on Leck Fell, in Lancashire, England. It leads into Death's Head Hole, and is part of the Three Counties System, an 87-kilometre (54 mi) cave system which spans the borders of Cumbria, Lancashire, and North Yorkshire.[1]
The entrance is below a small cliff in a shakehole. From the wide overhanging entrance, a short crawl leads onto an 8 metres (26 ft) dry shaft. At the bottom, an excavated route leads into a narrow stream passage, with a narrow 5 metres (16 ft) pitch a few metres downstream. Below this, about 20 metres (66 ft) of narrow passage leads to the top of the third pitch, where the system enlarges dramatically. A 29-metre (95 ft) pitch passes a ledge, and lands in Fault Chamber, where a vertical geological fault can be seen to have a 150 centimetres (59 in) throw. A further 8-metre (26 ft) pitch leads to a final chamber and a stream passage. Upstream, the water emerges from an impenetrable fissure, downstream passes through a low crawl before the going eases, passing under some avens. After 60 metres (200 ft) the passage becomes a waterlogged tube which is normally sumped. This can be baled from the downstream end, to allow a through trip to Dolphin Passage in Death's Head Hole.[2][3]
In Fault Chamber, an easy climb up the eastern rift reaches a small window, that can be forced to an 8 metres (26 ft) pitch that drops into an independent streamway - High Stream Passage. Upstream leads to an aven with an inlet entering, and a narrow 20-metre (66 ft) long passage leading to a second aven. Downstream leads into High Stream Chamber where the water sinks in boulders to emerge from the impenetrable fissure mentioned above. A 22-metre (72 ft) pitch drops into High Stream Chamber from Humble Inlet. Two passages can be reached from the top. Upstream, 100 metres (330 ft) of decorated passage ends in a mineralised choke on a fault in the area of Humble Pot. The downstream passage is smaller and wetter, and finishes in a blind 18-metre (59 ft) pit.[4]
Short Long Drop is an alternative entrance located 10 metres (33 ft) from the main entrance. A tight rift leads to the top of an 8-metre (26 ft) shaft. At the bottom, a tight crawl connects with the bottom of the first pitch in the main cave.[5]