Caves in the mountains of Karatau.

 “Mankind behaved too long on the planet as an unreasonable master. Creating conveniences for a comfortable life, we completely forgot that the resources of nature, alas, are far from endless, that our children will have to live in cities where the air is dirty and poisoned. It is time to remember that nature does not forgive mistakes. Man must take care of nature, remember that he himself is a part of this nature. Is it reasonable to cut the branch on which you sit? ”

V. G. Rasputin.

Caves in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan.

Aktogay Cave is located in the western part of the Ulken-Aktau mountains in the Sarysu district of the Zhambyl region. The Aktogay Cave is located on the starboard side at the mouth of the Aktogai River Gorge, near the western outskirts of the Aktogay village.
The rock mass in which the cavity is formed is part of the Ulken Aktau ridge. The mountains are composed of gray marble limestone. The cave is a western exposure, located at an altitude of 450 meters above sea level and 24 meters above the edge of the river.
The cave is easily accessible, the ascent to it passes along a scree cone of removal from the adjacent rocky gully. Before the entrance to the cave there is practically no platform, right at the drop line a steep rocky ledge of the valley board begins.
The width of the cave entrance along the drip line is about 12 meters, the maximum height is about 5 meters. The vast cave hall goes deep into the rocky massif approximately 35 meters. The hall in the central part expands to 16 meters.
The height of the arch gradually decreases into the depths of the cave while simultaneously raising the level of the floor in the form of a hollow oblique fan. Further, the cavity narrows and rises deep into the rock. The entrance to the far hall or gallery is blocked by large blocks of the collapsed vault (blocks larger than 1 meter in diameter).
A hole of 1.5 × 1.5 meters in size was laid 15 meters from the drip line and 2 meters from the southern wall of the cave, revealing deposits of 3.3 meters in thickness. In a section, eight stratigraphic subdivisions of the soil are distinguished.
Several layers of humus deposits have been found - dry, silty, with admixture of small cattle manure. Power 0.1 meter. These materials, in all likelihood, date from the early Iron Age. In the underlying sediments, which formed, judging by their lithologic and stratigraphic characteristics, during the Pleistocene epoch, no finds were found.
At the same time, Paleolithic complexes can be opened in the cave, since only a small area was investigated. The distance from the city of Taraz to the cave Aktogay 157 km.

Enlightener:
Mv Shunkov, J.K.Taimagambetov, M.B. Kozlikin. Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the SB RAS National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Alexander Petrov
photos.