Zlomísk Cave

The cave is situated easterly from the Liptovský Mikuláš, in the Jánska Valley national nature reserve.

It is located in the central part of the karst territory. The known entrances are located at elevations of 809 m and 854 m, approximately 19 m and 64 m above the riverbed of Štiavnica. The main entrance is well accessible and probably known for long ago by local shephers and woodcutters. The second entrance is artificial. The length of cave spaces reaches 10,688 m with vertical span of 147 m, which ranks this cave among the most important in Slovakia.

The cave represents a large and complicated cave system formed in dark grey veiny Middle Triassic Gutenstein limestones of the White Váh series of the Choč Nappe. The individual parts of the cave have different genesis and spatial distribution. Cave levels are not developed in their typical form and are interconnected by vertical parts, chimneys formed by consequent activity of autochthonous and allochthonous waters. The large horizontal passages were formed by ponor waters coming from the non-karst granite core of the Low Tatras. The inclined passages were formed by activities of autochthonous waters of the karst massif.

Cave genesis was influenced also by other factors like corrosion of atmospheric waters along tectonic faults, gravitational processes connected with periglacial through freezing, which caused cave-ins in several cave spaces. The majority of passages is fossil at present and further collapses and growing of flowstone fills takes place. The active cave development takes place in its lowest parts in the phreatic conditions and spaces with inflows of surface rainfall waters.

The prevailing part of cave sediments is of allochthonous material from the crystalline massif of the Low Tatras. Sandy and loamy sediments without strong presence of bigger pebbles are predominating.

There are various forms of flowstone fill in the cave. Richer accumulations of flowstone formations occur only in some places mainly in the form of straw stalactites and stick stalagmites growing from sandy sediments. Plastic speleothems are well developed in places communicating with the surface.

Four bat species winter in the cave. Only the Greater Mouse-Eared Bat is more abundant (Myotis myotis). The invertebrat fauna wasn’t investigated yet. A possible occurrence of rare crustacean of the Bathynella family is presumed in cave lakes.