Speleogenetic process of Suaran Block, karst of Sangkulirang–Mangkalihat, East Kalimantan

Abstract

Karst of Sangkulirang Mangkalihat is one of the greatest karst areas in Indonesia and has hundreds of caves. Some of those caves are located at Suaran Block, one of the main karst block at this karst. This paper aims to study the speleogenesis process, as the fundamental process on karst landscape and cave development in that area. Speleogenetic process can be examined from the shape of the cave passage using uniformitarianism approach. That principle creates speleomorphology as the study of cave passage form and the factors that affect it. The examination of the cave passages uses cave maps to see the form and direction of them. As the result, caves at Suaran Block are formed mainly driven by geological structures such as fault – fissures and bedding plane which is indicated by linear form of the cave passage and water flow which shows sinusoidal form of the cave passage. Some caves are shaped by the combination of geological structure and water flows make them have mixed-induced speleogenesis.