Shiukiuk Caverns

Saleh'Alire » Natural Wonders & Oddities ⭲ Niesen Mountains

Hidden beneath the Niesen Mountain Range in Martova, the Shiukiuk Cavern system is one of the least explored cave systems in the Saleh'Alire- partially due to the lack of settlements in Martova, but also because of its remote location in the Niesen Mountains, as well as the nature of the caves themselves.
The first officially organized expedition of the Shiukiuk Caverns occured in 6379. Consisting of 12 members led by Hildegard Geller and Tana Ani'Pili, the team was assisted by Erkiluuq Tinen- a Sarian woman who had grown up exploring the cave system with her siblings; over the course of 2 months the expedition crew managed to map aproximately 4 miles (7 km).
Another expedition was organized five years later in 6384 by Donilla Corio, Mathen Gunvor- two junior members of the previous expedition. Erkiluuq Tinen returned as their guide, alongside her brother Onaar; organized into two teams, the S3 expedition crew managed to survey an additional 38 miles (61 km)- bringing the total explored length of the system to 42 miles (68 km).
Early exploration of the system originally misidentified the caverns as "ice caves". In reality the system is a branchwork cave system formed over eons by melting glacier ice which slowly eroded away various layers of more soluble minerals between layers of less soluble rock- resulting in a network of streams and caverns with a pattern closely resembling aboveground river patterns; each passage is fed by a separate icemelt source, with the system congerging into larger branches further on.
Both explorations documented a number of new species residing in the caves- including three new Bats, and two new species of Glacier Worms documented by S1, as well as several rare cave-limited species, both terrestrial and aquatic. Because of the fragility and high issolation of the caves, however, many of the species found are considered endangered or at extreme risk.

Glacier Cave by Ezra Jeffrey-Comeau

Located In
Niesen Mountain Range;
Martova

Landmark Type
Glacial Cavern System

A Precious Treasure

There are several Sarian myths that feature the Shiukiuk Caverns. Many speak of chambers deep within, full of thousands of priceless gems; old hoards left over from the age of Dragons before the Dragon Wars- left their by their God to teach their people a lesson about Greed... The S3 expedition found one such hoard during their year long expedition. Unfortunately the stones collected from the hoard turned to normal stone once removed from the caver system by the team- lending credence to the myths.