| Sarma Cave | |
| Map: | Abkhazia#Georgia |
| Relief: | 1 |
| Location: | Abkhazia, Georgia |
| Coords: | 43.394°N 40.3725°W |
| Depth: | 1830m (6,000feet)[1] |
| Geology: | Limestone |
| Language: | Russian |
Sarma Cave (Georgian: სარმის მღვიმე), located in Gagra District of Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia, is the third deepest recorded cave in the world. Its current depth (1830 m) was measured in 2012 by a team led by Pavel Rudko.[2]
The cave was discovered in 1990 by caver Sergey Shipitsin during a research expedition of the Arabica caving club led by Alexander Osintsev.
Two species of stygobiont amphipods have been found: Zenkevitchia sandroruffoi[3] living at depths of no more than -350 m and found in other caves of eastern Arabika Massif, in Troika Cave (at -30 m) and in Eagle's Nest Cave (-75 m), and Adaugammarus pilosus[4] inhabiting aquatic biotopes in the deep part of the cave (elevations -1270 m and -1700 m).[5]