Ghar Parau

Porow Cave is a limestone cave in the Zagros Mountains, north of Kermanshah in Western Iran.^[2] At 751 m deep, it is the deepest cave in Iran.^[3] Joujar Cave has been reported as the second deepest, at 568 m deep.^[3]

Porow Cave
Location	Zagros Mountains, Iran
Depth	751 m (2,464 ft) [1]
Length	1.36 km (0.85 mi)[1]
Discovery	1971
Geology	Limestone
Difficulty	High
Hazards	Vertical pitch

History

A British-led caving expedition to the Zagros Mountains in 1971 led to the discovery of the cave.^[1] The cave was explored to a depth of 742 m when the expedition was forced to return to the surface.^[1] The explorers believed that the cave might go on much further, possibly surpassing the Gouffre de la Pierre-Saint-Martin system, which at that time was the world's deepest known cave.^[4]

The team returned the following year and passed their previous limit, but to their great disappointment, the cave sumped almost immediately at a depth of 751 m and could be explored no further.^[1] To be "Ghar Paraued" became a term used in British caving for a small, disappointing breakthrough following the great effort to discover new passage.^{[citation needed]}