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The ground above Halamata Cave (Sentinel-2)

Iraq Iraq Cave

Halamata Cave

19 °C inside, all year.

See the descentHow to visit

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

The descent

The entrance, at 687 m.

The real relief above Halamata Cave, measured on the Copernicus model every 30 m, and the cave going down at the same vertical scale.

depth not publishedEntrance891 m1.0 kmvertical × 5.6depth not publishedEntrance891 m1.0 kmvertical × 12.1

The depth is the one published by those who explored it; the shape of the galleries is a sketch, not a survey. No depth has been published for this cave yet.

687m

Entrance altitude

from the 30 m relief model

19°C

Inside, all year

the yearly average outside, at the entrance

137m

Rock above

the highest point within 1.5 km

Inside and outside

19 °C inside, all year.

Deep inside, a cave keeps the average temperature of the year outside: about 19 °C here, in January and in August. In July the afternoon reaches 41 °C at the entrance, 22 °C warmer than inside: take a jacket. The best months to escape the heat are from May to September.

outside, at the entrance (687 m)inside
  1. 9°1°Jan
  2. 11°2°Feb
  3. 16°6°Mar
  4. 22°10°Apr
  5. 29°16°May
  6. 37°22°Jun
  7. 41°26°Jul
  8. 40°26°Aug
  9. 35°21°Sep
  10. 27°15°Oct
  11. 17°7°Nov
  12. 11°2°Dec
Inside: 19 °C all yearEscape the heat: May–SepWettest: Dec–Apr

Outside: afternoon and night averages for 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the entrance. Inside: the yearly average, which deep parts of a cave keep. Near the entrance it follows the weather a little.

Archaeological site in Iraq

Halamata Cave is a cave in Iraq. The entrance is at 687 m.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Wild cave: only with caving equipmentNo paths or lights inside. Go only with a caving club or a qualified guide.
  • Dihoknearest town · 5.2 km in a straight line
  • جبل زاواnearest viewpoint · 0.8 km from the entrance
  • Şırnak Şerafettin Elçi Airport (NKT)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 98 km in a straight lineCar hire at MQM airport (Mardin)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

Guided tours, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above.

The ground above the cave, with the relief shaded, the line of the section and what people have mapped around the entrance.

The ground above Halamata Cave (Sentinel-2) N 1.5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the section above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the entrance.

  • 1other cave entrances within 3 kmCave
  • 7viewpoints within 3 kmNRC, مۆبیلیاتی نۆڤا, تاخێ باهدینان and 4 more
  • 1marked hiking routes within 3 km
  • 25car parks within 2 km
  • 1bus stops within 2 km
  • 8campsites within 8 kmKempa Domiz, دوميز, زياد and 5 more
  • 206hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSarhat M. Adam, Parlaman Hotel, Sulamany Palace and 203 more
  • 65restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • springs within 2 km
  • sinkholes within 3 km
  • caving clubs and spots within 15 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • information boards and visitor centres within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the entrance. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Dihok5.2 km in a straight line
  • Simele8.4 km in a straight line
  • Sumayl8.5 km in a straight line
  • Sīnah9.4 km in a straight line
  • Zāwītah20 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Halamata Cave.

The river at the entrance, the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains and volcanoes above, the canyons, beaches and islands nearby — from our other atlases.

Lakeyas1 lakes within 10 km
Buḩayrat Dahūk1.1 km² · 7.3 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather outside, at the entrance.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon91116222937414035271711
Afternoon91116222937414035271711
Night1261016222626211572
Rain (mm)50486358276224294054
Rainy days910111072001579
Sun hours/day5.26.16.07.09.313.113.112.210.77.25.34.7
Snow on the ground (cm)12106200000039
AfternoonAfternoonNightRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan991505.2
Feb11112486.1
Mar16166636.0
Apr222210587.0
May292916279.3
Jun373722613.1
Jul414126213.1
Aug404026212.2
Sep353521410.7
Oct272715297.2
Nov17177405.3
Dec11112544.7

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the altitude of the entrance (687 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020101%112%211%89%53%26%———6%88%44%
202191%48%68%8%11%0%———83%37%77%
2022183%37%69%23%115%26%———62%343%9%
202338%115%103%99%85%21%———99%187%85%
2024148%71%142%59%184%37%———22%93%34%
202517%65%46%139%95%74%———48%125%158%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Caves nearby.

Halamata Cave

Iraq

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 687 mEntrance altitude
  • 19 °CInside, all year

Shanidar Cave

Iraq · 116 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 461 mEntrance altitude
  • 20 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Hassuni Caves

Turkey · 218 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 1,096 mEntrance altitude
  • 14 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Saholan Cave

Iran · 269 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 1,745 mEntrance altitude
  • 12 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length, visitorsWikidata (Q106371911) · CC0
The relief above, the entrance altitude, the section and the 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Entrances, springs, sinkholes, opening hours and what is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, canyons, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit
cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.You are here
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Coming soonVisit
forestsForestyaEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit