ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA	CZECH REPUBLIC
Jihomoravský kraj	South Moravia (Brno) region
Okres: Blansko

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The Macocha (Czech: Propast Macocha, literally the Stepmother Abyss), also known as the Macocha Gorge, is a sinkhole in the Moravian Karst cave system of the Czech Republic located north of the city of Brno, near the town of Blansko. The Punkva River flows through it. The sinkhole is about 138.7 meters deep and also the deepest of its kind (light hole type) in Central Europe. It is a popular tourist attraction for casual visitors to the region, in addition to cavers and advanced technical divers.

At the beginning of the Pustý Žleb (Desolate Canyon), below the town of Sloup, the waters of the Sloupský Brook, one of the tributaries of the subterranean river Punkva, helped to form an extensive system of underground passages, domes and abysses, measuring approximately 6.500 meters, known as the Sloupsko-šošůvské jeskyně (Sloup-Šošůvka Caves). The viewing circuit (3.000 meters long) is the longest underground trail open to the public in the Czech Republic. While the Sloupsko part features large domes and deep abysses, the Šošůvka caves section, on a somewhat smaller scale, is remarkable for its amazing fragile and colorful dripstone formations. One of the stalagmites, called "Svícen" (Candle), has a lace-like collar, an effect created by sinters. Part of the circuit includes the tunnel-like cave known as "Kůlna" (Shed), which has been the subject of much archeological work.

Another famous karst pit abyss is located near Hranice, district Přerov.

[Text adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macocha_Gorge]