Grotte marine de la Piade n°1 - Entrée Ouest

The cave opens through a large porch (east entrance) 25 metres wide, 13 metres high and 35 metres long. At the end of the cave a sump (-1 m) starts at a depth of only 0.5 metre; it resurfaces less than 20 metres further on in a grotte marine (west entrance) at the bottom of a large porch 55 metres wide, 30 metres high and 20 metres long. The two main directions of the cavity appear to agree with the two faults that bound the limestone block in which the cave develops.

The sump starts at a depth of only 0.5 metre and was free-dived by daring divers; it resurfaces less than 20 metres further on in a grotte marine (west entrance).

The cave can only be reached by swimming or by boat. It is also the end point of the climbing traverse known as La Piade, opened by Patrick Eldinger and starting from the beach below the fort de Sainte-Marguerite; one passes in front of the large porch of the west entrance while doing this traverse.

Triassic Muschelkalk limestone.

Source:
* Guillaume CHARDIN - CDS83, Fichier des cavités du Var > "Grotte marine de la Piade n°1" (number 2062001): https://www.fichiertopo.fr/display.php?details=1&indexid=2250
* Article from the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipédia en français > "Muschelkalk": https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trias_moyen