Avenc de Can Roca Roja Nº2

A 31-metre-deep pit in the Can Roca Roja area, Sant Feliu de Pallerols, with two entrances, an entry ramp, galleries, shafts and a chamber; total vertical drop of 31.5 metres.

Sant Feliu de Pallerols • Garrotxa 149m 31m

EspeleoWorld

A 31-metre-deep pit in the Can Roca Roja area, Sant Feliu de Pallerols, with two entrances, an entry ramp, galleries, shafts and a chamber; total vertical drop of 31.5 metres.

Sant Feliu de Pallerols · Garrotxa

Length: 149 m · Depth: 31 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/avenc-de-can-roca-roja-n-2

Information can change. Always verify coordinates, access, weather, and cave conditions before setting out.

Topographic map of the main entrance — Main entrance · ICGC topographic map

A 31-metre-deep pit in the Can Roca Roja area, Sant Feliu de Pallerols, with two entrances, an entry ramp, galleries, shafts and a chamber; total vertical drop of 31.5 metres.

Characteristics

Type: Pothole
Municipality: Sant Feliu de Pallerols
Region: Garrotxa
Unit: Valls d'Hostoles i d'en Bas
Length: 149 meters
Depth: 31 meters
Major Unit: Serralada Transversal
Lithology: Sandstone
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: August 1, 2014

Location

The cavity belongs to the municipality of Sant Feliu de Pallerols, in the comarca of Garrotxa. At the time it was mistakenly placed in the municipality of Rupit i Pruit, in the comarca of Osona; we assume this error came from the fact that access is from the Rupit road and that the house of Can Roca Roja is also located in that municipality, but the cavity is not.

Going along the C-153 road from Rupit to the coll de Condreu, shortly after passing kilometre 35 and at the end of the straight where a large “estelada” is painted, we will turn left to take a track that climbs parallel to the riera de Papalló in a first section, and continue climbing parallel along the torrent de Coma-Serra in a second section; we will always follow the main track until coming out onto a flat area with cultivated fields, we will follow it until reaching a crossroads crossed by a power line, we will continue straight on and in less than 300 metres we will reach a cultivated field in the very middle of which we find the mas of Can Roca Roja.

Instead of heading towards the house, we will skirt the field on the left, where at the height of the house we will find an old forest track; we will follow it for about 15 metres where we will find a crossroads, we will follow the right-hand one to the end of the track, which ends a few metres before reaching a small flat area where there are some hunting reserve signs. If we look at the trees at this point, we will see that some are marked with red paint; we will follow these marks on the trees along a path through the middle of the forest and soon we will find some small cairns beside the path that place us at the lower entrance of the avenc de Can Roca Roja nº2.

To go to the upper entrance, we will follow a small path above the lower entrance, and in less than twenty metres we will find the small upper entrance at the foot of a tree.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Boca Superior
Elevation: 978 m
42.069183, 2.486164
UTM 31T (ED 50) 457584 4657789
Open in map Open in Google Maps
Boca Principal
Elevation: 976 m
42.069157, 2.485976
UTM 31T (ED 50) 457569 4657787
Open in map Open in Google Maps

Download all entrances as GPX

Topographic

Avenc de Can Roca Roja Nº2 - Topography, Sant Feliu de Pallerols, Garrotxa

View image

Click to enlarge

Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.

Image 1 of 2

Photos

View image

Click to enlarge

Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.

Image 1 of 4

Description

Morphology

This cavity has two entrances located less than 20 metres from each other. The smaller entrance (0.30x0.50 metres) is at a higher level, while the main entrance appears divided in two by a block. A 10-metre ramp follows with an inclination of 45º; from this point we find an ascending gallery 16 metres long, communicating with the upper entrance. Positioning ourselves again at the end of the ramp and continuing in the same initial direction, we will descend among large blocks until we are at the -26 metre level.

The main gallery, which also begins at the end of the entry ramp, but in the opposite direction to the other two, leads to a 5-metre drop; it soon bifurcates and following the main gallery, one reaches a chamber of 12x18 metres, at the end of which opens a crawlway obstructed by blocks. In this gallery we also find 2 small shafts, one of -7 metres between small blocks, and another of -8 metres with a drop at 4 metres, ending in a diaclase with walls covered in concretions. The total vertical drop is 31.5 metres.

Speleothems

The final diaclase has walls covered in concretions.

Progression

The lower entrance of the avenc de Can Roca Roja nº2 is reached by following the red paint marks on the trees along a path through the middle of the forest, where some small cairns beside the path place us there. To go to the upper entrance, we will follow a small path above the lower entrance, and in less than twenty metres we will find the small upper entrance at the foot of a tree.

History

The first exploration of which we have record is the one carried out by members of the ERE of the CEC and of the GE Olotí, who explored it on 11 January 1976; they named it “Forat nº 1 de Roca Roja”, but this survey remained unpublished and was never published. The fact of naming the cavity as nº 1 suggests that they must have known other cavities in the area.

On 25 June 1976, members of the GGG (Grup Geogràfic de Gràcia, predecessor of the current ECG), explore and survey the cavity.

At first it was mistakenly called “Avenc de Can Roca Reiga nº 2”; this name was corrected in later catalogues to the correct name of “Can Roca Roja”.

User Comments (0)

No comments yet.

Be the first to share your experience!

Registered Explorations (0)

No explorations registered yet.

Bibliography

Borràs, J;Miñarro, JM; Talavera, F.(1982).-”el Baix Empordà, el Gironès, la Selva,l'Osona, el Vallès oriental i el Maresme.” Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya (vol.6):84-85. Ed Políglota. Barcelona.
Lagar, A.; Cardona, F.; Ferreres,J.(1977).-”Dades per al coneixement espeleològic de la Salut – Collsacabra. Barcelona” Excursionisme (31):24-32. UEC.
Lagar, A.; Cardona, F.; Ferreres,J.(1978).-”Datos para el conocimiento espeleològico de la Salut – Collsacabra. Barcelona. Exploracions (2):11-27. Grup Geogràfic de Gràcia.