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Avenc de Coll Balaguer

Avenc de Coll Balaguer

A 39-metre-deep pit at l'Hospitalet de l'Infant, explored in May 1963 by Josep Castell and his group from GES – CMB.

Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant • Baix Camp 115m 39m

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Avenc de Coll Balaguer

A 39-metre-deep pit at l'Hospitalet de l'Infant, explored in May 1963 by Josep Castell and his group from GES – CMB.

Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant · Baix Camp

Length: 115 m · Depth: 39 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/avenc-de-coll-balaguer

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

Main entrance reference 40.967492, 0.868626 UTM 31 · 320654 4537335
Topographic map of the main entrance
Main entrance · ICGC topographic map

A 39-metre-deep pit at l'Hospitalet de l'Infant, explored in May 1963 by Josep Castell and his group from GES – CMB.

Characteristics

Location

On the N-340 road, going from l'Hospitalet de l'Infant to the Vandellòs nuclear power station, at kilometre 1125.5 on the right-hand side, a track comes off that immediately crosses over the AP-7 motorway; once crossed it continues parallel to it and then crosses the A-7 dual carriageway. Once crossed, we follow the track to the left, parallel to the dual carriageway for 430 metres, at which point we turn off onto a track to the right that about 100 metres further on is blocked by a chain. Past this there is an esplanade and a small farm storage shed where they keep the field tools. From the esplanade, one must head to the left, towards an electricity pylon; the cavity is 40 metres from the esplanade of the storage shed, just as the mountain slope begins to rise.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Coll Balaguer, Avenc de

    Elevation: 153 m

    40.967492, 0.868626
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 320654 4537335
    Open in map Open in Google Maps
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Avenc de Coll Balaguer - Photo, Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant, Baix CampView image
Click to enlarge

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

Image 1 of 12

Description

Morphology

A fissure with a general N-S direction presents a first vertical drop of -10 metres, where it divides into two branches; the southern one forms a pit that descends to -22 metres from the surface, among a large quantity of blocks embedded in the walls. On the S side, the cavity descends as a ramp of blocks until reaching the entrance to the second part, formed by a narrow pit of about 6 metres, followed by a new pit of 9 metres; at the base and on the S side, there is a very narrow impassable passage. On the N side, a new pit of 9 metres places us at the bottom of the cavity. This whole sector is extraordinarily divided by a large number of blocks that even form a false lateral route with many protrusions.

Speleothems

The walls are heavily covered in concretions.

Progression

The narrowness of the pit and the fact that the walls are heavily covered in concretions greatly limit passage. Equipment: two metres above the entrance there are 1 parabolt (M10) and 2 parabolts (M8) at the first pit; the following pits are rigged on naturals and at the final pit there is another parabolt (M-8).

History

The first exploration took place in May 1963 by Josep Castell and his group, who at that time belonged to GES – CMB. In September of the same year they returned and explored what they called Via lateral. They returned again in April of the following year and during 1965, already as members of ERE – CEC, they went several times to do the survey. The one we include is the original version of the tracing found again in the ERE archive and which had been published, in a redrawn version, in volume 7 of the Catàleg (1984). Castell was a perfectionist and the completion of the surveys dragged on over time. During this period they carried out a great many explorations in the area of the Vandellòs mountains, mostly small cavities, of which unfortunately we have very little data and some of which we have even lost track of. The rediscovery of the cavity has been possible thanks to our friend Floren Fadrique, who has known it for more than 30 years and acted as our guide so that we could position it correctly.

Bio

Coleoptera: Paranillochlamys velox Zariquiey 1940 (data provided by F. Fadrique, BIOSP).

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Bibliography

  1. Altimira, C.(1970).-”Moluscos y conchas recogidas en cavidades subterráneas”. Speleon (17):65-75. CE Catalunya. Barcelona.
  2. Borràs, J.; Miñarro, JM.; Talavera, F. (1984).- “el baix camp, el priorat i la ribera d'ebre”. Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya (vol. 7): 109-110 pp. Ed. Políglota. Barcelona.
  • Fitxa actualitzada el gener de 2018. Coordenades, dades i fotografies facilitades per Juli Serrano (SIE-CEA) i Francesc Rubinat (ERE-CEC).

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Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/