Avenc de la Rasa de Savallà

Recent sinkhole 12.5 m deep in Llorac (Conca de Barberà), in the rasa de Savallà, with a 10.5 m shaft excavated in earth, sand and limestone.

Llorac • Conca de Barberà 21m 12m

EspeleoWorld

Recent sinkhole 12.5 m deep in Llorac (Conca de Barberà), in the rasa de Savallà, with a 10.5 m shaft excavated in earth, sand and limestone.

Llorac · Conca de Barberà

Length: 21 m · Depth: 12 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/avenc-de-la-rasa-de-savalla

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

Recent sinkhole 12.5 m deep in Llorac (Conca de Barberà), in the rasa de Savallà, with a 10.5 m shaft excavated in earth, sand and limestone.

Characteristics

Type: Pothole
Municipality: Llorac
Region: Conca de Barberà
Unit: Conca de Barberà
Length: 21 meters
Depth: 12 meters
Major Unit: Depressió Central
Lithology: Limestone
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: October 10, 2016

Location

The T-224/C-432 road (from Santa Coloma de Queralt to Guimerà) crosses the riu Corb over a bridge at km 11.25. Just past the bridge we turn left and take a tarmac track that leads to Savallà del Comtat. Soon we find an esplanade where we leave the car. We continue a few metres along another track (this one dirt) and after a few metres we leave it to follow a path parallel to the rasa for about 200 metres, to descend to the rasa de Savallà, where we find the cavity easily in the bed of the rasa.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Avenc de la Rasa de Savallà
Elevation: 622 m
41.558355, 1.276470
UTM 31T (ETRS89) 356276 4602177
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Topographic

Avenc de la Rasa de Savallà - Topography, Llorac, Conca de Barberà

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

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Photos

Avenc de la Rasa de Savallà - Photo, Llorac, Conca de Barberà

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

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Description

Morphology

The cavity begins with a rounded mouth about 5 metres in diameter, which gives way to a 10.5 metre shaft. The first three metres of the shaft are open, excavated in earth and sand, and the rest in limestone. At 5 metres depth the shaft widens and the base measures 6 x 9 metres, totally occupied by a debris cone.

Hydrology

All the water of the rasa seeps through the shaft. At the base, between the debris cone, the water seeps away. Although the rasa runs dry, one can hear how the water seeps into the cavity. All the water of the rasa seeps through the cavity.

Progression

The rigging of the cavity is delicate, since we must avoid touching the walls of the first metres, quite unstable, so we must use three bolts (one of them a little far away).

History

In 2011, some hikers located a small hole in the rasa de Savallà, no more than 20 cm in diameter. On a second occasion (2013), the hole was already 1X0.40 metres.

At the beginning of the month of October 2014, Jaume Ferreres (ECG) was informed of the existence of this cavity. On a first inspection, he finds the cavity, 1X1.50 metres, and sounds the shaft at about 9 metres. The sides of the entrance were occupied by some unstable blocks that would need to be removed to make its descent safer.

After the floods of the month of December, members of the EC Gràcia and GE Badalona head to the cavity to explore it. Jaume, who acts as guide and goes first, reaches the cavity and finds, to his great surprise, that the mouth, which should be 1 metre, is now a large mouth 5 metres in diameter, so there will be no need to clear the mouth.

A large pine of more than 12 metres has fallen inside the sinkhole; its roots are at the base of the shaft and its crown reaches the outside.