Avenc de la Vinyeta

Nice 35 m deep pit at the Port (Horta de Sant Joan).

Horta de Sant Joan • Terra Alta 121m 35m

EspeleoWorld

Avenc de la Vinyeta

Nice 35 m deep pit at the Port (Horta de Sant Joan).

Horta de Sant Joan · Terra Alta

Length: 121 m · Depth: 35 m

Updated record

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

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

Nice 35 m deep pit at the Port (Horta de Sant Joan).

Characteristics

Type: Pothole
Municipality: Horta de Sant Joan
Region: Terra Alta
Unit: Port, el
Length: 121 meters
Depth: 35 meters
Major Unit: Serralada Prelitoral
Lithology: Limestone
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: November 17, 2012

Location

From Horta de Sant Joan you have to take the road that leads to the recreational area of the Parc at the Mas de la Franqueta. Long before arriving, shortly after passing the mas de Tramuntano, there is a turnoff to the left where the so-called pista de les Eres begins, which you must take after passing by the side of the Roques d'en Benet, the coll de Membrado and the mas de Rosset. After the turnoff to the coll Blanc, shortly before reaching the ruins of the mas de les Eres, you have to cross an area of fields located to the west of the track and go in search of a cliff that overlooks the head of the barranc de l'Avellanar; below it and to the S., the mouth of the pit is found.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Avenc de la Vinyeta
Elevation: 755 m
40.894530, 0.349240
UTM 31T (ED 50) 276795 4530635
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Topographic

Avenc de la Vinyeta - Topography, Horta de Sant Joan, Terra Alta

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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 Vinyeta - Photo, Horta de Sant Joan, Terra Alta

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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

Through a narrow mouth you enter a bell-shaped shaft with a drop of 31 metres and at its base a gallery begins that towards the SW is slightly descending and then changes to an ascending conduit that gradually narrows until it becomes impassable. Back at the base of the shaft, the gallery takes the NE direction and is immediately collapsed by a rocky massif with blocks and lithogenic formations that mask it. There are different conduits inside it and along the upper part it can be passed until reaching a step that leads to the other end of the gallery, which after a few metres is closed at the point of maximum depth (elevation – 35).

Speleothems

Lithogenic formations that mask the rocky massif that collapses the gallery.

History

The first exploration of the pit was carried out by members of the GIE – CE de Gràcia (Barcelona) around the years 1965 or 1966, remaining practically unpublished and we only know of an anonymous mention in a list of activities published in the Club's bulletin, where they also state that the cavity is 75 metres deep. Almost 40 years later, members of the EC Tortosa located the cavity and inside it found a graffiti with the name of the pit and a whole series of Mauser rifle munitions thrown down the shaft, possibly in wartime. In 2004 they fully explored it and surveyed it.