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Avenc del Tinc-ca-tinc

Avenc del Tinc-ca-tinc

Avenc de 43 m. de fondària a la Vall d'Àssua (Pallars Sobirà)

Sort • Pallars Sobirà98m43m

A 43 m deep pit in the Vall d'Àssua (Pallars Sobirà), explored in 1962 and surveyed in 1974, with a 22 m entrance shaft and stalactitic formations.

Characteristics

Location

Just leaving Sort in the direction of Rialp, we find a roundabout; we will continue in the direction of Llessui (LV-5223). Once past the village of Altron, almost at km 6, a track comes out on the left that leads to the font de Libeto. Here we find a crossroads; we will follow the track to the right, passing in front of the borda del Bernardí. The track continues parallel to some pasture fields on the left; at the moment when the track turns 180 degrees to the right, we will cross the whole pasture field to the left as far as its far end, and position ourselves above the next meadow. Here we will find some terraces which, climbing them in a NE direction, will lead us to the cavity.

Mapa

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Avenc del Tinc-ca-tinc

    Elevation: 1122 m

    42.444456, 1.107829
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 344387 4700860
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Avenc del Tinc-ca-tinc - Photo, Sort, Pallars SobiràView image
Click to enlarge

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

Image 1 of 17

Description

Morphology

The quadrangular mouth gives way to a shaft with an average width of 2 metres and a length of 8 metres, which increases as it deepens. This shaft has a vertical drop of 22 metres and its base is considerably elongated, following the main joint of direction E36N – 036S. From the foot of the vertical, occupied by a large debris cone, two steep slopes of clastic material emerge; towards the NE it is 15 metres long and has its ceiling and walls beautifully decorated by stalactitic formations. The SW gallery, after a vertical drop of 4 metres, descends at a slope of 40º to the mouth of a new shaft, of 5 vertical metres, which leads onto a new chamber of elongated section practically in the same direction as the rest of the pit. This new chamber is nothing more than the lower part of the single cavity, which is divided into multiple parts by the clastic accumulations.

Its origin seems to be due to the erosion or dissolution of a stretch of limestone, practically disappeared, within the package of schists predominant in the area.

In a later survey (SIS – CET, 1978), a small side chamber appears, reached by means of a narrow passage located at the foot of the entrance shaft and which does not seem to be reflected in the first survey.

Speleothems

The reconstructive process is represented by a large parietal flowstone in the central part of the base of the entrance shaft, and a considerable quantity of white stalactites and stalagmites of regular sizes, among which are some eccentric and isotubular ones, as well as beautiful needle crystallizations.

History

The cavity had always been known to the people of the area, but it was not explored until August 1962 by members of the GES-CMB, although this first exploration remained almost unpublished. It was not until the summer of 1974 that other members of the GES-CMB explored and surveyed it, subsequently making it known.

Toponymy: We keep the word avenc that the first explorers gave it, but it should be noted that it is a toponym totally non-existent in this area of the Pallars. Possibly one should use the word forat.

As for the curious name of Tinc-ca-tinc, we have not been able to ascertain its etymology although it makes us think of an onomatopoeic origin. Would Tinc a tinc not be more correct?

Bio

Collembola:
Tomocerus catalanus Denis, 1924 (O. Escolà; 12-10-1978)

Coleoptera:
Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Speonomites tincatincensis (Escolà-Bellés-Comas)
(O. Escolà, 12-10-1978)
(X. Bellés; T. Cuñé; O. Escolà; 17-12-1978)
(26-X-2017 Serrano-Roca leg.) 6 indiv.

Speonomus akarsticus n. sp. (O. Escolà; 12-10-1978)

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Bibliography

  1. Borràs, J.; Beneito, A. (1975).- “Contribució al coneixement espeleològic de la vall d'Àssua (Pallars Sobirà)”. Vèrtex (46): 412-414. Federació Catalana de Muntanyisme. Barcelona.
  2. Escolà, O. (1980).- “Speonomus akarsticus n. sp. (Col. Catopidae) del Pirineo del Pallars (Catalunya)”. Speleon (25): 27-29. Centre Excursionista de Catalunya. Barcelona.
  3. Gama, M.M. da (1984).- “Collemboles cavernicoles de l'Espagne” Miscel·lània Zoològica (8): 81-87. Museu de Zoologia. Barcelona.
  • Actualització de la fitxa novembre de 2017, dades i fotos facilitades per Montse Roca i Juli Serrano (SIE.CEA), amb Francesc Rubinat (ERE-CEC).

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