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Balma de Ca l'andaló

Balma de Ca l'andaló

Llarga balma en gresos a Santa Maria de Merlès (Berguedà)

Santa Maria de Merlès • Berguedà15m2m

A 54-metre-wide, 4-metre-high shelter, 15 metres at its deepest, in sandstones at Santa Maria de Merlès (Berguedà).

Characteristics

Location

From km 18.56 of the C-62 road (from Gironella to Vic) we take the track that leads to the Rocamentidera farmhouse and leave the car after 85 metres; we continue on foot along a track that ends after a few metres in a crop field. We head W along the side of the field, which ends in a stretch of rocky earth, and shortly afterwards we reach above the cliff where the cavity opens. We must look for a passage on the right to go down and we continue along the base of the cliff in a S direction, among the vegetation. First we find the small shelter and 10 metres further on the balma gran.

Mapa

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Ca L'andaló, Balma de

    Elevation: 678 m

    42.022007, 2.015902
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 418527 4652688
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Balma de Ca l'andaló - Photo, Santa Maria de Merlès, BerguedàView 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

A 54-metre-wide, 4-metre-high shelter, 15 metres at its deepest. We can distinguish two recesses that reach 15 metres in depth. To the N of this recess there is a large block 9 metres long by 2 wide, fallen from the ceiling, which on falling has been divided into several blocks that remain suspended above the ledge. About 7 metres to the N of the balma de Ca l'Andaló is the so-called small shelter, 12.5 metres long and around 1 metre high, largely occupied by a block fallen from the ceiling.

Progression

The S recess is accessed by an ascending 2-metre step that is easily overcome. The second recess, in the centre-north, is also accessed by a 2-metre step, but a more vertical one, which is climbed thanks to some stones placed strategically by human action to form a staircase.

Other details

The whole ceiling is blackened by smoke. The entire length of the shelter is closed off by a wire fence, entirely overrun by vegetation, and the ground is covered with animal excrement, since it was formerly used to keep livestock.

History

Known since time immemorial. Visited in November 2015 by members of the EC Gràcia who carry out the surveying and cataloguing work.

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Bibliography

  • Totes les dades, topografia i fotografies han estat extretes del blog: cavitatsdecatalunya.blogspot (de Jordi de Valles). Apunt del 12-12-2015.

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