Balma de la Riera de les Gorgues

An elongated rock shelter in l'Esquirol (Osona), carved by the riera de les Gorgues, 69 m wide, 9 m deep and up to 6 m high.

Esquirol, L' • Osona 9m

EspeleoWorld

An elongated rock shelter in l'Esquirol (Osona), carved by the riera de les Gorgues, 69 m wide, 9 m deep and up to 6 m high.

Esquirol, L' · Osona

Length: 9 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/balma-de-la-riera-de-les-gorgues

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

An elongated rock shelter in l'Esquirol (Osona), carved by the riera de les Gorgues, 69 m wide, 9 m deep and up to 6 m high.

Characteristics

Type: Cave
Municipality: Esquirol, L'
Region: Osona
Unit: Cabrerès, el
Length: 9 meters
Depth: 0 meters
Major Unit: Serralada Transversal
Lithology: Sandstone
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: September 24, 2019

Location

On the same bed of the riera de les Gorgues, some 60 m upstream from the salt de la Barra de Ferro. This stream forms a rather wild and deep gorge.

To get there, from l'Esquirol we take the road towards Tavertet. At around kilometre 4.5, an asphalted track leaves to the right that will take us to Sant Bartomeu Sesgorgues.

We can start walking here, along the lovely camí de l'escaleta, which will lead us to the house of Sentfores, where the path begins that descends steeply to the stream, making several bends.

Once at the stream bed, we will follow it downstream along the left bank and in less than 200 m we will reach the rock shelter. A little further down from it is the lovely salt de la Barra de Ferro, where the water drops almost 80 m, coming from a tributary stream of the riera de les Gorgues.

We can shorten the walk by driving to the house of Sentfores, along a track in not very good condition.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Balma de la Riera de les Gorgues
Elevation: 485 m
42.016282, 2.353694
UTM 31T (ETRS89) 446488 4651786
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Topographic

Balma de la Riera de les Gorgues - Topography, Esquirol, L', Osona

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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

Balma de la Riera de les Gorgues - Photo, Esquirol, L', Osona

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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

Elongated rock shelter carved by the riera de les Gorgues. The width of the rock shelter is 69 m and its depth 9 m. The height reaches 6 m, but much of it stays below 3 m. The stratification of the rock, with a gentle dip, is perfectly visible on the walls.

Outside the sheltered surface there is a large accumulation of blocks, both those that have broken off the cliff and those that have been carried by the stream in strong floods.

Hydrology

The water of the riera de les Gorgues flows through its interior. In the eastern half of the rock shelter the floor is made of smooth rock, over which the water slides. In the western half the water pools, forming a large plunge pool with a depth of the order of a metre and a half.

Other details

The rock shelter is in a damp and shady spot, created both by the water of the stream and by the moss-covered blocks, by the hanging ivy and by its sunken position at the bottom of a gorge with plenty of vegetation.

History

Known since remote times, although the first mention appears in the mountain guide: “Les gorgues”, by Ramon Vinyeta, Ed. Montblanc (1961), although it does not mention any name for the rock shelter.

Visited in July 2019 by members of the ECM Barcelonès and the GE Badalona carrying out the relevant cataloguing work.

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Bibliography

Totes les dades, topografia i fotografies ha estat extretes del web: geb.cat (del Grup d'Espeleologia de Badalona). Apunt del 16-7-2019. Dades: F. Cardona (ECM Barcelonès) i J. Cuenca (GEB).