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Cau Gran dels Cisternons

Cau Gran dels Cisternons

A 22-metre-deep pit in the Montgrí, with three entrances, 118 metres of passage and explored by the SIE del CEA in 2007.

Torroella de Montgrí • Baix Empordà 118m 22m

EspeleoWorld

Cau Gran dels Cisternons

A 22-metre-deep pit in the Montgrí, with three entrances, 118 metres of passage and explored by the SIE del CEA in 2007.

Torroella de Montgrí · Baix Empordà

Length: 118 m · Depth: 22 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/cau-gran-dels-cisternons

Information can change. Always verify coordinates, access, weather, and cave conditions before setting out.

Main entrance reference 42.074031, 3.172232 UTM 31 · 514247 4658010
Topographic map of the main entrance
Main entrance · ICGC topographic map

A 22-metre-deep pit in the Montgrí, with three entrances, 118 metres of passage and explored by the SIE del CEA in 2007.

Characteristics

Location

It can be reached from either l'Estartit or l'Escala, bearing in mind that during the summer months vehicle access is prohibited. Probably the most suitable approach is via Sobrestany and la Torre Ferrana; from there we follow the Muntanya Gran road (despite the name it is a track). Past the Roc Ferran viewpoint a long straight begins; we will find a track on the right (ETRS89 coordinates 513896 – 4658458) which we follow for 580 metres, where we will find panel no. 9 of the Ruta del Vent. Els Cisternons, which must not be confused with this cavity, lie a few metres to the right of the track. Cau Gran dels Cisternons lies 43 metres S of Els Cisternons.

We continue along the track for 50 metres, just until we pass a gully. From the right-hand side of the track we go into the wood, leaving the gully on our right. After covering 50 metres from the track we will find the three entrances of the cavity in a limestone pavement.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Cisternons, Cau Gran dels

    Elevation: 104 m

    42.074031, 3.172232
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 514247 4658010
    Open in map Open in Google Maps
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cau Gran dels Cisternons - Photo, Torroella de Montgrí, Baix EmpordàView image
Click to enlarge

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

Image 1 of 5

Description

Morphology

The cavity has three entrances a few metres apart from one another. The southernmost begins with a 6-metre drop followed by another of 4 metres that connects with a ramp gallery leading to the junction with the drops coming from the other entrance. The whole complex presents a series of small drops linked by short passages and forms a system totalling 118 metres of passage.

Progression

Although one of the entrances is rigged with a 10mm bolt (17 spanner), with care the secondary entrances can be accessed without equipment; in the lower shafts the spits are rusted, but equipment is not needed either.

History

The first news we have of this cavity located in the Coma Frigola is from the exploration carried out by the SIE del CEA in 2007, during the campaign they carried out in the Massís del Montgrí.

They catalogued it erroneously as Els Cisternons; in reality this place name was already used to designate another cavity known since long ago and which is referenced in the well-known Ruta del Vent with Panel no. 9 - Els Cisternons - of this route. Narcís Arbusé in his book el Montgrí pas a pas also refers to it. In order not to create further confusion, we have reached the conclusion that it would be more convenient to assign it the name Cau Gran dels Cisternons, given that it is the deepest and longest of all the Cisternons.

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Bibliography

  1. Arbusé Bellapart, Narcís (2005).-El Montgrí pas a pas. 174 pp. Cossetània Edicions. Valls
  2. SIE-CEA.(2007).-Memòria Montgrí. SIE-CEA. Barcelona
  3. Valles, Jordi de (2010).- Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya. Volum 4. 397 pp. Espeleo Club de Gràcia / Federació Catalana d'Espeleologia. Barcelona.
  • Coordenades, dades, situació i fotografies facilitades per Juli Serrano (SIE-CEA) i Francesc Rubinat (ERE-CEC).

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