Cova Balaguer
Coneguda cavitat d'uns 350 m. de recorregut a la zona del Mascar (el Port)
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Cova Balaguer
Coneguda cavitat d'uns 350 m. de recorregut a la zona del Mascar (el Port)
Alfara de Carles · Baix Ebre
Length: 350 m · Depth: 25 m
Updated record
https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/cova-balaguer
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A cavity of about 350 m of passage in the Mascar area (el Port), with complex galleries and an advanced fossil state.
Topographic
Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.
Photos
Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.
Description
Morphology
A cavity that presents great complexity in the route of its galleries. Due to the extensive fracturing of the area where it is found, the cavity has become lodged in a series of joint systems of different directions and levels, giving rise, together with the different bedding planes, to the different floors of galleries. The maximum drop coincides with that of the nearby Cova del Mal Pas, assuming that the two cavities formed part of a single absorption system, now dismantled. The cavity presents an advanced fossil state, with clastic processes that completely deform the original system of the galleries, causing confusion by giving rise to superimposed floors. The route of 350 metres is approximate.
Hydrology
At the point of maximum depth it ends in an area where the water from current seepages accumulates.
History
Discovered around 1931 (in 1928 according to Porta i Massana) by the doctor of Tortosa, Dr. Eugeni Balaguer, on a property of his own in the Mascar area. Very soon it enjoyed an exaggerated fame in the publications of the time and the owner closed it with a grille. The Grup de Rovers de Tortosa, guided by Dr. Balaguer himself, carried out an exploration with great care on 22 May 1932, taking four hours and without having been able to examine it in its entirety. According to the account in the local press (Heraldo de Tortosa, 24-5-1932), full of epic, they only visited one of the floors of the cave and withdrew before a 30-metre shaft (?).
In the summer of 1934 it is visited by Lluís Porta (CEC) and, more or less at the same time, also by Josep Closas (CMB), who each devote articles to the cavity.
From the first campaign of the GES-CMB in March 1957 in the el Port massif, the cave becomes a classic of the area.
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Bibliography
Bayerri, E. (1934).-Historia de Tortosa y su comarca. Tomo II. 704 pp. Tortosa.
Closas, J. (1936).- 'La Cova Balaguer (Ports de Tortosa)' Butll. Inst. Cat. Hist. Nat. (36): 139-149. Barcelona
Porta, L. (1935).- 'Excursions espeleològiques pels Ports de Tortosa'. Butll. del Centre Excursionista de Catalunya (482): 276-281; (483): 315-323. CEC. Barcelona.
SIE (1978).-'Contribució al coneixement espeleològic dels Ports del Caro (Baix Ebre) - V'. EspeleoSie (22): 47-55. SIE - CE Àliga. Barcelona.
Coordenades i fotografies facilitades per l'EC Tortosa.
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Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/