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Cova de les Angúnies

Cova de les Angúnies

Cova de 190 metres de recorregut a Sant Aniol de Finestres.

Sant Aniol de Finestres • Garrotxa190m40m

A 190-metre-long cave in Sant Aniol de Finestres.

Characteristics

Location

Although the first explorers went there from Santa Pau, we believe that currently the most suitable route to access it is via Sant Feliu de Pallerols. Along the C-63 road from Sant Esteve d'en Bas to Sant Feliu de Pallerols, at kilometre 61.625 on the left a road branches off towards Sant Iscle de Colltort; after this small village we continue towards El Ventós. At Can Tià in the Coll Sa Rella we enter the private property of El Ventós, which currently (2021) can be crossed. After 775 metres, at the Coll de Can Barranc according to the ICGC or Coll dels 7 camins according to the local people, on the left we find a steep cemented uphill ramp of a few metres; once at the top we continue along the wider dirt track on the left, which first levels out and then descends a little until, after 700 metres, we reach Coll Ciuró (Aulina de la Creu), at which point we leave the vehicle. At this point two paths branch off; the one on the left, which we will ignore, heads to the Collet de Sant Jordi and the Grau de l'Escaler that climbs up from Santa Pau. We must follow the one on the right, which, almost level, takes us to the place known as l'Estret de Gibraltar; from here the path begins to descend towards the Torrent del Grau, and shortly before reaching it we find a deteriorated track that runs parallel to the Torrent del Grau; we follow it to the right, downstream. Here we have two options: following the track, we cross the torrent and along a narrow path it takes us to the track that runs along the bottom of the Fageda Fosca, parallel to the torrent. The other option is to follow the track until reaching the confluence with the aforementioned track that crosses the torrent, currently completely blurred. Once on the track that climbs along the right bank and parallel to the torrent, we will keep stepping over several trees in the middle of the track (a consequence of storm Gloria) for about 400 metres, until reaching a torrent larger than those we have been encountering (UTM ETRS89: 464585 – 4663011). This torrent, located on the left bank, we will ascend for 72 metres and 36 metres of elevation gain, where we will find the mouth of the cavity in the middle of the torrent. The route from the vehicle is 3.13 kilometres, with a drop of 86 metres. The track of the route is in the bibliography. Note: We have observed that the coordinates do not match the middle of the torrent on the ICGC map; we think the error is not the satellites'.

Mapa

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Cova de les Angúnies

    Elevation: 860 m

    42.117872, 2.571857
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 464607 4662952
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cova de les Angúnies - Photo, Sant Aniol de Finestres, GarrotxaView 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

It begins in the middle of the torrent with a 3-metre drop in the open air; at the bottom, a narrow passage with a drop of about 8 metres places us in a narrow, high gallery descending until, after a few metres, it widens a little. At its end, through a narrow passage and a drop, one enters another gallery much narrower than the entrance one and with an almost perpendicular direction, but which little by little takes on that of the former again. Progress is made along the lower and middle part, since at the upper end of the joint it is extremely narrow. About 50 metres from the entrance, the gallery turns sharply to the right, continuing in this direction for about 15 metres more, before turning again and taking the general direction. In the following 30 metres of gallery there are some pools full of water and, due to the dip of the strata, the ceiling is lower and noticeably sloping. Through a new drop one enters a new gallery, covered with blocks of regular size, wider than the previous ones and with a high ceiling; it is about 12 metres long; it continues narrowing again, but without losing height, to emerge once more into a stretch wider but shorter than the previous one. About 10 metres further on one reaches the sala dels Blocs, and in its lower part the joint continues, here very high and narrow, along which it continues until reaching a drop that allows one to reach a gallery of imperceptible height; at its end, through a small pit, one reaches the last gallery, which lies directly beneath the previous one. Along this final stretch a small watercourse normally flows, the product of the various water inputs along the cavity.

History

The first exploration was carried out in October 1966 by the GIE and the GRA, both of the CE Gràcia; they did not make the survey, but they assigned it a somewhat exaggerated length of 350 metres and pending continuation. They also explored a nearby cave which they named cova d'Angel Rull, about a hundred metres long, but of which nothing more has ever been heard. Hypothetically this could be the nearby cova del Llop. On 1.2 and 3 November 1968, the SIE of the CEA explored and surveyed the cavity, although this would not be published until the appearance in 1980 of volume 4 of the catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya.

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Bibliography

  1. Borrás,J.; Miñarro,JM;Talavera,F.(1980).-”el ripollès, la garrotxa i l'alt empordà”. Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya (vol 4):226-229. ed. Políglota. Barcelona.
  2. Marigot,E.(1967).-”Espeleologia a la Garrotxa”. Circ.C.E.Gràcia (295):4-5. Barcelona.
  3. SIE (1970).-”Relación cronológica de las exploraciones de 1968”. EspeleoSie (6):16-30.
  4. Valles, Jordi de. (2009).-”Berguedà, Cerdanya, Garrotxa i Ripollès”. Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya (vol.3):1-381. EC Gràcia/FCE.
  • Situació, Coordenades i fotografies facilitades per Juli Serrano (SIE-CEA) i Francesc Rubinat (ERE-CEC). Juny de 2021.
  • RUB-Z. Wikiloc (https://ca.wikiloc.com/rutes-espeleologia/cova-de-les-angunies-cova-del-llop-76274623) Track de la ruta de la cova de les Angúnies i la cova del Llop.

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