Cova de les Gaites

Small cave with a 28 m passage near the Roca de l'Esquirol, in Sant Llorenç del Munt, with a large 10 m high opening and a 20 m gallery.

Matadepera • Vallès Occidental 28m 6m

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Cova de les Gaites

Small cave with a 28 m passage near the Roca de l'Esquirol, in Sant Llorenç del Munt, with a large 10 m high opening and a 20 m gallery.

Matadepera · Vallès Occidental

Length: 28 m · Depth: 6 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/cova-de-les-gaites

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

Small cave with a 28 m passage near the Roca de l'Esquirol, in Sant Llorenç del Munt, with a large 10 m high opening and a 20 m gallery.

Characteristics

Type: Cave
Municipality: Matadepera
Region: Vallès Occidental
Unit: Sant Llorenç del Munt
Length: 28 meters
Depth: 6 meters
Major Unit: Serralada Prelitoral
Lithology: Conglomerate
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: December 8, 2014

Location

The cave is located near the Roca de l'Esquirol, in Sant Llorenç del Munt. From the canal del Cavall Bernat one must head toward the nearby balma de les Puces and continue along the cingle del Cap de Mort. When the cliff wall goes up the gully, we will find a long vertical fissure, a little above the foot of the gully, which reveals the existence of the cavity.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Cova de les Gaites
Elevation: 820 m
41.628408, 2.016666
UTM 31T (ED 50) 418184 4609191
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Topographic

Cova de les Gaites - Topography, Matadepera, Vallès Occidental

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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

Cova de les Gaites - Photo, Matadepera, Vallès Occidental

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Description

Morphology

The large opening, easily visible, is the start of the cave. It is 10 metres high, although the base is just one metre wide and the highest part is 3. The short entrance gallery barely reaches 4 metres in length. With a somewhat delicate scramble, suitable for climbers or people with similar ability, one reaches a 20 metre long corridor, with a regular width of one metre, and with a descending ceiling that goes from 3 metres at the beginning to half a metre at the end. In the middle of the route of this gallery there is a small step that forms a kind of channel toward a lower level. In this section, the floor is made of very fine sand.

Hydrology

The smooth walls show the formation of a conduit where water passed under pressure, smoothing the walls of the passage before exiting to the outside.

Progression

With a somewhat delicate scramble, suitable for climbers or people with similar ability, one reaches a 20 metre long corridor.

Other details

From the start of the upper gallery one can contemplate a splendid view over the Roca de l'Esquirol, especially at sunrise.

History

We do not know who made the discovery and first exploration of this cavity, but we think it must have taken place toward the end of the 1960's and the GES – CMB already includes and describes it in the Sant Llorenç del Munt catalogue (without a survey) and it is cited in the different editions of the Editorial Alpina map since 1972. In the summer of 1975 it is visited by members of the SIS – CET with the help of a climber, although it is not until October 1998 that they make the only survey that we know of.