Cova del Francès

Subaquatic cavity with about 400m explored and unexplored galleries, between Cala Pedrosa and Punta de la Sardina, at -16m below sea level.

Torroella de Montgrí • Baix Empordà 400m 24m

EspeleoWorld

Cova del Francès

Subaquatic cavity with about 400m explored and unexplored galleries, between Cala Pedrosa and Punta de la Sardina, at -16m below sea level.

Torroella de Montgrí · Baix Empordà

Length: 400 m · Depth: 24 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/cova-del-frances

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

Subaquatic cavity with about 400m explored and unexplored galleries, between Cala Pedrosa and Punta de la Sardina, at -16m below sea level.

Characteristics

Type: Cave
Municipality: Torroella de Montgrí
Region: Baix Empordà
Unit: Montgrí, el
Length: 400 meters
Depth: 24 meters
Major Unit: Prepirineu
Lithology: Limestone
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: September 8, 2024

Location

Between Cala Pedrosa and Punta de la Sardina, almost in front of the Cova d'en Sala (illa Pedrosa), the cave opens at a depth below sea level of -16m.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Cova del Francès
Elevation: -16 m
42.072713, 3.205807
UTM 31T (ETRS89) 517025 4657870
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Topographic

Cova del Francès - Topography, Torroella de Montgrí, Baix Empordà

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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

After passing the entrance, a gallery of good dimensions opens up; a few metres further on it begins to gain depth and reaches -32m at about 60m from the start. Past this low point (a restriction), the cavity rises again to -21m at around 100m from the start, the point where unexplored branches begin to open to the right and left. The cavity continues to approximately some 400m from the entrance, where -40m of depth below sea level is reached.

Progression

About 400m of development have been explored and there are numerous unexplored galleries. During the various rescues, different guide lines have been put in place that are currently in very poor condition, and some sketches of the cave have also been made but of very low reliability.

Other details

It is a cavity with quite a few areas with sediment: if one is not careful, it is quickly stirred up and visibility is totally lost.

History

The cavity became known following the fatal accident of a French military diver (hence the cave's name), which occurred on 21-07-1990. The search tasks for the missing person lasted for some weeks, in which numerous French and Swiss cave divers took part (Marc Douchet, Cyrille Brandt) until he was located and extracted from the cavity. Later there have been other fatal accidents: on 31-09-1998 two Polish divers lost their lives; on 23-08-2006 a Belgian diver died, this last rescue lasted 21 days.

In all cases the victims, despite being expert divers, were people without the training and/or equipment necessary for the practice of cave diving.