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Cova dels Muricecs

Cova dels Muricecs

A 390-metre-long cave in the Terradets gorge (Llimiana), with the sala dels Muricecs and the Laberint.

Llimiana • Pallars Jussà 390m 20m

A 390-metre-long cave in the Terradets gorge (Llimiana), with the sala dels Muricecs and the Laberint.

Characteristics

Location

By the C-13 road in the Terradets gorge, heading towards Tremp, once you reach kilometre 71900 and just before entering the tunnel there is a turn-off to the left which is the C-147z road; follow it and once you have crossed the dam you will pass through a tunnel; after about 200 metres from coming out of it, on the right you will find some cement stairs that climb up to the terrace above the road; along this terrace a path continues parallel to the road which in about 300 metres will take us to the entrance of the cave.

Another access is also via the C-13 road: once you have passed the two tunnels at the end of the gorge, at kilometre 73100, on the right you will find the pont nou de Monares which crosses the Cellers reservoir; once on the other side continue to the right where you will pass through a tunnel with portals that open onto the reservoir. Once past the tunnel and before reaching the next tunnel, on the left you will find the cement stairs mentioned above, to gain access to the path to the cave.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Cova dels Muricecs

    Elevation: 405 m

    42.053712, 0.893064
    UTM 31T (ED 50) 325745 4658091
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cova dels Muricecs - Photo, Llimiana, Pallars JussàView image
Click to enlarge

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

Image 1 of 18

Description

Morphology

Once past the entrance, a gallery 28 metres long follows, which leads into the so-called sala dels Muricecs, which is the largest chamber of the cavity, 25 metres long by 18 wide and with a maximum height of 9 metres. This chamber joins at three points to an upper level: a ramp that connects with a gallery superimposed on the entrance one; another ramp at the SW end of the chamber that leads to the small decorated chambers and likewise connected with the aforementioned gallery; and there is also a hole that opens more or less vertically above the chamber. The final part of the cavity is made up of the so-called Laberint, formed by a large number of galleries that intersect in a rigorously orthogonal manner, their floor being occupied by a thick clayey layer that fossilises any possible continuation at depth; an exception is the SE end of the terminal joint, which presents a small pit through which one can reach some short lower galleries. The approximate drop is about 20 metres (+10/-10).

Speleothems

The small decorated chambers, connected with the gallery superimposed on the entrance one, are at the SW end of the sala dels Muricecs.

Progression

The final part of the cavity is made up of the so-called Laberint, formed by a large number of galleries that intersect in a rigorously orthogonal manner; an exception is the SE end of the terminal joint, which presents a small pit through which one can reach some short lower galleries.

Other details

For some years the cavity has been closed with a grille and, with the intervention of the Ajuntament de Llimiana, advised by the Museu de Granollers, the Estació Biològica del Pallars and with the contribution of the "Neteja de cavitats" guide of the CPCE, the multiple graffiti that had existed for years were cleaned. At present its visit is regulated according to the hibernation season of the muricecs (bats) and outside this period the cavity can be visited, both by school groups and by the general public, through some adventure sports company.

History

The first exploration corresponds to Jeannel and Racovitza on 31 August 1910, since the cavity was unpublished until then. The different citations such as those of the cova de les Gralles and cova de Montsech that appear in the different catalogues of Puig y Larraz, Font i Sagué, and Faura i Sans, have been interpreted erroneously since these referred to the Forat de l'Or. They also appear cited in some articles from the beginning of the 20th century as cova dels Municets and cova del Rat Penat.

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Bibliography

  1. Borràs,J.;Miñarro,JM.;Talavera,F.(1979).-”El Pallars Jussà”. Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya (Vol.3):1-211. Ed Políglota.Barcelona.
  2. Cardona i Oliván, Ferran.(1989).-Grans Cavitats de Catalunya (Primer Volum):1-198.EC Gràcia. Barcelona.
  3. Carreras Costa, Alejandro.(1967).-”El macizo karstico del Montsec”. Cavernas (9):307-313. GE Badalona.
  4. Escolà, Oleguer (1970).-“Catálogo Espeleológico del Montsec”. Espeleòleg (11-12):453-542, ERE - CE Catalunya, Barcelona.
  5. Miñarro, Josep M.(1993).-”El Prepirineu”. Inventari Espeleològic de Catalunya (2):1-40. Federació Catalana d'Espeleologia. Barcelona.
  6. Montoriol, J.; Andrés, O. (1964).- "Estudio morfogenético de la Cova dels Muricecs (Pas de Terradets, Llimiana, Lérida)". Speleon XV (1-4): 39-47. Universidad de Oviedo.
  7. SAS-CGB. (1967).-”Catálogo de cavidades del macizo del Montsec”. Cavernas (9):319-338. GE Badalona.
  8. Valles, Jordi de (2008).-”Alta Ribagorça, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà i Val d'Aran” Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya (vol.1):1-319. EC Gràcia/FCE.
  • Fotos “1977” facilitades per Francesc Rubinat.
  • Fotografies “JNC” facilitades per Jordi Navarro (Centre Excursionista de Castellar del Vallès).
  • La resta de fotografies han estat extretes del blog Espeleobloc (www.espeleobloc.blogspot.com) posts dels dies 12-09-2011 i 31-10-2012.

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