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Cova Fòssil Nº3 del Xacó

Cova Fòssil Nº3 del Xacó

Ínfima coveta a Montserrat (Collbató)

Collbató • Baix Llobregat6m2m

Tiny little cave in Montserrat (Collbató), south-facing, with superimposed chambers and a third low-ceilinged chamber; an ancient spring described by Llopis and Thomas in 1953.

Characteristics

Location

About Km 1.5 on the B112 road from Collbató we will take the turnoff towards the coves del Salnitre; after 450 m we will leave the vehicle beside the Salut recreational area and, on foot, take the path that climbs back up the torrent itself in a N direction. At 250 m we will leave the torrent bed by its right hydrographic slope in a rocky area, head W for about 30 m and climb the steep slope facing us towards the corner of the cliff. The cave is at the base of the cliff, right at the aforementioned corner and behind the vegetation that perfectly conceals its mouth.

It should be said, however, that the cavities are not in the Canal del Xacó as Llopis says, but in the Torrent de la Font Seca. The lack of precision of the old cartography must have been the cause of the error, since the Canal del Xacó is the one located furthest E, beside the Cova Freda. Despite this, we will continue to call them del Xacó so as not to create more confusion.

Mapa

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Xacó, Cova Fòssil Nº3 del

    Elevation: 500 m

    41.575086, 1.829273
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 402400 4603262
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cova Fòssil Nº3 del Xacó - Photo, Collbató, Baix LlobregatView image
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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

Cave of modest dimensions and south-facing, characterised by having in the W area two superimposed chambers at two levels, the upper one being somewhat more spacious and earthy; the lower one has formations of decomposed conglomerate. In its E area there is a third chamber with a low ceiling and small dimensions.

Hydrology

According to Llopis and Thomas (1953) it seems to be an ancient spring, the remnant of a more extensive cavity that extended towards the S and that was destroyed by the retreat of the thalweg.

Other details

It presents three sedimentation phases that seem synchronous with those studied in the upper area of the coves del Salnitre.

History

The first and practically the only reports about these little caves were those described by Llopis and Thomas in 1953, which due to their scanty dimensions had gone unnoticed, although cited in the different speleological inventories of Montserrat. Despite this, in the Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya, vol 6 (2006) they are erroneously confused with the Cova C.2a del Salnitre, with which they have nothing to do.

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Bibliography

  1. Llopis, N.; Thomas, JM. (1953).- “Estudio hidrogeológico de la vertiente meridional de Montserrat”. Speleon IV (3-4): 121-192, Universidad de Oviedo.
  • Actualització de dades, topografia i fotografies facilitades per Jordi Navarro (Centre Excursionista de Castellar del Vallès) (març 2022)

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