Cova Freda

Small cave with 54 m of passage in Torrelles de Foix, at the puig de les Torres, with two entrances and a vertical drop of -12.80 m.

Torrelles de Foix • Alt Penedès 54m 13m

EspeleoWorld

Cova Freda

Small cave with 54 m of passage in Torrelles de Foix, at the puig de les Torres, with two entrances and a vertical drop of -12.80 m.

Torrelles de Foix · Alt Penedès

Length: 54 m · Depth: 13 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/cova-freda-torrelles-de-foix

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 54 m of passage in Torrelles de Foix, at the puig de les Torres, with two entrances and a vertical drop of -12.80 m.

Characteristics

Type: Cave
Municipality: Torrelles de Foix
Region: Alt Penedès
Unit: Alt Penedès, l'
Length: 54 meters
Depth: 13 meters
Major Unit: Serralada Prelitoral
Lithology: Limestone
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: May 18, 2017

Location

The cavity is located in a rocky area within the forest, at the puig de les Torres, to the SE of the house called Les Torres.

To get there we will take the road from Torrelles de Foix to Pontons (BV-2122) and turn right, after km 4, to go to the residential development “La Plana de les Torres”. After the fondo del Rector, and before entering said development, we will turn off onto a track to the left towards the Les Torres farmhouse. We can park the car at the fork that branches off towards cal Pepó, Can Dameta and can Xegadí. We will walk in a SW direction alongside some fields, using Les Torres as a reference. Below these buildings, we will have to turn left to find an old track located at the end of the fields, which descends towards the Fontfregona. We will walk about 150 m approximately, and on the right among the forest, we will make out the rocky area where the cavity is found; a small path will bring us to the entrance in a few minutes.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Freda, Cova
Elevation: 685 m
41.410584, 1.546303
UTM 31T (ETRS89) 378502 4585357
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Topographic

Cova Freda - Topography, Torrelles de Foix, Alt Penedès

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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 Freda - Photo, Torrelles de Foix, Alt Penedès

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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 with two entrances. The deepest part of the cave is at -12.80 m. The initial chamber is about 5 metres long by 2.50 wide. The upper chamber is about 3×4 metres and another small chamber is about 4×3 metres.

Progression

We will enter through the lower entrance, which is the most accessible. We overcome an R-1.40 and find a joint through which we can advance about 5 metres in a SW direction; at the upper part there is the access to the second entrance and to the upper gallery.

We will choose to enter through a crawlway in a SE direction that descends to turn right with an R-0.60. We find ourselves in a gallery that after 3 metres leads us to a chamber about 5 metres long by 2.50 wide; at the end of this chamber we will see the continuation, we will ignore on the right a chimney that connects us with the upper galleries.

The continuation is a passage that leads us to another chamber, after overcoming an R-1. After 4 metres we see a gully, an old sinkhole of the cavity, and we will descend an R-2.70; we reach the deepest part of the cave: -12.80 m. Here we see that the cavity could still continue further, but it becomes impracticable. It is also observed that desobstruction work or archaeological test pits have been carried out.

In a N direction we will find a series of ascending steps that connect with the upper gallery. On this upper route we first find a chamber about 3×4 metres, which at the end connects with the aforementioned chimney, via an R-1.40. If we look at the ceiling, we see that the gallery continues after an R+1 followed by an R+0.90. We reach another small chamber about 4×3 metres where, towards the E, a passage leads us to the upper entrance and we close the small circuit of this cavity.

Other details

At first it was known as Avenc de les Torres (and so it appears on the ICGC map, although wrongly located), but it seems that the most correct name would be that of Cova Freda (because of the cold air that comes out of the entrance), although some residents of the nearby development have renamed it as Cova del Dragó.

History

It seems that the first documented visit to the cavity is from the mid-1940s by Joan Alayo (collaborator of the Museu de Vilafranca) and Josep Anton Salvà (then owner of the land). In 1968 more complete work is done by J.M. Masachs and A. Comas (Museu de Vilafranca). In May 1969 Antoni Ferrer and other members of the Grup Espeleològic Talaia make a first topographic survey (we do not know it).

In these visits different archaeological materials have been collected, from the Neolithic to medieval.

In March 1988, members of SIRE – UEC Sants visit it and make the topography. Later we know of the visits of our friend Floren Fadrique for biospeleological purposes.

At the beginning of February 2017, members of the GE Badalona relocate it and make a detailed record of the cavity.

Bio

Coleoptera:

Troglocharinus espanyoli roselli

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Bibliography

Aymamí, G. (1988).- “Contribució al coneixement espeleològic de l'Alt Penedès (12ª nota)”. Excursionisme (159): 254-255. Unió Excursionista de Catalunya. Barcelona. Barcelona.

Altres dades a Inventari Arqueològic de la Generalitat de Catalunya (invarque.cultura.gencat.cat)

Revisió de coordenades, foto boca i dades biospeleològiques facilitades per Floren Fadrique (SIE – CEA).

Actualització de fitxa, topografia i fotografies extretes del web: geb.cat (del GE Badalona). Apunt del 8-2-2017. Dades de: E. Porcel, J. Cuenca i X. Samarra (GEB)