Skip to main content

Cova M-20

A 37-metre-long cave in Montcortès (Baix Pallars), the only one in the group with lithogenic formations.

Baix Pallars • Pallars Sobirà 37m 6m

A 37-metre-long cave in Montcortès (Baix Pallars), the only one in the group with lithogenic formations.

Characteristics

Location

The cave is located in Montcortès, in the Baix Pallars. From Senterada you must head towards the Pobleta de Bellveí, where you take a narrow road on the right as far as the Montcortès lake. From the E side of the lake an asphalted track leads off towards Peracalç; on reaching the junction with the track that goes to Montsor, you take this track to the right, suitable for any vehicle, and after 1.7 kilometres you reach the flat area where the cavities are found. This flat area is on the left of the track and the spot is easily recognised because the track makes a sharp bend to the right and also on the right there is a large temporary pool of water used for watering animals.

Identifying the cavities is quite complicated, since at present (2011) only the painted name is preserved in M-1 and M-11; in the remaining cavities any sign identifying them has disappeared, and the GEB gives no information about any guideline followed in order to identify them. Therefore, except for these two cavities, it is unknown which coordinates correctly correspond to each of them; it has been considered appropriate to mark the remaining cavities with coordinates located between M-1 and M-11, bearing in mind that except for M-8, which is a couple of bends before reaching the flat area, the remaining cavities are located within a radius of less than 200 metres from this indicated point; in some cases the coordinates correspond to hole entrances, but it is unknown whether they correspond to the same ones. Approximate coordinates within a radius of less than 200 metres.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. M-20, Cova

    Elevation: 1353 m

    42.316058, 0.980655
    UTM 31T (ED 50) 333683 4687047
Download all entrances as GPX

Description

Morphology

Cave 37 metres long. A short distance from the entrance there is a narrow branch towards the E; following the main gallery, this climbs and then descends again.

Speleothems

It is the only cavity in the whole group that has lithogenic formations.

History

On 26 to 30 March 1970 a team from the SIE of the CEA explored the Forat de Montcortès (98 metres) and the Forat del Vicenç (-10 metres). Later, on 6 and 7 March 1976, another SIE team in which some members of the previous team took part explored in the serra de Peracalç, between the Montcortès lake and Peracalç, three cavities of (-30 metres, -11 metres and -7 metres) depth respectively, which it named Forats de la Grata no. 1, 2 and 3; this information remains in the SIE archives but nothing about it was ever published. Very probably they correspond to some of the many holes explored by the GEB in this sector.

In 1980 the GEB began a series of explorations on this flat area located to the N of the roca de Perauba and to the W of the dolmen de Perauba, which the GEB calls the camp flat, because it is the spot where they set up camp during the explorations; these would last until 1988. Later they returned in September 1994, in July 1995, when they were accompanied by archaeologists from the department of history of pre-capitalist societies and social anthropology of the UAB, and they returned again in November 1999. Over the course of these years, the forest mass has grown considerably, which also complicates the location of the cavities. The synonym of this cavity is due to the large number of arachnids found there.

User Comments (0)

No comments yet.

Be the first to share your experience!

Registered Explorations (0)

No explorations registered yet.

Register your visit to this cave!

Bibliography

  1. Porcel Caro,Enric.(1990).-”Exploracions a la Serra Magdalena ”. Cavernas (22):49-57. GE Badalona.
  2. Porcel Caro,Enric; Miret Pérez, Francesc.(2008).-”Cavernes d'interès arqueològic”. Cavernas (27):58-63. GE Badalona.
  3. Navarro,J.(1971).-”Relación cronológica de las exploraciones realizadas por miembros de la SIE en 1970”. EspeleoSie (10):75-87. SIE – CE Àliga. Barcelona.

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