Skip to main content

Coves del Barranc del Migdia

A group of eight small caves and rock shelters in the barranc del Migdia (Bot, Terra Alta), with a reference by Joan Pallarès from 13 October 1984.

Bot • Terra Alta 40m

A group of eight small caves and rock shelters in the barranc del Migdia (Bot, Terra Alta), with a reference by Joan Pallarès from 13 October 1984.

Characteristics

Location

In the barranc del Migdia (Bot, Terra Alta). From the Àrea recreativa del Forat de la Donzella one must start ascending the barranc along its streambed and, after about 600 metres, break uphill (hydrographic right) until at the foot of the great tirapit on the mountain slope we find the first of the cavities. Approximate coordinates of low precision.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Coves del Barranc del Migdia

    Elevation: 385 m

    40.999929, 0.399877
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 281315 4542006
Download all entrances as GPX

Description

Morphology

A group of eight tiny cavities:

  • Cova I del Barranc del Migdia: small cave at the foot of the cascade.
  • Cova II del Barranc del Migdia: about 40 metres higher than the previous one and slightly to the right, looking at the rocky wall. An old rock shelter of fluvial origin, today entirely full of cobbles and sediments.
  • Cova III del Barranc del Migdia: the most important of the group, about 20 metres higher than the previous one. A large rock shelter developed along a sandy stratum of the conglomerate. The scanty height of the mouth, especially in the E sector, gives it conditions of darkness that do not make it seem at all like a rock shelter. The floor has a great thickness of sediments very visible in the cut of the mouth (Section A-B) and is carpeted with many cobbles and ferruginous clay, very red, dry and dusty. From the topography we have calculated about 40 metres of passage between the three mouths.
  • Cova IV del Barranc del Migdia: higher than the previous one and to the left looking at the rocky cirque. It is only a small concavity with a curious double floor formed by sediments.
  • Cova V del Barranc del Migdia: higher up and to the left of the group, about 7 metres deep and slightly ascending.
  • Balma de l'Agulla del Migdia: it is a 'baumot' beneath this needle.
  • Forat I de Roca Plana: an old fossil spring, almost at the summit of the Roca Plana.
  • Forat II de Roca Plana: at the foot of the upper cliff, at its lowest point. It is also a fossil spring carpeted with a stalagmitic crust today half damaged.

Speleothems

The Forat II de Roca Plana is a fossil spring carpeted with a stalagmitic crust today half damaged.

Hydrology

The Cova II del Barranc del Migdia is an old rock shelter of fluvial origin. The Forat I de Roca Plana is an old fossil spring, almost at the summit of the Roca Plana, and the Forat II de Roca Plana is also a fossil spring.

Progression

From the Àrea recreativa del Forat de la Donzella one must start ascending the barranc along its streambed and, after about 600 metres, break uphill (hydrographic right) until at the foot of the great tirapit on the mountain slope we find the first of the cavities.

Other details

Approximate coordinates of low precision.

History

The only reference to these cavities is those described by Joan Pallarès, who visited them together with some friends on 13 October 1984.

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. Pallarès-Personat, Joan (1985).- “Espeleologia al Barranc del Migdia”. El Pedrís (12): 4. Bot.

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