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Pou de Gel

Pou de Gel

Small cave with a 19 m passage in Boumort (Conca de Dalt), known since time immemorial and with ice that persists well into the summer.

Conca de Dalt • Pallars Jussà 19m 4m

Small cave with a 19 m passage in Boumort (Conca de Dalt), known since time immemorial and with ice that persists well into the summer.

Characteristics

Location

The cavity is located in Boumort (Conca de Dalt), situated on the shady side. There are three possible accesses. From Hortoneda we will follow the track in the direction of Mas de les Feixes; upon entering the Coma d'Orient we will follow the track on the left, passing by the masos de la Coma and heading toward the Prat Montaner, which we will reach after finding a water deposit located on the left of the track and shortly after passing a 180º curve to the left. Another access can be made from Bóixols, passing through the Coll de Llivia and the refugi forestal de Boumort; the track descends until it links up in the Coma d'Orient with the track that climbs from Hortoneda, already indicated above. The third access can be made from Organyà: upon arriving at Cabó we will continue toward Senyús; before reaching it we will turn off to the left and follow the track until reaching the Prat Montaner. Once we have arrived at the Prat Montaner, we will follow a path that climbs to the right in the direction of the Cap del Boumort; we will soon leave the path and head to the right, passing the scree slopes at the foot of the cliffs until reaching the cavity. The route from the start to the Prat Montaner is one kilometre.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Gel, Pou de

    Elevation: 1878 m

    42.242402, 1.142930
    UTM 31T (ED 50) 346887 4678563
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Pou de Gel - Photo, Conca de Dalt, Pallars JussàView 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

The cavity is accessed between the rocks of a collapse that gives access to an icy ramp during much of the year, which reaches a widening where the cold is noticeable. It is a highly fractured clastic phenomenon through which the air current that causes the low temperatures circulates.

Hydrology

The floor has a significant thickness of ice during almost the entire year.

Other details

The main characteristic of this cavity is that, due to its special location conditions, it allows the ice to be preserved well into the summer. It seems that this use as an ice pit lasted until shortly before the war of 1936.

History

Cavity known since time immemorial; it is already cited in writings of the 18th century by Francisco de Zamora, it is also cited by Pascual Madoz in 1845 and by Puig y Larraz in 1896. Consequently it continues to appear in all later catalogues. It is not until the year 2008 that the topography of the cavity is published for the first time, carried out jointly by the GE Badalona and the EC Gràcia in an exploration carried out on 30 July 2005.

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Bibliography

  1. Borràs, J; Miñarro, J.M.; Talavera, F.(1979).-Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya (Vol.3). ed. Políglota. Barcelona.
  2. Cortès Ribelles, Manuel.(2005).-La serra del Boumort i muntanyes veïnes. pp:1-380.
  3. Madoz, Pascual (1845).-Diccionario Geográfico-Estadístico-Histórico de España y sus posesiones en ultramar (TomoII):407. Madrid.
  4. Porcel i Caro. Enric (2008).-”Lo Pou de Gel i lo forat de les Mosques de la serra de Boumort”. Cavernes (27):52-57. GE Badalona.
  5. Puig y Larraz, Gabriel. (1896).-Cavernas y simas de España. pp:185.Madrid.
  6. Senent, J.;Victoria, JM.(1966).-”Datos para el conocimiento espeleológico del macizo del Boumort”. Montaña (100):269-281. CE Catalunya.

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