Caves of Sant Carles de la Ràpita

Sant Carles de la Ràpita, in Montsià, brings together 13 catalogued cavities in limestone: 11 caves and 2 pits. Together they total 342 m of length and reach a maximum depth of 32 m.

The longest cavity is the Cova del Tendo, with 202 m of length on the S slope of the Mola de Calatrava, known for a vanished cave painting and with a survey drawn up in 2018. It is followed by the Avenc de la Font del Burgar, of 60 m, in the area of la Foradada, located by Pep Badia and explored by the Club d'espeleologia Dinàmic in 2014, and the Avenc de Mata-redona, of 10 m, beside the ruins of Mata-redona. The Cova de la Mola Plana also has 10 m, a small cave beneath the Mola Plana formed by a single wide gallery with highly decalcified lithogenic formations, as does the Cova del Llop, an unimportant rock shelter beside the path from Sant Carles de la Ràpita to Mata-redona.

Among the deepest cavities are the Avenc de la Font del Burgar, with 32 m, and the Cova del Tendo, with 15 m. The Cova de la Geneta, in the barranc de Mata-redona, is a tiny cave known to shepherds for a long time and unpublished in speleological catalogues.