Caves and potholes in the La Terra Alta geological unit
Spans: Terra Alta, Ribera d'Ebre
Part of the Serralada Prelitoral major unit, dominated by conglomerate (50 %). Its caves are spread across Terra Alta, Ribera d'Ebre.
Terra Alta, in the Serralada Prelitoral, contains 16 cavities: 4 pits and 12 caves, with a total length of 519 m and a maximum depth of 65 m. Conglomerates and limestones predominate.
There are 16 catalogued cavities in the La Terra Alta geological unit, including 4 potholes and 12 caves. The longest is Avenc del Cingle (90m).
Length adds each cave once (a system counts once), and depth is that of the deepest cave, canyons excluded.
Read more
Terra Alta, la, is a unit of the Serralada Prelitoral formed by ranges of conglomerates and limestones, at the transition towards the Ebre. It contains 16 cavities: 4 pits and 12 caves, with a total length of 519 m and a maximum depth of 65 m. The lithologies represented are conglomerates (8), limestones (7) and sandstones (1).
Among the most notable cavities are the Avenc del Cingle, 65 m deep at Horta de Sant Joan, on the mountain of Santa Bàrbara, and the Avenc del Barranquet dels Xorros, 23 m deep near the Fontcalda (Gandesa), explored and surveyed by the GERP in May 1986. Also included are the Avenc de la Tossa, a fissure 17 m deep and 77 m long at Prat de Comte, and the Avenc de Carxano, 33 m deep in the Serra de Pàndols (Gandesa).
The group includes the Coves del Barranc del Migdia, eight small caves and rock shelters in the barranc del Migdia (Bot), and the Cova Nº2 de l'Ermita, 34 m long at Horta de Sant Joan.
Map
The 20 longest
- 1Avenc del CingleHorta de Sant Joan, Tarragona90 m
- 2Avenc del Barranquet dels XorrosGandesa, Tarragona88 m
- 3Avenc de la TossaPrat de Comte, Tarragona77 m
- 4Avenc de CarxanoGandesa, Tarragona51 m
- 5Coves del Barranc del MigdiaBot, Tarragona40 m
- 6Cova Nº2 de l'ErmitaHorta de Sant Joan, Tarragona34 m
- 7Cova Nº1 de la Punta de l'aiguaPrat de Comte, Tarragona26 m
- 8Cova de les BeatesPrat de Comte, Tarragona25 m
- 9Cova Nº1 de l'ErmitaHorta de Sant Joan, Tarragona24 m
- 10Cova Nº2 de la Punta de l'aiguaPrat de Comte, Tarragona20 m
- 11Cova de l'àngelPrat de Comte, Tarragona14 m
- 12Cova de Sant SalvadorHorta de Sant Joan, Tarragona10 m
- 13Cova de les XintesRiba-roja d'Ebre, Tarragona8 m
- 14Cova del CagapaellesGandesa, Tarragona7 m
- 15Cova del Mas d'en SunyerGandesa, Tarragona5 m
The 20 deepest
- 1Avenc del CingleHorta de Sant Joan, Tarragona65 m
- 2Avenc de CarxanoGandesa, Tarragona33 m
- 3Avenc del Barranquet dels XorrosGandesa, Tarragona23 m
- 4Avenc de la TossaPrat de Comte, Tarragona17 m
- 5Cova Nº2 de l'ErmitaHorta de Sant Joan, Tarragona15 m
- 6Cova Nº2 de la Punta de l'aiguaPrat de Comte, Tarragona6 m
- 7Cova de les BeatesPrat de Comte, Tarragona5 m
- 8Cova de l'àngelPrat de Comte, Tarragona4 m
16 of 16
Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/