Caves of the Baix Penedès
The Baix Penedès contains 70 cavities: 33 pits and 37 caves, with a total passage length of 2845 m and a maximum depth of 70 m. The Cova d'Artús-forat del Vent, at 564 m, and the Cova de Vallmajor, at 395 m and 67 m deep, are the most notable.
The Baix Penedès region has 70 catalogued caves, including 33 potholes and 37 caves. The longest is Cova d'Artús-forat del Vent (564m) and the deepest is Avenc de Vallmajor (70m). Most caves are found in limestone.
Length adds each cave once (a system counts once), and depth is that of the deepest cave, canyons excluded.
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The Baix Penedès brings together 70 inventoried cavities: 33 pits and 37 caves, which total 2845 metres of passage and reach a maximum depth of 70 metres. The lithologies present are limestone (46), dolomite (23) and conglomerate (1).
Among the longest cavities are the Cova d'Artús-forat del Vent, at 564 metres, and the Cova de Vallmajor, at 395 metres and 67 metres deep, known since ancient times and protected in 1998 as a World Heritage Site. As for depth, notable are the Avenc de Vallmajor, at 70 metres, located about 50 metres to the E-SE of the Cova de Vallmajor, and the Avenc de l'Arlà, at 63 metres, with a chamber discovered in November 2016 and a history that includes a crime from 1858.
Other relevant cavities are the Avenc dels Pinyerets, with 110 metres of passage and 38 metres of depth, discovered in 1933, with a first shaft of 15 metres and another of 7 metres, and the Avenc del Nostre Pare, 43 metres deep, discovered and explored by the SES of the Club Esquí Puigmal during the 1970s.
Map
Municipalities
The figures of these places do not add up to the total: a cave can be in more than one place, or in none when its location has no lower level.
The 20 longest
- 1Cova d'Artús-forat del VentAlbinyana, Tarragona564 m
- 2Cova de VallmajorAlbinyana, Tarragona395 m
- 3Avenc de VallmajorAlbinyana, Tarragona170 m
- 4Avenc de l'ArlàAlbinyana, Tarragona160 m
- 5Avenc dels PinyeretsEl Montmell, Tarragona110 m
- 6Avenc del Nostre PareAlbinyana, Tarragona90 m
- 7Avenc de PalleretsEl Montmell, Tarragona90 m
- 8Cova del ManyéLa Bisbal del Penedès, Tarragona90 m
- 9Avenc de Sant AntoniCunit, Tarragona82 m
- 10Pou de Cal SantóCunit, Tarragona80 m
- 11Avenc d'EscansaAlbinyana, Tarragona55 m
- 12Avenc dels Pinyerets de BaixEl Montmell, Tarragona45 m
- 13Cova de les CambretesEl Montmell, Tarragona42 m
- 14Cova de PedrafitaEl Montmell, Tarragona42 m
- 15Avenc AntistianaEl Montmell, Tarragona40 m
- 16Avenc de la MoladaAlbinyana, Tarragona36 m
- 17Avenc de Carles VEl Montmell, Tarragona35 m
- 18Avenc dels PrimersAlbinyana, Tarragona35 m
- 19Cova de la GuiaSant Jaume dels Domenys, Tarragona33 m
- 20Cova de l'OllaEl Montmell, Tarragona33 m
The 20 deepest
- 1Avenc de VallmajorAlbinyana, Tarragona70 m
- 2Cova de VallmajorAlbinyana, Tarragona67 m
- 3Avenc de l'ArlàAlbinyana, Tarragona63 m
- 4Avenc del Nostre PareAlbinyana, Tarragona43 m
- 5Avenc dels PinyeretsEl Montmell, Tarragona38 m
- 6Cova d'Artús-forat del VentAlbinyana, Tarragona36 m
- 7Pou de Cal SantóCunit, Tarragona31 m
- 8Avenc de PalleretsEl Montmell, Tarragona23 m
- 9Avenc de la Roca LlisaEl Montmell, Tarragona19 m
- 10Cova del ManyéLa Bisbal del Penedès, Tarragona19 m
- 11Avenc de la MoladaAlbinyana, Tarragona17 m
- 12Avenc d'EscansaAlbinyana, Tarragona17 m
- 13Avenc AntistianaEl Montmell, Tarragona15 m
- 14Avenc dels FornasosAlbinyana, Tarragona15 m
- 15Avenc dels Pinyerets de BaixEl Montmell, Tarragona15 m
- 16Cova de les CambretesEl Montmell, Tarragona15 m
- 17Avenc de Carles VEl Montmell, Tarragona14 m
- 18Avenc dels PrimersAlbinyana, Tarragona14 m
- 19Avenc del CamíAlbinyana, Tarragona13 m
- 20Avenc del MainerLa Bisbal del Penedès, Tarragona11 m
50 of 70
Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/