Caves of Queralbs

Queralbs, a municipality in the Ripollès, brings together 31 cavities: 24 caves and 7 pits. Together they total 2583 m of passage and reach a maximum depth of 67 m. The lithologies represented include Limestone (18), Marble (7), Granite (4), Slate (1) and Schist (1).

Among the longest cavities are the Cova de les Encantades, 865 m, on the south slope of the Puigmal, with galleries, shafts and underground rivers, known since time immemorial and explored in 1960; the Sistema dels Forats Nº3 I Nº4 de l'Embut, 542 m at Núria, known since remote times and explored speleologically since 1953; and the Cova de Rialb, 501 m of passage and 38 m of vertical drop (+12/-26), known since time immemorial and studied by speleologists since 1910.

Other cavities are the Forat Nº1 de l'Embut, an active sinkhole of 124 m in the Núria valley with two entrances, an underground river and dry galleries; the Avenc del Tronc, 37 m deep in the area of the riu de Tosa, with its entrance in a cliff wall near Roc Pinós; and the Graller del Bogader, 25 m of vertical drop at the riu de Tosa, with a large entrance of 14X8 metres in limestones and a shaft of 23.60 metres.