Caves and potholes in Marble terrain

The Marbles are limestones recrystallised by metamorphism. They retain carbonate solubility, so karst can also develop in them, often with clean and polished galleries.

The catalogue contains 22 cavities in this lithology: 12 pits and 10 caves, with a total passage of 5,140 m and a maximum depth of 169 m. The longest cavity is the Horat Der Uelh Deth Tor, with 1,718 m, which is also the deepest, with 169 m; it is a pit in the Vall d'Aran, the sink of a small stream coming from a tarn located some 250 m to the N, explored since 1977. Other notable cavities are the Cova de les Encantades, of 865 m, on the south slope of the Puigmal, known since time immemorial and explored in 1960; the Sistema dels Forats Nº3 I Nº4 de l'Embut, of 542 m, at Núria, known since remote times and explored speleologically since 1953; the Cova de Rialb, at Queralbs, with 501 m of passage and 38 m of vertical extent (+12/-26), known since time immemorial and studied by cavers since 1910; and the Cova del Pasteral, of 290 m, at the Cellera de Ter.