Aven du Fol

The dug-open entrance is fairly corroded and poorly stabilized. After slipping 2 metres down this narrow vertical passage, the entrance shaft takes on more human dimensions and measures about 2 metres in diameter. This first vertical drop of 9 metres leads to a floor of fallen rubble. At ground level, a blasted passage one metre in diameter gives access to a small ledge overlooking a shaft 14 metres deep. The dimensions of the cavity become large and the shaft, cut along a fault oriented 70°N, reaches 8 metres in length for 2 metres in width.

To the south-east, a passage leads directly onto the last shaft of 20 metres, before reaching its bottom, heading south-east to a gallery opening in the wall. This gallery, 13 metres long and 1.50 metres in diameter on average, soon leads in front of an uninteresting vertical chimney. Very well decorated, it has a small shaft of 4 metres in the middle of its development. a chimney at 45° rises a few metres before being obstructed by a fill with a flat bottom. At ground level, the outline of a gallery can be made out, also obstructed by a fill preventing continuation. The bottom of the terminal shaft is obstructed by mud mixed with fallen rubble.

At the bottom of the second shaft, fine speleothems decorate the walls, in places lined with plates of Clay indicating the fill levels.

If we take the shaft, we land after 20 metres of descent on a floor of fallen rubble and Clay.

On the day of the digging open, these dimensions, respectable for the causse, made us hope for a continuation likely to worry the aven Didier. Once again on the Causse d'Aumelas, our explorations came up against the depth threshold.

[NDR] The text below, poorly digitized, remains to be deciphered. Indeed, if the inventory of the cavities of this Causse ra.l.s pou.rrions dét.emtner • es ruvez•ax critiques pour les cavités Auœlassiermes. Si aven est cEcouvert, et si a des dirrensions assez importantes r•nas atteindmns sans peine 20 m pœfon&ur. Si nous ne rencnntrons pas de d'argile à ce niveau, rwes desœndrons vrais€mblab-'; aœnt jusqu'à 50 m profon&ur. là, 80 ès avens sont par des ratplissagesœ surcreusés cette mt_e, nuis en place Si cette obstruction a éi>L; eûevée, nous avons -scxrvent la diance & œsoendz-e à 100 de san3 trop d' encŒi)res. 15 des avens sont alors inaccessibles en ran-son de 1 t étroitesse des oonòLits. Au-delà r le faible chiffre 5 des cavités faire espérer une continuation jusqu'à --180m. Cette règle, trop exposée, n'est nullerrent précise mais généra— lise les a cri-tiques" pour Les avens du Causse d l Aug ipïas. Nous n'ayons pas eu le t.grps ni le s:yourage d t exani-œr les facteurs karstologiques directerœnt responsables cet état fait, rais il serait certainarent très intéressant de se pencher sur cette qaes i:-ion afin de les mieux œnnaître.