Grotte du TM 71

The Galerie des Merveilles is "crossed" by perpendicular galleries that it was not possible to visit, but it is probable that the direction of the scallops in these galleries is south-north. The intersection of the Galerie des Merveilles with the main axis shows that the Galerie des Merveilles is slightly elevated by 3 to 4 m relative to the axial underground course (NW-SE). The dip of the Devonian limestone beds is very vertical and generally oriented E-W.

One reaches the Salle de la Découverte, cluttered with numerous blocks. It seems that a fracture with a N-S axis is at the origin of the room and of the presence of the blocks. The upper parts of the room are filled in by allochthonous sediments brought by the river. Further on, the Salle du Diable offers a fairly impressive fault mirror; the top of the fault consists of fairly friable crushed rock.

a sand fill partly obstructs the Galerie des Vermiculures. It is a high point of the fills; these have been preserved thanks to the diversion of the river by a branch located further west (Galerie du Lac). If one looks a little at the ceiling of the Galerie du Lac, one sees orthogonal fractures taking shape that have been exploited over the entire course of the gallery.

There are at least 3 generations of speleothems: the white cow-pie speleothems that seem a little corroded, since they survive mainly in the creux de la roche, clearly visible in the Galerie des Merveilles; the more developed, non-corroded but naturally soiled speleothems (brown color), some of which are broken, found mainly in the upstream course of the fossil river (axial course); the white speleothems that invade the Galerie des Merveilles.

Towards the Galerie des Jumeaux, broken speleothems are observed, notably large stalactites located at 5 or 6 m in height. The speleothem debris does not lie on the ground, which already testifies to a certain age. Earthquakes or more simply the river could be at the origin of the breaking of the speleothems.

In the Salle d'Emeraude are the Bleues, the Cymbales and the Globules. Note that the blue speleothems are located along the axis of a large fracture (faille du Diable). a beautiful gallery is adorned with magnificent yellow vermiculures (dots and arabesques). In the Galerie du Lac, the walls are studded with magnificent cupules.

Going back up the axial course, one intuitively goes back up the former course of the river, whose floor is today covered with gours. The direction of the scallops surprises no one and indicates a south-north flow. The sediments are sandy and allochthonous (micas); for everyone it is a branch of the Aude souterraine.

The direction of the scallops in the Galerie des Vermiculures indicates a route from south to north. In the Galerie du Lac, the cupules also indicate a S-N flow direction. The downstream end of this gallery ends in a lake. In fact, it is one of the series of loops that shift westward. This Galerie du Lac is a portion that seems to have been abandoned recently.

One reaches the Galerie des Merveilles via the so-called route entrance. The directions of the scallops in this gallery indicate an "outgoing" direction towards the Aude, that is, from west to east. Despite the relative age of the gallery, very decorated with speleothems and affected by relaxation phenomena, it was possible to record about ten flow directions, all from west to east; however, in one or two places the scallops indicated reverse directions.

After a low passage in the coarser fills (sands and rolled gravels), one arrives in the Salle d'Emeraude. Another climb through the blocks to arrive in a beautiful gallery adorned with magnificent yellow vermiculures. At the end of this short gallery, one descends 15 meters into a main course (Galerie du Lac).

You can consult the official website: http://www.reserve-tm71.fr