Trou du Duc

The entrance takes the form of a circular opening (1.5 m x 1.5 m) opening onto a small step, which gives access to the first level, made up of a vestibule cluttered with some rubbish and a small chamber located behind a low passage.

From this first level, two steps give access to the second level, the largest volume of the cavity; several incipient galleries open there, unfortunately all of them dead ends.

Two passages towards the centre and the back of the chamber allow one to reach a third level, made up of more or less wide crawlways; in one of them opens a constriction that leads into a small chamber where a large step begins, made up of two parts.

The first leads to a fourth level that is particularly jagged and low, made up of a small chamber and short crawlways. The second part of the step ends in a comfortable chamber where a crawlway interspersed with a series of constrictions leads into two rising clayey chambers; the last one gives access through a letterbox to a third chamber. In a small corner of this one, a vertical passage in the floor is followed by a constriction that leads into a small gallery where impenetrable continuations open.

This cavity opens in dolomitic limestones. The general morphology, the appearance and the type of cavity are not without recalling the "Baume de Balaruc": one encounters there the same honeycombed walls, the same types of speleothems, the presence of sandy clay and this general jagged appearance forming a labyrinth of chambers. Only the fifth level (the lowest) seems structured.

In the second level, the largest volume of the cavity, one encounters some classic speleothems; one finds there the same types of speleothems as in the "Baume de Balaruc".

Equipment: none, all the steps are easily done by climbing. However, plan for a ladder for the entrance, if there are children in particular.

Survey: the different levels being superimposed on one another, as regards the plan, we had to represent them separately but without offset. For the section, it is a semi-developed section in order to better understand the structure of the cavity.

R3 - level 1: 16 m
R4 - level 2: 57 m
R4 - level 3: 39 m
R3 - level 4: 17 m
R5 - level 5: 60 m
Total development: 190 metres + 5 metres unsurveyed.

This level, in which one encounters some classic speleothems, unfortunately seems to be frequented by many people with little concern for the environment.

This pleasant hole can serve as a cavity for initiation and discovery of the subterranean environment.