Aven d'Orgnac
| Aven d'Orgnac
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|---|---|---|
 Salle Robert de Joly |
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| Location: | Ardèche , Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes , France | |
| Height : | 303 m above sea level NN | |
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Geographic location: |
44 ° 19 '6.6 " N , 4 ° 24' 45.2" E | |
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| Geology: | Karst , limestone | |
| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | 1935 | |
| Show cave since: | 1938/39 | |
| Lighting: | Electric | |
| Overall length: | 4 km | |
| Level difference: | −50 to −121 m | |
| Average annual number of visitors: | 140,000 | |
| Particularities: | Speleological tours in the undeveloped area | |
| Website: | orgnac.com | |
Aven d'Orgnac is a stalactite cave near the village of Orgnac-l'Aven , between the Ardèche valleyand the small town of Barjac , in the Cevennes in southern France.
discovery
This stalactite cave was first explored on August 19, 1935 by the cave explorer Robert de Joly. It was led by the local residents to a deep shaft, which is called Aven in the Provencal language. This shaft had been known for a long time, but no one had dared to go down there. This natural entrance leads about 50 m vertically down into the depths to an accumulation of broken parts of the cave ceiling and fallen rock. This is how the cave was entered and explored by Joly and his team. The first public tours were possible as early as 1938/39. In 1965, more comfortable paths for visitors and a first elevator were laid out. In 1966, the "Salle de la Treize" was discovered, which is a protected area. Since June 2004 the cave has been officially classified as a Grand Site de France .
The cave
The cave system extends over a length of around 4 km and is divided into three areas.
- The generally accessible visitor area with a dimension of 2 hectares in three large rooms with the natural entrance. The average temperature is 11 ° C.
- Hall 1
- The upper "Salle Robert de Joly" (Robert de Jolys Hall) has a dimension of 125 m in length by 90 m in width, with a height of around 30 m. At the highest point, the ceiling height is 35 m. In particular, it contains stalagmites and stalactites that are reminiscent of piles of plates or pancakes.
- On one wall there is a sinter fall , which is known as a "buffet d'orgue" (organ case), as the formation is reminiscent of organ pipes. It contains an urn with Robert de Joly's ashes in its center.
The natural entrance
Buffet d'orgue
- Hall 2
- This area, about 70 meters below the surface of the earth, the “Salle du chaos” (Chaossaal) was traversed by water about 6 million years ago and thus formed a kind of tunnel. The ceiling partially collapsed as a result of this washout and forms the floor covering. The age of the stalactites there is around 190,000 years. There are numerous sintered flags in this hall that were created by water trickling down the cave walls. Different oxides and organic substances dissolved in the water resulted in colored curtain-like, partly translucent stalactite formations.
- Hall 3
- In the “Salle rouge” (Red Hall) is the lowest point of the cave and the area accessible to visitors. There are clay deposits on the floor. When drilling in this area, it was found that there is another water-filled cave network about 50 to 100 m below. A lift leads from here back up to the surface of the earth. The guided tour lasts around an hour.
- The area for sporty visitors offers speleology excursions in small groups on unpaved paths, which, depending on the tour, last 3 to 8 hours and have different degrees of difficulty.
- The last area is a protection zone reserved only for cave explorers.
Every year around 140,000 visitors visit the cave.
Museum and educational trail
In 1988 the “Musée de Préhistiore” opened with an exhibition on the settlement of the Ardèche territory for 350,000 years. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the cave. The "Cité de la Préhistoire" (since 2014) provides a glimpse into the prehistory and early history of the region. For example, stone tools from the archaeological site Orgnac 3 are exhibited and the way of life of the early people of this area is described. A nature trail created by the cave is about 5 km long.
literature
- Robert de Joly, A. Perret: L'Aven d'Orgnac. Ardèche. H. Peladan, Uzès 1946, OCLC 370740774 .
- Guy Rieu, Yves Goepfert: Aven d'Orgnac. Grottos. Editions Aio, Le Cannet 1983, OCLC 461969784 .
See also
Web links
- Grand site de France on grandsitedefrance.com
- Official site on orgnac.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b L'inventeur on orgnac.com
- ↑ Aven d'Orgnac on grandsitedefrance.com
- ↑ Flyer: Grand Site Aven d'Orgnac - La Grotte 2014 (German edition)
- ↑ Speleological excursions in the Aven d'Orgnac ( Memento from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). on orgnac.com (English). Retrieved May 22, 2013.