Gouffre de Padirac
| Gouffre de Padirac
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|---|---|---|
 The gorge of Padirac with stairs and elevator |
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| Location: | Lot department , France | |
| Height : | 338 m | |
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Geographic location: |
44 ° 51 '26.4 " N , 1 ° 45' 3.4" E | |
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| Geology: | limestone | |
| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | in the 13th century AD | |
| Show cave since: | from 1899 | |
| Lighting: | from 1899 | |
| Overall length: | over 40 km | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
1 km | |
| Average annual number of visitors: | 366,000 | |
| Current visitors: | 403,687 (2010) | |
| Website: | http://www.gouffre-de-padirac.com/ | |
The Gouffre de Padirac (Gorge of Padirac) is a grotto about 47 kilometers south of Brive-la-Gaillarde in the Lot department .
The cave system was created by an underground river that has dug itself over a hundred meters deep into the karst limestone of the Causses de Gramat and flows into the Dordogne . A high dome-like hollow of this river cave collapsed and a circular hole with vertical walls, 33 m in diameter and 75 m deep, was created. This daylight shaft was simply called Gouffre by the locals , which means abyss.
It is believed that the daylight shaft was already known in the 13th century. It was a popular destination as early as the 19th century. An initial exploration took place from 1865 to 1870; then the bottom of the throat was reached. During an investigation by the French cave explorer Edouard Alfred Martel in July 1889, an opening was discovered at the foot of the abyss at a depth of 75 m, which led 28 m deeper to an underground river. Today around 40 km of the underground passages have been explored by speleologists .
Development for visitors
The Gouffre and about 1 km of the underground cave system are open to visitors from the end of March to the beginning of November each year during the day, sometimes in the evening. A steel tower with 455 steps was built for the descent into the Gouffre. There are also two elevators available. At the foot of the Gouffre a ramp leads over the debris cone to a depth of 103 m and then through the washed-out tube of the river. From a concrete landing stage, cave visitors can travel 500 m on the river, which is up to 4 m deep and bordered by the rock, to a cave where the cave expands. Guided cave tours go there over secured stairs through the 94 m high Salle du grand Dôme, the Salle des Grands Gours with large sinter basins and a 40 m high and 6 m wide stalagmite and a 25 m long, 4 m thick stalactite that forms the surface of the Touches the river. The tour ends about 1.5 km from the entrance. Rear areas of the cave are only open to scientists for research purposes.
literature
- Padirac Gorge and its underground river. Published by: APA-POUX - ALBI 2009, ISBN 978-2-913641-40-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gorge of Padirac ..., p. 4
- ↑ https://www.freudenthal.biz/midi-pyrenees/rocamadour/gouffre-de-padirac/