394 Cueva Collada
La Gatuna 30T 0449920 4799053 Altitude 183m Length 248m Depth 24m

Updated 9th November 2003; 24th April, 9th October, 5th November 2005

The entrance is in one of the largest, bramble-filled depressions at the head of the La Gatuna bowl. The cave was first explored in 1982 and has recently (2005) taken on a new significance with the finds in the Sumidero de Cobabdal. The entrance was eventually refound in 2005, some 140m from its 1982 position on the map. A new bolt has been fixed near the head of the first pitch and re-exploration has started down to the head of the second pitch.

From the entrance, a stooping, vadose stream passage passes a small chamber on the left and degenerates to a flat out crawl where a thin coal seam can be seen in the left hand wall. A small sit-up chamber is reached where apparently modern pottery has been found, and then a squeeze through to a bolt on the left hand wall and a crawl through a revolting mud-floored pool to the head of the pitch. Immediately below is a 2m drop to a very tight slot but the tight take-off to the pitch is over on the right. (It may be that the 1982 position for the pitch-head bolt is on the pitch side of the pool, and this would make it easier to rig a double line).

At the base of the roomy 10m drop is a meandering rift that leads to the tight head of the second pitch after 15m.

The account below is from the 1982 explorations.

At the bottom, the vadose continuation is about 30m long with some awkward contortions in a sinuous rift. This passage still continues with excellent potential - the nearest surface water would seem to be over a kilometre away.

What draws the attention immediately at the base of the second pitch is a superb tunnel, about 7m high and 2m wide heading into the hill. This eventually splits into numerous passages, all of which soon choke. The main route enters a 7m high boulder-floored chamber where a continuation on the opposite wall ends at a draughting boulder choke with no immediate prospects.

References: anon., 1982 (logbook); Corrin J, 1983c (survey); material in file; anon., 2005b (Easter & summer logbook)
Entrance picture : depression
Underground picture(s): entrance passage  top of first pitch
Video: entrance   1st crawl 1  2  entrance passage 1  2   15Mb wmv top of first pitch to entrance
Detailed Survey : from 1982: low res  high res
Line Survey :
On area survey :
Survex file : yes