The Gouffre Berger is a French

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

discovered on 24 May 1953 by Joseph Berger, Bouvet, Ruiz de Arcaute and Marc Jouffrey. From 1953 to 1963, it was regarded as the deepest cave in the world at , relinquishing this title to the previous contender, Pierre Saint Martin, in 1964, after further exploration. The Gouffre Berger is now ranked 37th deepest cave in the world, and the 4th in France. To return from the bottom of the cave back to the surface can take between 15 and 30 hours, without long breaks. In 1967, Ken Pearce, a metallurgy lecturer from Britain, descended with the Pegasus Caving Club team from Nottingham UK, organised and led by Peter Watkinson, and along with a dive, reached a depth of . They emerged after 13 days underground, having set a new world record at the time. In 1968, B Leger and J Dubois reached a depth of . This record was held until July 1982, when Patrick Penez attained . In 1990, a breakthrough was made, connecting the cave to the nearby "Scialet de la Fromagère". This gives the current recorded depth as . In June 2011 the terminal sumps were dived and in 2014 another attempt was made to pass the sumps. In recent years there have been six fatalities in this cave, five due to water. During a storm or heavy rain, the Gouffre Berger can become a dangerous trap and the water levels rise very quickly. In 1996, Englishwoman Nicola Perrin (née Dollimore) and Hungarian Istvan Torda died due to violent flooding in the cave. The water that flows through the cave has been traced to re-appear in the flooded sections of the . As of 2017 the system was estimated to contain approximately thirty-seven kilometres of passage with eleven entrances. Since 2013, clean-up actions have been carried out by cavers. At the end of 2018 the gouffre Berger has become clean again. During the year 2022 a new network named "the Sardine Star", located at the level of the large waterfall of 27 meters, is being explored.

Location

The entrance is within the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Engins high on the

Vercors Plateau The Vercors Massif is a range in France consisting of rugged plateaus and mountains straddling the '' départements'' of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers Dr ...

. In June 2001, the commune lifted a two-year ban on exploration. *Co-ordinates: Lambert III : x=856.630; y=3329,440; z=1460Spéléo dans le Vercors Tome I - Edisud

Cross section survey

Image gallery

File:Lapiaz à proximité du gouffre Berger.jpg, karst near the Gouffre Berger. File:gouffre de la Laitière Mutante.jpg, Entrance of "la Laitière Mutante". File:Puits des Rhododendrons.jpg, "Puits des Rhododendrons", second highest entrance. File:Le puits Marry.jpg, The "Puits Marry" is the first cave to connect to the Gouffre Berger. File:Entrée du gouffre de la Fromagère.jpg, The "Gouffre de la Fromagère", the highest entrance. File:scialet du Cheval Vapeur (S16).jpg, "Puits du Cheval Vapeur", connecting upstream of the "starless river". File:Gouffre des Elfes.jpg, "Gouffre des Elfes" connected to the gallery

Petzl Petzl is a French manufacturer of climbing gear, caving gear, work-at-height equipment, and headlamps based in Crolles (near Grenoble), France. The company was created by the cave explorer Fernand Petzl in the mid-1970s. Their three specialt ...

. File:Les falaises de Sornin.jpg, View of the cliffs of Sornin, in the background "l'oeil du Lapin" and the Grenoble bowl. File:Méandre dans le gouffre des Elfes.jpg, Méander in the "gouffre des Elfes". File:Pilier stalagmitique.jpg, Stalagmite Pillar. File:Galerie de la boue.jpg, Progress in the mud gallery. File:Gour dans le réseau Biboc au gouffre Berger.jpg,

Rimstone Rimstone, also called gours, is a type of speleothem (cave formation) in the form of a stone dam. Rimstone is made up of calcite and other minerals that build up in cave pools. The formation created, which looks like stairs, often extends into fl ...

. File:Puits Ruiz.jpg, Pit Félix Ruiz de Arcaute, first pit of Gouffre Berger. File:Galerie dans le gouffre des Elfes.jpg, Concrete meander. File:Puits dans le gouffre des Elfes.jpg, Pit with vertical grooves. File:Détail d'un gour.jpg, Review of a rimstone in the network "Biboc". File:Puits d'entrée du scialet des Rhododendrons.jpg, First shaft of "scialet des Rhododendrons". File:Le gouffre Delta 35.jpg, Le "Gouffre Delta 35" is the most-recently connected entrance to the Gouffre Berger system. File:Galerie avec stalagmites et stalactites.jpg, Underground gallery. File:Entrée du gouffre Berger.jpg, Le Gouffre Berger is a "classic" in the caving community. File:Le scialet du Cairn.jpg, Le "Scialet du Cairn" falls back into le Gouffre Berger. File:Détail d'un gour asséché.jpg, Detailed view of rimstone. File:Cuvette de Sornin.jpg, Sornin.

References

Bibliography

*''Opération -1000'' by Jean Cadoux, Jean Lavigne, Géo Mathhieu, Louis Potié. - Grenoble : Edition de Grenoble, 1955. *Réédition : ''Opération -1000'', idem. - Marseille : Édition Jeann Lafitte. 261 pages ; *Gouffre Berger premier -1000. 1956-2016 by Serge Caillault. - Corenc, édition Spéléo Magazine 94. 36 pages ; 2016; *''Gouffre Berger, l'esprit d'équipe'' by Mark Wright, Robbie Shone and others.- Sheffield: published by Vertebrate Publishing, 2014. 254 pages ; * . *''Envers et contre tout - Gouffre Berger 68'' by Claude De Broyer, Philippe Delescaille, Alain Marbach, Georges Marbach and Lambert Martin-Bruxelles: published by Librairie Spéléo; mai 2020; 216 pages; .

External links