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The Caves of Drach (modern Catalan spelling: ; ; ) are four great caves that are located in the island of
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
,
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, extending to a depth of 25 m and reaching approximately 4 km in length. They are in the municipality of
Manacor Manacor () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second-largest town in Mallorca, after the capi ...
, near the locality of
Porto Cristo Porto Cristo is a small town on the eastern coast of Mallorca. It is from the town of Manacor and is within the Manacor municipality. Geography The village is located in a major tourist area between Costa de los Pinos and Cala Murada. Its sma ...
. They were first mentioned in a letter dated 1338. The four caves, called Black Cave, White Cave, Cave of Luis Salvador, and Cave of the French, are connected to each other. The caves have formed by water being forced through the entrance from the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
, and some researchers think the formation may date back to the
Miocene Epoch The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...
. There is an underground lake situated (located) in the caves called Martel Lake, which is about 115 m in length and 30 m in width, and its depth varies between four and twelve meters. It is named after the French explorer and scientist
Édouard-Alfred Martel Édouard-Alfred Martel (1 July 1859, Pontoise, Val-d'Oise – 3 June 1938, Montbrison (Loire), Montbrison), the 'father of modern speleology', was a world pioneer of cave exploration, study, and documentation. Martel explored thousands of caves ...
, considered the founding father of
speleology Speleology () is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their chemical composition, composition, structure, physical property, physical properties, history, ecology, and the processes by which they form (speleogenes ...
, who was invited to explore the cave in 1896. While German cave explorer, M.F. Will, had mapped the White and Black cave in 1880, Martel found two more caves, as well as the underground lake. The caves are open to the public for a fee, and are one of the main tourist attractions on Mallorca. The visit typically ends with a classical music concert, performed by a small orchestra of musicians on a fleet of small row boats. The caves are such an integral part of the tourism industry, that its closure, even if temporary, is seen by the locals as a bad sign for the economy.


References

Show caves in Spain Landforms of Mallorca Tourist attractions in Mallorca Landforms of the Balearic Islands Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Balearic Islands Caves of Spain {{balearics-geo-stub