The Grotte Casteret, also known by its Spanish names Gruta de Casteret or Gruta Helada de Casteret, is a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

ice cave An ice cave is any type of natural cave (most commonly lava tubes or limestone caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all ye ...

, located high in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, within the

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park (Parque nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido) is an IUCN Category II National Park situated in the Pyrenees. There has been a National Park in the Ordesa Valley since 1918. Its protected area was enlarged in 1 ...

. Discovered in 1926 by Norbert Casteret, it is known for its Grande Salle (Great Hall) which has a frozen lake some in area, its ice formations, and a ice wall into a second chamber.

Description

The Grotte Casteret is situated at the top of a scree / snow couloir ESE of the Brèche de Roland, and has an impressive entrance porch some wide, and high. After the passage opens out into the vast ice-floored Grande Salle, about long, wide, and high. Its floor is a frozen lake of clear ice with a surface area of about . Large ice columns dominate the end of the chamber. To the left of the chamber an opening leads into the Salle Maude at the base of a ice-wall called Niagara.St. Pierre (2007) Beyond the Grande Salle, the ice floor gives way to a mainly boulder-floored passage which leads after leads to a climb which emerges in a lapiaz field on the surface. Casteret's original survey shows the passage extending for a further , but this is no longer accessible. A third entrance, the Puits Florence, lies on the plateau above the cave. It is deep, with the final being a vertical shaft entering the Grande Salle.St. Pierre (2007), pp. 16

History

The cave was first entered by the family Casteret (Norbert Casteret, his mother, his wife, and his brother) in July 1926 when they explored most of the main passage. He and his wife returned in September 1926 when they achieved the through trip.Casteret (2007) The Salle Maude was discovered and explored in August 1950 by Casteret and his daughters Maude and Gilberte. The third entrance, the Puits Florence, was first descended in August 1975 by the Club Martel.St. Pierre (2007), pp. 10

Geology and formation

The Grotte Casteret is formed in

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

limestone. The ice in the Grande Salle is ponded and has formed as the result of cold air flowing through the system, with areas out of the draught being water.Casteret (1950), pp. 133 The deeper ice is considered to be very old, and possibly relict of a cold period of the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

. The volume of ice in the Grande Salle has decreased since its discovery. In 1950 the entry into Salle Maude was a low crawl across the ice floor about high. In 1988 it was reported that the gap was high as a result of the ice floor lowering.St. Pierre (2007), pp. 17–18

Access

Access is controlled by the

authorities. A barrier has been erected within the entrance, and a sign prohibits access to the casual visitor. Two groups of up to 6 cavers, are allowed access for a maximum of four days per month.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{cite book, last=St. Pierre, first=David, title=Grotte Casteret, year=2007, publisher=British Cave Research Association, location=Great Hucklow, Buxton, isbn=978-0900265327 Caves of Spain Ice caves Limestone caves Landforms of Aragon