PSEUDOKARST IN GRANITES

Juan Ramn Vidal-Roman, IUX Marcos Vaqueiro-Rodriguez, CEM

Presentation for Vercors 2008

TYPES OF GRANITE CAVES

Caves developed along major fracture planes. Weathering is essentially due to mineral washing, leading to further widening of the fracture. Caves associated with residual blockfields. Here the finer fractions of the granite regolith, if exist, have been washed away, leaving the coarse fractions - blocks and boulders- in situ. Voids between these residuals have become linked in some places, giving rise to caves of irregular shape Tafone caves: The term refers to a cavern or hollow developed inside a fracture-defined block. The inside wall or vault may develop alveoles (honeycomb structure), mamillated (convex relief) or scalloped (concave relief) forms and also negative exfoliation forms.

Caves developed along major fracture planes

O Forno Cave, Castelo da Furna (Valena, Portugal) and A Cunchosa System, Aldn (Pontevedra, Spain).

O Foln Cave Passages developed along the main fault plane. (Pontevedra, Spain)

Caves developed along major fracture planes

O Foln System (Vigo, Pontevedra-Spain) has been developed taking advantage of the discontinuity system of the granite rock massif. The water circulation in the area is underground at present. The formation of this cave is older than Quaternary and would start after the development of the surface +120 m.a.s.l., whose chronology we may assign to the Pliocene approximately. The cavity has a vertical development of 34 m from the terrain surface. The total length of the galleries is 905 m of which about 235 m are normally occupied by water.

To the left: O Foln Cave: Evolution model from Plio-Pleistocene to the present. Pictures: Passage morphomolgies in Portugal (at the top), and fossil phreatic conduits in O Folon (at the bottom).

Regressive sequence fot the evolution of cave: O Foln System

Present stage

From 1,8 kyr B.P.

When different paleo-flow levels have been determined, they can be related to the structure. A complete and complex geomorphological work and the use of different methods for datation (C14, luminiscence,), permit us to approach a regressive sequence for the evolution of cave.

Regressive sequence fot the evolution of cave: O Foln System

Paleolevel L4

5,5 kyr B.P.

Regressive sequence fot the evolution of cave: O Foln System

Paleolevel L3

Regressive sequence fot the evolution of cave: O Foln System

Paleolevel L2

Regressive sequence fot the evolution of cave: O Foln System

Paleolevel L1

Regressive sequence fot the evolution of cave: O Foln System

Paleolevel L0

At the end of the PlioQuaternary

Caves associated with residual blockfields

Cova da Becha Cave (Dragon's Cave), Serra do Galieiro (Pontevedra, Spain) and Coto dos Namorados Cave, Ponteareas (Pontevedra, Spain).

Tafone caves

Prehistoric pictures located inside a tafone cave, Los Barruecos de Malpartida (Cceres, Spain)

Coto da Moura: Tafone cave, Serra do Galieiro (Pontevedra, Spain)

Tafone, O Pindo (A Corua, Spain)

Tafone, Outeiro das Campanas (Pontevedra, Spain)

Tafone caves, type lapa. A Touba do Brin Cave, Serra do Galieiro (Pontevedra, Spain)

Neolithic mills and millstone inside a tafone cave, Serra do Galieiro (Pontevedra, Spain)

NATURAL, ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE RELATED TO GRANITE CAVES

Natural heritage
* Root stalagmites * Chioglossa lusitanica * Alites obstetricans * Schistostega pennata

Chioglossa lusitanica, protected by Directive 92/43/CEE.

Opal-A Speleothemes

Biogenical opal stalactites. O Forno, Castelo da Furna (Valena, Portugal)

Opal-A Speleothemes

Biogenical opal stalactites. O Forno, Castelo da Furna (Valena, Portugal)

Opal-A Speleothemes

Different Opal-A morphologies To the left: O Cebro System, Pindo (A Corua, Spain); and to the right: O Forno, Castelo da Furna (Valena, Portugal)

FOSIL D.N.A. INSIDE BIOGENICAL OPAL SPELEOTHEMES

Fotos: J.R.Vidal-Roman, Instituto Universitario de Xeoloxa Isidro Parga Pondal, Universidade de A Corua

Pigotite Speleothemes

Gours located in Coral Roxo Cave, O Foln System, Vigo (Pontevedra, Spain)

Pigotite Speleothemes

Flowstone and dripstone located in Pozo da R Cave, O Foln System, Vigo (Pontevedra, Spain)

Pigotite Speleothemes

Flowstone located in Coral Roxo Cave, O Foln System, Vigo (Pontevedra, Spain)

Pigotite Speleothemes

Flowstone located in A Trapa System, Ribadelouro (Pontevedra, Spain)

Archaeological heritage

Findings are mainly from Neolithic Age, Coper and Bronze Age. In O Foln System there is about 56 beds with archaeological remains.

Archaeological heritage

To the left, prehistoric and Medieval engraved pictures. To the right, at the top, a Copper Age ceramic piece from O Foln System. To the right, at the bottom a Medieval buckle from Portugal.

Troglodite chapels

Many troglodite chapel have been built inside granite caves. At the top Capilla de la Asuncin built in the XX century. To the left, two pictures from San Pedro de Rocas, Esgos (Ourense, Spain): First it was an hermitage cave, transformed in a chapel and monastery during the Low Medieval Age.

Thank you for your attention!