Barjac cave
BARJAC CAVE
BERNARD MAGOS NETWORK
The cave of transient emotions ...
Until recently, the underground heritage of Barjac was limited to a few caves of minor interest and the hope of one day finally discovering a nugget worthy of its reputation.
It is well known that luck favors the bold, but also the stubborn
as the story of the fabulous discovery of the Barjac Cave will reveal.
At the end of patient disobstructions, an exceptional cave is offered,
a real gift that Mother Nature offers only sparingly.
But it is a true palace of the Thousand And One Nights, so fragile ...
Where a multitude of unimaginable decors abound, a real encyclopedia of calcite ...
Where the delicate progression requires a sustained attention
so as not to cause the slightest injure to this mineral dream ...
Where the fragility of these crystalline decorations with this incredible variety of calcite
has never ceased to kindle the fire of our amazed eyes, of our capsized hearts ...
To make this a perfect world, only the sun is missing ...
We want to offer you this sunshine by bringing to light the stone inhabitants
who populate the subsoils of Barjac.
Welcome into the World beyond our World ...
STORY OF A DISCOVERY
The wonderful fate of Barjac's hidden treasure ...
Our story begins on a beautiful winter weekend during one of our surveys
in the communal woods of Barjac.
Bernard Magos, enlightened member of our caving association,
discovers several promising cave entrances.
The entire team with Guido Goossens, Nicolas Richardeau and Patrick Soetens cleared these tiny openings and after two disappointments the third hole seems to be extended.
This will be the kick-off for one of our most beautiful adventures ...
Several months of work are necessary to finally descend in a small, but nice hideout.
There, a tube of barely 10 centimeters in diameter
with a slight draught, offers the hope of a beautiful discovery ...
Once again, we start an endless clearing work and more than 40 days are needed
to empty a15-meter-long low passageway, bucket after bucket.
Then, a first spacious chamber is discovered. Beyond this volume,
shafts are descended, but it was only after perilous climbs and
the enlargement of several narrow passages that the real continuation is discovered.
From then on, an incredible succession of galleries and chambers, the ones more beautiful
than the others is offered to us. We have the feeling to have discovered
the underground Versailles of France. The wondering is at its height!
To date, explorations of the cave continue
and new galleries were discovered not long ago.
The Barjac Cave is still far from having revealed all its secrets ...
BARJAC CAVE TOUR
Follow us for a journey out of time...
The Bernard Magos system in the Barjac Cave remains difficult to access and is due to its extreme fragility
put under total protection by the authorities.
However, we only protect what we know and such a discovery is only worthwhile if it is shared !
That is why we invite you to take a virtual tour of this natural enchantment with its incredible
mineral vegetation in prodigious, magical and poetic forms.
Enjoy your visit !
Tip: click on the photos below to open the slideshows!
CHAMBER OF TREASURES
This chamber contains a wide range of natural alabaster sculptures that defy the rules of balance
and transport the imagination.
Numerous hollow triangles, cave cups of extreme scarcity
and crescend-shelfstone can be seen in its limpid rimstone pools. It's here that the speleothems shows the
largest color palette in the cave.
GALLERY OF THE PLIERS
This gallery owes its name to the helictite formation that looks like the well-known tool. This corridor is about a hundred meters long, very rich in translucent speleothems and white stalagmite flows have the appearance of a frozen lake.
It ends with a fantastic canyon covered with helictites.
THE 10 000 SODA STRAWS
This gallery is a spetacle on its own, a real "crystal rain".
We discovered it in a widening of the main corridor.
This precious entity, formed through thousands of white and translucent soda straws, looks like a petrified downpour.
The slightest breath makes these several meters long
crystals to tremble.
From here on, shafts plunge into the lower cave systems.
GALLERY OF THE CLUBS
Halfway through this long gallery rises the
"Column of disks". This six-meters high pillar
is interspersed with disk-shaped growths.
The richness of this gallery with its many rimstone pools,
curtains and clubs in three colors is mind blowing.
It was one of our first major discoveries ...
CHAMBER OF DISKS
Disks or shields form trays that protrude from the walls.
More than 350 disks have been identified in the cave
and this place has the most of them.
Water has to spray out under pressure from an
inclined crack for a disc to form.
These formations are quite rare in general,
but nevertheless typical in this area of France.
THE PARADE
Its name indicates it ; this triangular gallery is the theater
for a long, motionless parade of stone giants.
Columns, candles, jellyfish, curtains and other
imaginary monsters are frozen there for eternity.
The lower part of the gallery is occupied by a
magnificent rimstone pool with yellow and white crystals,
placed on chocolate-colored islands.
CAULIFLOWER CHAMBERS
These three chambers are almost entirely covered with cauliflower-shaped crystals which sometimes take the appearance of phantasmagorical castles.
Long ago this part of the cave must have been submerged under about a meter of water and the crystals were formed during a long, warm and humid period.
THE HELICTITE CANYONS
These narrow and high galleries form real underground canyons and are covered over the entire height by
thousands of helictites of great diversity.
These passages are among the most beautiful, but also the most fragile in the cave and therefore very rarely visited.
In this place, one no longer knows whether one is
in a mineral, vegetable or animal world.
SOLDIERS' ROOM
Through a window we see this petrified army,
like the famous Chinese archaeological site of Xi'an.
As dense as a virgin forest, hundreds of stalagmites
in the shape of fir trees have taken the place
of the terracotta soldiers.
HALL OF FIR TREES
It's in the middle of a very labyrinthine part of the cave, difficult to access, that we explored this withdrawal.
In addition to its many fir tree formations, this place is
richly decorated with curtains, clubs and calcit sea urchins.
Further on, in the middle of the labyrinth, lies an other chamber, entirely covered with moonmilk.
SWORD GALLERY
Access to this gallery is via an obligatory passage under a long and menacing stalactite: the Sword of Damocles.
It leads to a succession of corridors and chambers.
The first gallery contains some curious
monocrystalline formations.
Then, the "Brocéliande Forest" shows up, an effusion of stalagmites, and finally we stand in the "Salle du gour Bleu",
where we are looking at limpid pools and bear clawings.
THE YELLOW CHAMBERS
These three chambers were discovered by chance during
one of our many topography sessions.
The third room required the enlargement of a narrow passage, a real "letterbox", to be able to access it.
Yellow colored speleothems are dominant in these rooms
and the most beautiful curtain of the cave,1.50 meters long and called "The Arum", can be seen here.
THE PEARL BOX
This hidden space is reached by a 6-meters descent.
Allthough small (6 by 11 meters), it nevertheless has a sufficient height (10 meters) to allow the formation
of cave pearls.
The richness of this place is due to its variety of cave pearls
in different shapes and colors, triangles and
a niche filled with helictites.
TO COME UP...
Here, it will be a surprise!
Important discoveries have been made by our team
not long ago.
These magnificently decorated chambers and galleries
will hoist the Barjac Cave at a level worthy of the
most beautiful caves ever seen...
Come and see this page again soon !
LES DESSOUS CHICS DE BARJAC
Clic here to see the trailer of our film!
A realization of Daniel Penez, original music by Bernard Couderc.
YMAGIERS CAVE SYSTEM
Fancy a cosmic explosion? Then explore our last marvel here : Ymagiers Network
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CALCITE
The Barjac Cave rightly deserves its nickname of encyclopedia !
It hosts a noteworthy richness in speleothems that represents one of the most important issues concerning
the natural heritage values of this unique cave.
The abundance and diversity of crystallizations is overwhelming throughout the cave system and nearly all types of calcite speleothems can be found here in large quantities and are also of exeptional quality.
Let yourself be guided through a world where the everlasting work of water, over the millennia, has chiseled, hollowed out and notched the limestone rock to leave his most beautiful sculptures there for the sole purpose
that it looks like no other and thus bears a unique signature ...
THE CUPS
The emblems of the cave ...
A delicate and conspicuous kind of shelfstones are cave cups, which are spread in many shallow rimstone dams throughout the cave. Cave cups are crescend-shelfstone, formed in pools on an emerged part of the latter.
They develop in a leash of rarely renewed water,
where the water is supersaturated with calcium
bicarbonate and none or very low flows.
It is a film of calcite about 2 mm thick which forms on the surface of the water which attaches to this emerged part, and thus built by concentric layers these speleothems
with such a fragile balance...
These are extremely rare phenomena. The cave cups in
the Barjac Cave are among the largest in the world,
several measuring more than one meter in diameter.
CAVE PEARLS
Here, no need for oysters ...
A cave pearl or pisolith designates a spherule, normally associated with high ceilings and being developed in
small pockets where water drips vigorously.
They are formed by the deposit of calcium salts which are arranged in concentric layers around a nucleus.
They are round in shape like balls when the nucleus is a
grain of sand or elongated like rods when their origin
is related to broken formations.
The fall of a drop, substantially at the same location,
causes the pearl to move and to become perfectly polished.
The sizes, colors and shapes of pearls vary widely.
CLUBS
Like Chistmas baubles ...
These speleothems are found in deeper pools and look like sticks that are larger at the end. Extremely fragile, they can break under the effect of the slightest water movement
when they are supported by soda straws.
In the first place, a stalactite or soda straw forms above
a dry or non-existent pool. Subsequently, the end of the
pre-existing formation is drowned when the pool
is formed or resumes its activity.
This results in a deposit of crystals on the speleothems which gives to the structure the appearance of clubs.
HELICTITES
They grow in all directions ...
They do not always respect the laws of gravity,
hence the strangest shapes ever.
They are formed from the walls or on stalactites.
At the origin: gravity which gives them verticality,
the surface tension that keeps the drop hanging from the ceiling, the water pressure, the crystallization forces exerted
in all directions, the variations in flow, etc.
Important factors in the formation of these speleothems are
the stop and start of the water supply and the presence
of impurities. The last impurities in the water settle
when the water supply stops.
When the flow resumes, crystallization will resume
by making a slight angle with the previous crystal.
RIMSTONE POOLS
The mirrors of Psyche ...
Pools are small basins formed by dams across an underground flow. Its strictly horizontal surface serves as a spillway for water maintained upstream.
The water belonging to the fossil or semi-fossil regime
of the cave is saturated with calcium carbonate.
The surface of the water is often covered
with a thin film of floating calcium.
More than 300 pools have been identified in the cave.
HOLLOW TRIANGLES
A rarity ...
Hollow triangles mainly found on stalagmite flows and sometimes in pools. They develop on the surface
of the liquid, on the upper end of the calcite crystals.
They do not tolerate any sudden movement of water and require conditions of very high stability inside the pool.
An virtually zero flow rate, an attachment point
at the bottom of the pool and the possibility of
development towards the surface, are the necessary conditions for the formation of triangles.
To enable the achievement of hollow triangles, it is essential that the water level rises as the triangle forms.
If the water level remains constant, the triangles will be full.
CURTAINS OR DRAPERYS
Underground rainbows...
Draperies or curtains look like extremely thin, translucent veils that can reach several meters in length. They are very common on the inclined walls of caves. They are often colored in brown, yellow, red or ocher tones, corresponding
to the successive layers of growth that appear in
an alternating and cyclical manner.
The formation of these speleothems is due to gravity which gives them a vertical plane and the surface tension,
a horizontal component, which allows the water
not to fall immediately on the bottom,
but to slide along the top of the gallery.
The presence of a rough vault is also required to bring together all conditions for the formation of draperies.
MONOCRISTALS
The oldest formations ...
These very old and fossilized speleothems
are "recrystallized".
With time, they have became translucent while
taking a "smoky" color.
In the Barjac Cave, several of these speleothems have been sectioned at ground level and have been
shifted a few centimeters.
The tectonic movement of the alpine and
post-alpine phase which leads to the repositioning of
much older faults (Pyrenean-Provençal era 45 Ma)
is at the origin of these shifts.
![barjac©serge-caillault-4441[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fef428_e8d83f08d1464bcab23db85fe9a9284c~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_490,h_521,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/fef428_e8d83f08d1464bcab23db85fe9a9284c~mv2.jpg)
CORALLOIDS
Like a tropical dive ...
With their resemblance to coral,
they evoke an "underwater" landscape.
Much rarer than sea urchin crystals, they are covered with small bubbles, themselves topped with sharp crystals.
They are most often found on the edge of pools
at shallow depths.
These incredibly detailed formations
almost never exceed 30 cm.
Who go up ...
These are the best known speleothems !
They are formed on the floor of caves and
underground passages by the
slow and continuous fall of charged water drops
in limestone voids and by the “splash effect” thereof.
Sometimes they are several meters high while remaining
very thin, in this case, they are called "candlesticks".
When the stalagmite, continuing its slow growth, joins the stalactite which grows on the ceiling of the cave, the two speleothems gradually weld together and thus form a stalagmitic pillar, or column.
STALACTITES
Are coming down ...
This type of formation, hanging from the ceiling of caves
always originates from a soda straw formation.
The flow of water can decrease and the soda strow
may then see its axial canal become blocked,
during the summer or in a dry period.
The pressure inside the tube increases when the flow resumes, often during a rainy period or in winter.
The water is therefore forced to find its way,
either through the rock supporting the speleothem,
or through the collar holding it to the vault,
or finally through the sides of the soda straw (it oozes
on to the surface of the speleothem).
COLUMNS
Mariage between stalagmite and stalactite ...
Columns are frequently encountered, they are
massive stalagmitic pillars.
If we cannot give precise dimensions,
we can however notice that their diameter is always
very large in proportion to their height.
Their existence is necessarily linked to a period of
high humidity, as large flows of water
are necessary for their formation.
While gravity ensures a vertical structure to the speleothem, the more or less regularity of the impact
of the falling water then its run-off on the already built
structure gives it a more or less rounded shape.
DISKS or SHIELDS
All in roundness...
Disks are made up of two circular or oval plates,
separated by a gap of only a few millimeters.
They always consist of two parallel plates, each one centimetre thick, separated by a medial crack.
For only a few centimeters of thickness, the plates
can reach 2.5 meters in diameter.
Water must gush out of a crack in the rock or in
an older formation for a disc to form.
Two plates maintain a vacuum between them
with pressurized water ;
crystallization then takes place on both sides
of this exit crack.
MOONMILK
Microscopic needles ...
Mondmilch (or "moon milk") is a waterlogged formation, resulting from the alteration of cave walls or speleothems and which can reach 2 to 3 cm in thickness. Mondmilch is
the result of a physicochemical reaction, without external
input of calcium, between limestone and organic matter.
It is due to a remobilization of the limestone contained
on and in the support on which it appears.
The milky consistency is the result of adding large
amounts of water during crystallization.
Under a scanning electron microscope, one can observe innumerable needles formed of very beautiful
rhombohedra of calcite perfectly aligned and nested.
CALCITE FLOWERS
They do not grow in all gardens ...
In very rare cases, "dog's teeth" crystals can
agglomerate in concentric circles and
develop star-shaped structures that resemble
efflorescences or water lilies.
This phenomenon only occurs in shallow and stable pools.
POOLFINGERS
Fairy fingers ...
The basin-sticks or poolfingers are originally biological "threads" located under the rim of a pool and bathed
in saturated water, which become calcified.
Poolfingers, often grouped together,
have the appearance of stalactites.
SODA STRAWS
A petrified shower ...
Soda straws are tubular speleothems consisting of a single crystal (monocrystalline formation) which extend vertically
and in which seepage water circulates.
It is a hollow, elongated, translucent calcite tube,
equal in diameter (8 mm) to that of the water drops
that caused its formation.
The straw, which is part of the classic speleothems,
is sometimes colloquially called "macaroni".
They can reach from 2 to 3 meters in length,
and even 6 meters for the longest!
SEA URCHINS
Submarine, but also subterranean ...
Thousands of calcite sea urchins showcase
the floors of the Barjac Cave.
These spherical speleothems are covered with small,
colorful bubbles, called "popcorn".
They always reflect an increase in humidity
and temperature at the time of their formation.
Colors vary from an almost translucent white
to yellowish or brown.
With their coral-like appearance, they give us
an "underwater" vision.
THE SABERS
d'Artagnan in darkness ...
These stalactites, very ancient and now fossilized,
are monocrystalline in structure.
They are most often yellow or smoky in color
and recrystallized over time.
We often discover them in groups,
all deviated from verticality with this specific curvature
that makes them look like sabers.
In the cave, an entire vault is covered by these
splendidly crafted formations.
FLOWSTONE FLOORS
Shiny and colorful floors ...
When water runs off the bottom or steeply sloping walls,
it deposits its load of calcium bicarbonate
in the form of classical calcite.
One calls, according to its position, flowstone or stalagmitic floor the general aspect evoking a petrified flow.
This classic type of speleothem appears in many caves.
The slightly inclined floor brings a horizontal aspect to
the origin of the shape of this formation while
gravity is a factor of verticality.
RIMSTONE DAMS
The baroque side ...
The edges of rimstone pools look like petrified waves; upstream of the dam, the water level becomes more and more important and calm, which allows the birth of these perfect crystalline forms. On the surface of the dam itself, the changes in velocity can cause the dam crest to become increasingly scalloped. The extent of this scalloping forms a curve which corresponds to an optimization between
the flow speed and the exchange surface.
POOL SPAR
Crystals in their purest form ...
Scalenohedral crystals or "pool spar" correspond to an ordered state of matter which
occurs only under certain conditions of temperature,
pressure and evaporation time.
They remain relatively rare in natural caves and are
generally subject to appropriate protection.
Calcite (calcium carbonate) crystallizes in the
rhombohedral system, one of the seven crystal systems.
FLOATING CALCITE
Stone that floats on water ...
Floating calcite or "rafts" is a physically very unstable
and fragile speleothem.
It only develops in pools, where the water is supersaturated
in calcium bicarbonate and with little or no renewal.
It is a film of calcite up to 2 mm thick that forms on the surface of the water, either freely or attached to an edge.
The whole is maintained on the surface of the water thanks
to the perfect balance between the weight of the calcite
(force of gravity) and the surface tension.
BUTTERFLY WINGS
The unbearable lightness of stone ...
After the formation of helictite speleothems,
changes in the flow on the surface of the crystals can lead
to the appearance of other formations simular to draperies,
as far as the genesis is concerned,
but on an only decimetric or centimetric scale.
They are often associated with helictites.
CAULIFLOWERS
Hard to cook ...
Cauliflowers are formed in caves that were filled with clay. During a first phase, a runoff carries a deposit of clay
on the walls of the cave;
the disappearance of part of the filling gives the surface
a very mottled appearance.
It is only during a second phase that calcite impregnates
and fossilizes the remaining clay forms.
Cauliflower formations also seems to be linked to
the activity of various microorganisms.
BALLROOM CHANDELIERS
They light up well, but hardly ever light up ...
Chandeliers are clusters of helictites that burst out of the ceiling. They are most often white, but in the Barjac Cave they can also be found in yellow,
reddish or even completely translucent.
They offer us our own fireworks!
NEEDLES
Sharp, but unfit for sewing ...
They are formed by an oozing under pressure and
a droplet of water is often visible at their tip.
With a diameter of less than a millimeter and a length
of more than twenty centimeters,
they are the finest of all speleothems.
They defy the laws of gravity for the pleasure of our eyes.
BUBBLES
The game of marbles ...
Bubbles owe their size and their shape of a big water drop to their mode of formation: the water escapes from the walls by a micropore. The almost zero flow rate allows the calcite to precipitate on the surface of the water drop in the same way that floating calcite does on the surface of a pool.
OUR ART GALLERY: THE WORLD OF NIGHTS AND SILENCES ...
Between the rivers Cèze and Ardèche, Barjac is a village in the department of the Gard and renowned for its renaissance-style architecture, its large shady square, occupied twice a year
by a colorful crowd of antique dealers and its sumptuous sunsets beyond the Cévennes.
A thick brushwood covers a large part of the municipal territory,
at the south-western edge of the departmental border with the Ardèche and the vast
Cretaceous limestone plateau that extends to the right bank of the famous Ardèche-canyon.
Numerous caves are scattered under the brushwood, the worldwide known Aven d'Orgnac
and many others appreciated only by the brotherhood of speleologists.
Nothing of the sort in the village of Barjac, which has remained on the fringes of great history
of speleology, in spite of decades of intense research.
Its from now one done with the fabulous discovery of the Barjac Cave-Réseau Bernard-Magos.
A cave reputed te be among the 10 most beautiful in France !
THE VILLAGE
A profound unity of soil and population, ignored by the tourists, dazzled by light and picturesque. Overwhelmed by exuberant colors, seduced by the spontaneity of a true welcome and the pleasure of living, it misses the essential. It does not see what this ardent life hides in its rugged beauty. Barjac delivers its soul with restraint, it requires patient journeys.
We invite you to follow its quiet lanes and discover the gentle way of life in Barjac.
THE RENAISSANCE VILLAGE
Succumb to the charm of its lively streets.
THE DOLMENS
Discover the prowess of its distant ancestors.
THE SURROUNDINGS
Set off in the scents of thyme and lavender, through its garrigue-brushwood and its woods of green oaks.
![20200629_092121[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fef428_3b9b76db4eb4440a8fe0152bf72331a7~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_490,h_276,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/fef428_3b9b76db4eb4440a8fe0152bf72331a7~mv2.jpg)
LEARN MORE ...
As it is often the case in caving, to find the right answers,
you have to dig them out ...
HISTORY OF THE BARJAC CAVE AND CREATION OF SPELEOTHEMS
The Barjac cave is located in the Urgonian reef limestone (from: Orgon, Bouches-du-Rhône) and more precisely in the fourth stratigraphic stage of the Lower Cretaceous: the massive limestone of the Upper Barremian
(from: Barrême, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence).
It extends from 129.4 to 125.0 Ma BP, succeeds the Hauterivian (from: Hauterive, Switzerland) and precedes the Aptian (from: Apt, Vaucluse).
The main excavation of the cave by a large underground river dates back to the Tortonien (from: Tortona, Italy).
This geological stage extends from 11.63 to 7.246 Ma BP. The deep parts, the drawdowns, were formed during the End-Messinian era (from: Messina, Italy). This period extends from 7.246 to 5.333 Ma BP.
The Barjac Cave has a very ancient and complete range of speleothems whith took place in several stages ;
1) After the main excavation of the cave, with took place before the Pliocene era, the drainages were interrupted at an undetermined time of the Early Quaternary or the Villafranchien era (from 5.2 to 1.2 Ma BP), in relation to the stages of excavation of the Ardèche and Cèze canyons and tectonic phenomena.
2) General clogging by ferruginous clays and red silts, followed by the establishement of a first range of speleothems, which have now become fossilized (1.2 Ma BP). These formations, usually smoky in color, recrystallized over time and took on an angular and translucent appearance.
3) Formation of the ancient red and gray calcite flows, colored by iron and manganese oxides,
during the wet periods of the Riss glacial interstadials (from 374.000 to 130.000 years BP).
These are massive and voluminous formations, often fissured. These cracks are sometimes filled in and calcified.
4) Partial closure of certain galleries by cryoclastic collapses during the early Würm period
(from 71,000 to 57,000 years BP). The cave is partially flooded during warm and humid glacial interstadials ;
formation of cauliflowers, bubbles, clubs and pools.
5) Formation of white speleotems (stalagmites, disks) during the humid Würm and post-glacial periods (from 30.000 to 11.700 years BP). No cracks were observed at these recent formations.
At this stade, the cave has an aspect not very different from the current one.
6) Second phase of lesser landslides than the first, closures of the entances,
probably in the Boréal period (from 10.187 to 8.332 years BP).
7) Formation of the present or sub-actual speleothems, recent pools, soda straws, clay fir trees,
inverted stalagmites.
8) Evolution towards a relative drying out from the Sub-Atlantic period (from: 2.791 years BP to present).
GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
During the Lower Cretaceous, between130 and 115 Million years BP (Valanginian-Hauterivien stages),
our region was occupied by the sea.
The South Atlantic, then the Central Atlantic and the North Atlantic opened up.
The Cretaceous is divided into two sub-periods: Lower Cretaceous (from 145 Ma to 93.9 Ma BP) and Upper Cretaceous (from 93.9 Ma to 66 Ma BP). At the beginning of the Cretaceous, the sea retreated
over almost all of France.
The African plate reversed its movement and returned to Europe.
Calcereous muds accumulated at the bottom of the sea, with more clayey continental contributions when the Cévennes underwent surrection movements.
Then the sedimentation becomes exclusively calcareous again in the Barremian era,
with the construction of the Urgonian reefs. The climate is humid and warm, the sea is shallow.
In the Upper Cretaceous, around 100 Ma BP, tectonic movements began to raise the sea bed
from Languedoc to Provence. We call this the formation of the Durancian isthmus, vast areas have emerged
and detrital deposits are formed in localized basins.
The Pyrenean-Provençal compression (from 43 Ma to 37 Ma BP) continued in the Paleocene, forming a series of anticlines and synclines whith a WNW-ESE axis. One of these folds is located close to Barjac.
Erosion attacks the anticlinal summits exposing the ancient layers.
New tectonic episodes will lift the Urgonian plateau during the formation of the Alps ;
the Alpine orogeny from the Cenozoic era (66 million years old) until present.
FORMATION OF CAVES
Most solution caves are found in carbonate rocks (limestone, dolomite, or marble) or gypsum.
They may also occur in sandstone, since carbonates often form the "glue" that holds sandstone together.
They can also occur in salt, which dissolves quickly.
The Barjac region has all the typical surface karst features, often referred to as karren, include fissures, knife-edge blades, small channels, solution tubes, and other features. In the surroundings we can see cliffs, canyons, arid plateaus and karst phenomena like lapiez and residual clay deposits.
Slightly acidic runoff water (saturated with carbon dioxide) flows through fractures in the rock
dissolving the limestone : CaCO3 + H2CO3 =) Ca2 + 2 HCO3-
The cracks widen, voids (caves) are formed, and some of the calcite precipitates when the water
drips down, creating, drop by drop, stalactites and stalagmites.
The clay fraction of the limestone is deposited as ocher colored residual clays.
A cave is first and foremost a natural underground void whit at least one entrance.
It is not a totally closed, but a confined area. It is also a real chemical factory.
The annual temperature hardly ever varies, the humidity is close to100% and the carbon dioxide level is high.
These conditions are radically different from those encountered on the surface, and their balance is fragile.
SPELEOTHEMS
It is only after the cave is drained and exposed to air that the deposition of secondary mineral features or speleothems (stalactites, stalagmites, flow stone, draperies, etc.) may begin by the deposit of carbonate material.
Water, charged with carbon dioxide by elements from the soil, dissolves the limestone of the rocks it passes through and when the drop of water that was circulating in the soil meets an underground void,
some of the CO2 will be released from the water, making it less acidic.
Being less acidic, the water will no longer be able to carry as much dissolved calcium carbonate,
so it will precipitate some of it, forming these magnificent speleothems.
These are the same chemical reactions that create the galleries, the chambers and other mineral features.
![Patrick-Guido-nicolas_copie[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fef428_91effa813fb0476d89a91183d1b94b5d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_499,h_510,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/fef428_91effa813fb0476d89a91183d1b94b5d~mv2.jpg)
OUR HISTORY
In this era where there is no more continent to explore, where every island has been mapped, every summit conquered and the conquest of space no longer inspires too many people,
we have chosen to embark on the last real adventure on earth: caving.
Our activity is an astonishing combination of discovery, science and sports where the most beautiful gifts of nature are delivered to us only after many efforts and where it is necessary
to show obstinacy, courage and tenacity.
But the first qualities to have in caving are unconditional friendship and trust.
Indeed, a speleologist in difficulty in his works can only be helped by a colleague.
After many exciting discoveries, we can attest that
the sixth continent on earth does exist.
It is the underground world of our caves.
This world of thousands of kilometers of unsuspected voids that lies beneath our feet
with its labyrinths of spacious corridors, its gigantic chambers, its descending shafts
and its rising chimneys ...
This world of translucent rivers that flow towards the unknown or form lakes with or without islands, and its high waterfalls falling down from this same unknown.
For us, approaching the sky means going underground to explore this world apart,
and to be welcomed by its silent creatures of multicolored stones
with phantasmagorical shapes.
Caving has allowed us to travel in time, in space, but above all in emotions.
This adventure was made possible thanks to friendship.
Because friendship is this nothing, which can do everything ...
OUR ACTIVITIES
Nothing great has been accomplished without passion !
It is therefore with passion that we ensure, on a voluntary basis,
the preservation, enhancement and sharing
of all our discoveries with everyone.
So, come and meet us !
DISCOVERY
Always further on...
PROSPECTING
The real beginning of our adventures is always ... outside!
Careful prospectings of our region often leads
to extraordinary discoveries ...
CLEARING
Opening of new cave entrances and clearing of blocked passages in existing underground networks.
For this demanding work, we act in close collaboration with our partners who provide us with the most efficient
tools and equipments.
EXPLORATION
After a lot of effort, many long days of work and with a bit
of luck, the continuation of the cave awaits us.
So, let's head for the unknown!
TOPOGRAPHY
The cave and all new discoveries are measured,
mapped and photographed from all angles
to facilitate future scientific research.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
The very ancient and well-preserved speleothems constitutes a real goldmine for paleoclimate research.
Clawing of cave bears and other animals as well as various mammal skeletons are being studied
on a paleontological level.
PRESERVATION
Our fight ...
PROTECTED AREA
The cave has been placed in total protection by the municipality of Barjac because of its fragility and
its heritage interest.
The classification as a Natural Monument and as Geotope
are in progress.
AVCFC ORGANISATION
The Barjac cave has been classified by the "Association de Valorisation des Cavités Françaises à Concretions" (AVCFC).
A public interest association, supported by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, its mission is to protect 25 exceptional caves with the aim of being classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
_JPG.jpg)
WAYMARKING AND PROTECTION
Caves are delicate places where even the most careful visitors can easily leave their mark. Color-coded waymarkings have been put in place in the cave. A path is then
marked out and sensitive areas are protected.
Passages with fragile crystals are protected by tarpaulins
and cleaning materials are always at hand.
SAFETY
Equipment and securing of slippery,
unstable and / or floodable areas, thus allowing
of perpetuate access to the cave.
Regular monitoring of variations in the level of CO2,
hygrometry, atmospheric pressure
and temperature.
SHARING
The cave for everyone!
BARJAC CINEMA
A real success!
Nineteen screenings of our film "Les Dessous Chics
de Barjac ", followed by a conference.
The presence of the explorers and filmmakers is assured
to answer your numerous questions.
Already nine hundred interested people have attended !
EXHIBITION
With a selection of photos, in large format to fill the eyes,
the exhibition at the castle of Barjac a allowed us
to share the cave with an
amazed population.
THE BOOK
Created by Serge Caillault and Guido Goossens,
this richly illustrated book, to be devoured with greed
or to leaf through as you wish, takes you on a journey
with the explorers of this fabulous cave.
DVD
The film "Les Dessous Chics de Barjac", directed by
Daniel Penez and Serge Caillault with original music by Bernard Couderc is now also available on DVD !
It allows you to see and review the beautiful images
from the comfort of your home ...
PRESS
Press articles ; Midi Libre, Le Dauphiné, La Tribune,
Spéléo Magazine, Spelunca, Spelerpes, Regards, etc.
Translated into French, English, Dutch and German,
these numerous publications have made the
fabulous French underground known
on an international scale !
ANIMATIONS
For schools and associations, we organize screenings
and playful activities.
Indeed, it is to the future generation that we must pass on
the passion for this valuable heritage!
THE CAVE ON THE ROAD
Our "flying team" takes both the exhibition and the film to different places; cinemas, town halls, media libraries,
schools and companies.
Interested? Don't hesitate to contact us !
THE CAVE ON THE WEB
The sharing of our exploits is made visible on a worldwide scale with the creation of a very detailed website.
And ... A quick visit to our blog is enough to follow us
wherever you go...
THANK YOU !
The municipality of Barjac was keen to grant us the status of honorary citizen
for our voluntary work for the cave protection.
It is our pleasure to thank in turn the
City Council as well as our partners,
without them, this adventure
would be impossible.
At present, we are working on a large format film which will highlight the important discoveries made recently.
To be continued !
OUR PARTNERS
The indispensable ones ...
Support is essential for the voluntary endeavours we make for the Barjac Cave.
We can count on exceptional partners, all committed to sustainable development
and passionate about heritage, exploration and the underground world.
You too can contribute to our projects in many ways and at the same time enhance the value of your company.
It is true that today, environment protection and growth prospects go hand in hand ...
Each commitment helps us to conserve and to share this exceptional site.
Contact us for more information!
AU VIEUX CAMPEUR
TWONAV GPS
HILTI FRANCE
MÉANDRE TECHNOLOGIE
AVENTURE VERTICALE
VERJARI
ACS COMBIS SPÉLEO
STOOTS
SPÉLEO MAGAZINE
BARJAC
CONTACT BARJAC CAVE
Contact us to learn more about our work and how you can get involved.
We will be happy to respond to any completed message. !
