Ardèche · about 7 km from Saint-Ambroix
Goule de Sauvas
- CertificationFull cave
- Water temperature≈ 12–13 °Cestimated, no reports yet
- SpecialSidemount
Diving and fills
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The dive
The entrance zone is impressive, with dripstone and partly snow-white calcite.
Profile and sections
The entrance zone is impressive, with dripstone and partly snow-white calcite.
This is a sink (goule) of the Claysse near the hamlet of Sauvas (Saint-Paul-le-Jeune): water flows into the cave here instead of out of it, as at the Foussoubie. According to the guide it resurfaces in the Grotte de la Cotepatière; the Claysse as a whole resurfaces ~6 km further on at the Moulin de Pichegru (Peyraou du Moulin). The cave is part of the Sauvas–Cocalière system (14.5 km), between the Chadouillet and Baume de Chazelle systems, with which it is probably connected. Per Clerc (2009) two passages formed along two perpendicular fractures meet here; in 1999 a junction with the Évent de Peyrejal was still 50–200 m short.
- Depth and profile
- Depth unknown. Dry at first: the entrance zone has pools that you pass on a ledge along the wall, and after ~100 m a rope helps you on. Further into the kilometre-long system several sumps have been explored, with passages beyond.
- Configuration
- The gear has to go through a dry cave with pools and a rope section to the sumps: light kit, sidemount or small cylinders (estimate). No backmount.
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable (estimate)
- A dry cave with pools and a rope section before the sumps: no scooter.
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Experienced divers only
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How to get there
From Sauvas take the D901 towards Chadouillet. After a sharp right-left-right series of bends the road crosses a bridge: park right after it and take the path down to the bed of the Claysse. Follow it to the left to the impressive, chasm-like entrance, 30–40 m on.
Around Goule de Sauvas
FillsNo fill station known nearby
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