The
Gouffre Berger is a French
caveA cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and...
and was discovered on May 24, 1953 by Joseph Berger, Bouvet, Ruiz de Arcaute and Marc Jouffray. From 1953 to 1963, it was regarded as the deepest cave in the world (-1122m), relinquishing this title to the previous contender, Pierre Saint Martin in 1964, after further exploration. The Gouffre Berger is now ranked 28th of the deepest caves in the world, and the 4th in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
.
To return from the bottom of the cave back to the surface can take between 15–30 hours, without long breaks.
The
Gouffre Berger is a French
caveA cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and...
and was discovered on May 24, 1953 by Joseph Berger, Bouvet, Ruiz de Arcaute and Marc Jouffray. From 1953 to 1963, it was regarded as the deepest cave in the world (-1122m), relinquishing this title to the previous contender, Pierre Saint Martin in 1964, after further exploration. The Gouffre Berger is now ranked 28th of the deepest caves in the world, and the 4th in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
.
To return from the bottom of the cave back to the surface can take between 15–30 hours, without long breaks. In 1967, Ken Pearce, a
metallurgyMetallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
teacher from Britain, descended with a team and, along with a 40m dive, reached a depth of -1133m. They emerged after 13 days underground, having set a new world record at the time.
In 1968, B Leger and J Dubois reached a depth of -1141m. This record was held until July 1982, when Patrick Penez attained -1191m.
In recent years there have been six fatalities in this cave, five due to water. During a storm or heavy rain, the Gouffre Berger can become a dangerous trap, and the water levels rise very quickly.
In 1996, Englishwoman Nicole Dollimore and
HungarianHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
Istvan Torda died due to violent flooding in the cave.
Location
The entrance is high on the Vercor Plateau and is found on within the commune of
EnginsEngins is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France....
, in France. In June 2001, the commune lifted a two-year ban on exploring this cave.
- Co-ordinates: Lambert III : x=856.630; y=3329,440; z=1460
External links