Résurgence de Cabouy
The main entrance to the flooded Ouysse river, a pool 20 to 25 m across in the Alzou valley about 3 km from Rocamadour, where the Ouysse begins its surface course.
Cabouy is reached by the small road that follows the Alzou valley from Rocamadour, over the col de Magès and past a house and the commune's pumping station. The resurgence pool is 20 to 25 m in diameter, with vegetation covering the bottom down to about 6 m.
A slope of debris leads to about 15 m at the gallery entrance and the conduit reaches 31 m at its porch. Divernet describes following a rope through near-zero visibility to the entrance, after which visibility improves and the passage opens into a large gallery. From the low point the floor rises to about 12 m some 275 m in and stays between 14 and 18 m to the 325 m mark, continuing towards Pou Meyssen.
Since 2012 a rope tied to a tree above the entrance links the surface to an anchor at -9 m, where the guideline laid in 2011-2014 starts; the line carries distance tags from Cabouy every 50 m.
The environment
A large spring pool with weed in the shallows, a silty approach and a big river gallery beyond; seasonal floods.
Conditions
Typical only. Divernet describes near-zero visibility on the approach to the entrance improving inside; seasonal floods damage the guideline.
Typical ranges from published sources, not current conditions.
Other entrances to Réseau de l'Ouysse (Cabouy – Pou Meyssen)
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (10)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The resurgence basin is 20 to 25 m in diameter and vegetation covers the bottom to about 6 m. | Verified | [1] |
| The debris slope reaches about 15 m at the gallery entrance; beyond the low point the passage lies between about 12 and 18 m for the first few hundred metres. | Verified | [1] |
| The conduit reaches 31 m at its entrance porch, the low point near Cabouy.Subaqua gives about 30 m. | Verified | [1] [2] |
| A rope from a tree above the entrance runs to an anchor at -9 m where the new guideline starts, with distance tags every 50 m.Installed 2012-2014; condition today not verified. | Verified | [2] |
| Divernet gives about 14 °C as the average water temperature in Lot caves.Regional average. | Reported | [3] |
| A rope is followed through zero visibility to the entrance, after which visibility improves greatly. | Reported | [3] |
| The approach passes a house and the pumping station the commune of Rocamadour built for its water supply; no access rules are stated. | Reported | [1] |
| Published at N 44°47'26" E 1°35'03". | Verified | [1] [4] |
| Published at N 44°47'26" E 1°35'03". | Verified | [1] [4] |
| The sources consulted publish no qualification, permit or registration requirement set by a land manager or access body for this site.Absence of a published rule, not confirmation that none exists. | Reported | [1] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction