Cave system
Font del Truffe
The deepest sumps listed on the FFS fiche (S11 and S12) reach 30 m.
A resurgence near Lacave in the Ouysse valley whose cave is a long chain of mostly shallow sumps separated by air-filled passages. Explorers have passed at least thirteen sumps, with British divers reaching sump 14 in 2012.
Font del Truffe rises beside a ford at the end of a 3 km track from the D247 near the Ouysse bridge at Lacave. The way in is at the bottom of a dark pool, between the roof and a large boulder, into a tiny chamber and then a very low passage that opens into the first sump.
The cave is not deep but it is long and committing. The FFS fiche lists thirteen sumps, most between 6 and 15 m deep and between 20 and 270 m long, with the eleventh and twelfth reaching 30 m. Air-filled galleries and a lake separate them, and a side route from sump 1 leads through a clay gallery and an 8 m shaft to a fossil passage that rejoins sump 5.
Visibility is usually described as excellent. When the water is high enough divers can pass from sump 1 to sump 2 without surfacing.
The cave was pushed in stages: Brive divers had explored 680 m by 1975, Daniel Andrès and Bertrand Léger added more than 500 m beyond sump 4 that year, and a series of French teams reached sump 11 in 1979-1980 and sump 12 in 1994. Rick Stanton and John Volanthen found sump 13 in 2007, and in December 2012 Volanthen, Martin Groves and Rupert Skorupka reached sump 14.
Water, flow and flooding
A resurgence with a series of sumps and air-filled passages; whether the first two sumps connect underwater depends on the water level.
Why it matters
A classic long multi-sump cave of the Lot, explored over more than four decades by French and British cave divers.
Conditions
Visibility is usually excellent according to the FFS fiche; at sufficient water level the first two sumps connect underwater.
Typical ranges from published sources, not current conditions.
Survey and exploration history
| 1975 | Daniel Andrès and Bertrand Léger explore more than 500 m of passage beyond sump 4, after Brive divers had reached 680 m. [1] |
| 1979-09 | A French team progresses to sump 11. [1] |
| 1994-10-30 | Bernard Gauche advances 130 m into sump 12. [1] |
| 2007-02-03 | Rick Stanton and John Volanthen climb a narrow fissure in sump 12 and find sump 13. [1] |
| 2012-12-28 | John Volanthen, Martin Groves and Rupert Skorupka explore to sump 14. [1] |
Entrances and dive sites
One entrance, the resurgence pool beside a ford, reached by a private access track signed 'interdit sauf riverains' (no entry except residents).
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (7)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The fiche lists thirteen sumps: S1 160 m/-13, S2 130 m/-12, S3 85 m/-12, S4 100 m/-7, S5 200 m/-11, S6 170 m/-15, S7 60 m/-6, S8 270 m/-8, S9 20 m/-6, S10 255 m/-15, S11 265 m/-30, S12 260 m/-30, S13 90 m/-15.The narrative describes sump 2 as 180 m while the table gives 130 m. | Verified | [1] |
| The deepest listed sumps, S11 and S12, reach 30 m. | Verified | [1] |
| John Volanthen, Martin Groves and Rupert Skorupka explored to sump 14 on 28 December 2012.The fiche spells the third name Skroupka. | Verified | [1] |
| Visibility is usually excellent and at sufficient water level divers can pass from sump 1 to sump 2 without leaving the water. | Verified | [1] |
| The approach follows a track signed 'interdit sauf riverains' for 3 km, under a farm porch, to a ford beside the source. | Verified | [1] |
| Area-level position near N 44.83 E 1.55; a provider publishes the exact point (N 44.826948 E 1.550617). | Verified | [2] |
| Area-level position near N 44.83 E 1.55. | Verified | [2] |
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