Gournier Cave

In 1899 Decombaz visited the entrance lake by boat. In 1947, a climb over the lake by Jean Deudon gave access to a fossil gallery, which was explored by a team including André Bourgin for nearly {{convert|2000|m|ft}}, when two access points were discovered to the underlying river. The same team were stopped by a {{convert|12|m|ft|adj=on}} waterfall in 1949. The latter was climbed in 1952 by Pierre Chevalier, and the river was followed to a large chamber. In the 1960s, the Spéléo Club de la Seine found the way on, but were eventually stopped by a sump at a height of +{{convert|270|m|ft}}.{{efn|In caving, the negative or positive measurements of height levels are defined in relation to at a reference point which is the known entrance to the network, the highest in altitude.}}{{Cite journal|first1=Alain|last1= Marbach|first2=Michel|last2= Bugnet|language=fr|title=La grotte de Gournier|journal=Scialet: Bulletin du CDS de l'Isère|publisher=Comité départemental de spéléologie de l'Isère|volume=3|year=1974|pages=17–46 |issn=0336-0326|url=http://cds38.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/1974/06/scialet03.pdf|access-date=2023-10-27}}

March 1973, the Club Spéléo de Lyon passed the obstacle, but were stopped by a second sump. In 1974, this was passed by diving, and in November 1975, {{convert|5.3|km|ft}} from the entrance, the height of {{convert|460|m|ft}} above the entrance was reached at the foot of a {{convert|5|m|ft}} waterfall. In November 1976, while to pass the obstacle, three speleologists from the Rhone region, Michel Schmidt, Roland Chenevier and Daniel Trouilleux, were swept away by a flood.{{Cite web|title=Deux spéléologues lyonnais meurent noyés| website=lemonde.fr/archives| date=11 November 1976|language=fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1976/11/11/deux-speleologues-lyonnais-meurent-noyes_2947012_1819218.html}}

The Spéléo Club de Dijon resumed the explorations in May 1981, and above the {{convert|5|m|ft}} waterfall, a further {{convert|2200|m|ft}} of galleries were discovered reaching a height of +{{convert|605|m|ft}}. In 1982 the end was reached at + {{convert|680|m|ft}}.{{Cite journal|first=Patrick|last= Degouve|language=fr|title=La grotte de Gournier|journal=Spélunca |publisher=Fédération française de spéléologie |volume=11 |url=http://www.plongeesout.com/explorations/france/gournier/gournier%201981.htm|date= 1983|access-date=2023-10-27}}

In August 1996, a cave diver, Frédéric Poggia, dived the sump l'affluent des Parisiens, discovering {{convert|1200|m|ft}} of passages. He stopped at a fifth sump.{{Cite journal|first=Frederic|last= Poggia|language=fr|title=La grotte de Gournier, affluent des Parisiens|journal=Scialet: Bulletin du CDS de l'Isère|publisher=Comité départemental de spéléologie de l'Isère|volume=27|year=1998|page=55 |issn=0336-0326|url=https://cds38.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/scialet-27.pdf|access-date=2023-10-28}}

Speleologists have been digging sinkholes above the end of the cave for several years, hoping to reach the underlying passages.{{Cite journal|first=Pierrot|last=Garcin|language=fr|title=La désobstruction? Un passe-temps qui peut durer!|journal=Spélunca |publisher=Fédération française de spéléologie|volume=134|year=2014|pages=17–22|issn=0249-0544 |url=https://spelunca.ffspeleo.fr/201406_Spelunca_134.pdf|access-date=2023-10-27}}

Within the entrance porch is a {{cvt|40|m}} long lake, above which is the entrance to a {{cvt|2|km}} long fossil gallery, {{cvt|10 × 20|m}} wide, which has beautiful stalagmite floors in places. In the floor of this passage are four entrances to the underground river. The fine river passage can be followed up waterfalls and through pools to the large Salle Chevalier. After a complex section the river rejoins the cave. The Jerome siphon can now be passed by swimming.{{efn|group=N|The level of the siphon threshold has been lowered since the discovery.}}{{Cite journal|first1=Daniel|last1=Colliard|first2=François|last2=Danière|first3=Tristan|last3=Despaigne|language=fr|title=La désobstruction du siphon de la grotte de Gournier|journal=Spélunca |publisher=Fédération française de spéléologie|volume=71|year=1998|pages=33–36|issn=0249-0544 |url=https://spelunca.ffspeleo.fr/199809_Spelunca_071.pdf|access-date=2023-10-28}}

A second sump can be avoided, and then the gallery broadens out, with a section of {{cvt|20 × 20|m}}. The continuing passage, called the Aquagalerie, continues narrow and high, sometimes with deep water. Upstream of a {{cvt|5|m}} waterfall the river passage continues. After the Salle des Burgondes, the gallery becomes broader, and then the passages become high and narrow, often requiring travsersing, to close down at +{{cvt|680|m}}.

The cave has developed at the Urgonian-Hauterivian contact. The river has dug down into the Hauterivian, and the entrance fossil gallery lies within the Urgonian. The network developed along a northeast-southwest fault.{{Cite journal|last1=Jean-Jacques|first1= Delannoy|title=Le Vercors: un massif de la moyenne montagne alpine|journal= Karstologia|publisher=Fédération Française de Spéléologie et de l'Association Française de Karstologie|date=1984|volume= 3|pages=34–45|doi= 10.3406/karst.1984.2068|issn=0751-7688|url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/karst_0751-7688_1984_num_3_1_2068|language=French}}

The fossil gallery was probably formed in the Pliocene in a subtropical climate, 3–4 million years ago. The active system was formed during the glacial episodes of Riss II and Würm.{{Cite journal|language=fr|first1=Jean-Jacques|last1= Delannoy|first2=Christophe|last2= Gauchon|first3=Fabien|last3= Hobléa|first4=Stéphane|last4= Jaillet|first5=Richard|last5= Maire|first6=Yves|last6= Perrette|first7=Anne-Sophie|last7= Perroux|first8=Estelle|last8= Ployon|first9=Nathalie|last9= Vanara|title=Le karst: des archives paléogéographiques aux indicateurs de l'environnement|journal=Géomorphologie: Relief, processus, environnement|volume=15|pages=84–85|year= 2009|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268187204|access-date =2023-10-27|issn=1266-5304}}

In 1997, a catchment to supply the village of Presles was considered, but another solution was found.{{Cite journal|language=fr|first=Bernard|last=Cruat|title=Etude de la fiabilité d'un captage de la rivière de Gournier|journal=Scialet: Bulletin du CDS de l'Isère|publisher=Comité départemental de spéléologie de l'Isère|volume=26|year=1997|pages=49–58 |issn=0336-0326|url=https://cds38.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/scialet-26.pdf|access-date=2023-10-27}}

File:Galerie fossile.jpg|Rimstone at the beginning of the fossil gallery.

File:Dans la rivière de la grotte de Gournier.jpg|Start of the river.

File:Lac de Gournier.jpg|The entrance lake to the Gournier cave.

File:Dans la galerie fossile de Gournier.jpg|One of the admirable sections of the Gournier fossil gallery.

File:La rivière de la grotte de Gournier.jpg|The river, made up of bodies of water and waterfalls.

File:Passage en opposition au dessus de la rivière de Gournier.jpg|Progress over the river.

• Gouffre Mirolda
• List of caves in France

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIW6SzAvJ1g Gournier Cave].
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjRyi6VkGYs Objectif RACLETTE - Les Classiques - La Grotte Gournier]

Category:Limestone caves

Category:Landforms of Isère

Category:Caves of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes