Cave of El Soplao


El Soplao is a cave located in the municipalities of Rionansa, Valdáliga and Herrerías in Cantabria, Spain. It is considered unique for the quality and quantity of geological formations in its 17 miles length, 6 of which are open to the public. In it are formations such as helictites and curtains. Its formation dates back to the Mesozoic, in particular the Cretaceous period 240 million years ago.
The entrance is at 540 metres in the Sierra Soplao Arnero.
The cave was accidentally discovered during drilling for mining, subsequently being exploited for the extraction of minerals. During its operation, many local families were supported by the income they got from the mining, combined with farming livestock. After decades of neglect, speleology, and in particular the Cantabria University Speleology Club since 1975, have discovered its true geological value.
On July 1, 2005 the Government of Cantabria opened it to the public and publicised it internationally, after development for tourism and protection rules prohibiting any further activity by the discovering club. Research is ongoing, resulting in the study of amber deposits, the recognition of underground stromatolites formed by manganese-oxidising bacteria, and a new mineral form, zaccagnaite-3R.
The cave recently started holding music concerts. Artists like Bertín Osborne and Nando Agüeros have played inside the cave for hundreds of people in 2016.
El Soplao is just one of at least 6,500 caves in Cantabria.

Situation

The cave is located in the "mi bater", part of the Sierra del Escudo de Cabuérniga, between the towns of Rionansa, Herrerías and Valdáliga and around San Vicente de la Barquera. The Sierra de Arnero runs parallel to the Cantabrian Sea, with a maximum altitude of 682 metres.
To access the cave, visitors can use the Cantabrian motorway.

Galleries

El Soplao is a very extensive network of caves and developed at several levels. Cave metrics are:
http://www.microbemagazine.org/index.php/05-2011-current-topics/3353-manganese-oxidizing-microbes-form-giant-stromatolites-in-caves
  • Length of natural passages surveyed.
  • Length of mined passage connected with the cave.
  • Lacuerre Caves.
  • Total System length.

    Other galleries

  • Gallery of Bridge
  • Gallery of the Mermaid
  • Gallery Columns
  • Gallery Grey
  • Gallery of the Avalanche
  • Gallery of the Goat
  • Gallery the Wonders
  • Gallery Wet

    Mineral and fossils

This is the list of minerals and fossils found in the cave, in alphabetical order:

Fossils