Cuevas de los Murciélagos
The Cuevas de los Murciélagos are a complex of two volcanic caves on La Palma, Canary Islands. They are located at the Nacientes de Marcos y Cordero (springs of Marcos and Cordero) near the municipality of San Andrés y Sauces in the north of the island. Cueva de los Murciélagos I is located in an altitude of 1220 m, Cueva de los Murciélagos II in an altitude of 1000 m. Both caves have a length of 100 m. The access is not difficult. Though it is a descending tube it is good to walk. On the endpoint of the Cueva de los Murciélagos I is a small firepit in the soil which is slightly more complicated to access. In some areas it has a steep slope. It's a rather old cave where erosion caused by the years is evident, hence the debris is very abundant and they are large blocks of terrestrial material.
| Cuevas de los Murciélagos | |
|---|---|
| Bat Caves | |
| Location | San Andrés y Sauces, La Palma, Canary Islands |
| Coordinates | 28°45′45″N 17°50′24″W |
| Length | 100 m |
| Geology | Lava tube |
| Difficulty | none |
The caves host an important breeding colony of the Canary big-eared bat. In the 1980s the Cueva de los Murciélagos I become known as paleontological site where fossil remains of the La Palma giant lizard (Gallotia auaritae) and the Trias greenfinch (Carduelis triasi) were unearthed.
References
- Medina, A.L., J.L. Martín, I. Izquierdo, J.J. Hernández and P. Oromí: Cavidades volcánicas en la isla de La Palma (Islas Canarias) I. Descripción y consideraciones sobre su fauna. 7th Intemational Symposium On Vulcanospeleology, 1994:p 141–170
- Fernández, O., R. García, F. Dumpiérrez, D. Gómez, F. Rodriguez: Las cavidades volcánicas del término municipal de San Andrés y Sauces In Volcania, Volume 9, December 2011:p 6–39