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<head><title>GSAB: CTS ref. 78.2008 (in English translation)</title>
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<LINK rel="alternate" lang="fr" href="../fr/782008.htm"
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title="Gouffre Ovni">
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<center><font size=-1>(<acronym>GSAB</acronym>) <b lang="fr">Spéalp</b> 2 (1978) pp 14-19</font>
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<h1 lang="fr">GOUFFRE OVNI</h1></center>
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<p>The summer <acronym>GSAB</acronym> expedition to the <span lang="de">Totes
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Gebirge</span> has allowed the exploration of this new cave of 565m depth.
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Certainly, it is a little eclipsed by its two neighbours
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(<b lang="de">Kelli</b> and <b lang="fr">Empégadure</b>) but it
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remains no less of an accomplishment for a young team, only just broken into
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their first large-scale trip.
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<p>For the location and discovery details, see the report in
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<b lang="fr">Spéalp</b> <acronym>GSAB-SSS</acronym>
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<a href="782012.htm">number 1</a>.
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<h2>Description</h2>
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<p>The entrance, a bedding plane unblocked because of a draught, gives access
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to a series of short pitches, dry at the start, which get bigger, deeper,
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wider and wetter. The first exploration of 1976 had reconnoitred to -200m to
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the base of a 40m pitch (<b>The Black Hole</b>). The explorers of this year
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started on the descent of a fine 60m pitch of constant shape, slightly
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sloping. At the bottom of this is the only chamber of the cave : <b>The
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Galactic Hall</b>. Here the cave splits into two routes, the active and the
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fossil.
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<h3>Active system</h3>
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<p>Downstream from the chamber a drop leads to a small chamber among
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boulders, the <b>Love Nest</b>. (No idea who ventured to call it this[?])
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Between the boulders a 20m pitch opens, immediately followed by a 25m pitch.
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In fact, the last 25m of descent drops between the walls of an immense aven
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to land on a flat gravel floor. A diagonal chimney leads to a trickle of
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water.
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<p>A fissure marks the start of the <b>Anti-matter meander</b>, where one
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immediately rejoins the underground stream. This has an average flow of two
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litres per second but quite rapidly increases to 10-15 litres per second in
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flood. The first part of the meander is straight and interrupted by 3 small
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pitches and two drops. At the top of the first, in the roof, is the
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connection with the fossil system. Quickly, the meander becomes less
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amenable: high and narrow, it is plastered with mud (the anti-matter) which
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makes progress quite arduous. Three pitches of 5, 14 and 10, punctuate
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progress. This last, followed by a drop of 3m, gives access to a section of
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passage blocked by clay. At the end of this, the stream disappers into a
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fissure with tight impenetrable bends. The passage is continued by a quite
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large fossil branch. After some 50m, the draught goes into an earthy hole,
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the start of a big pitch of 70m in several stages.
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<p>Halfway down, the pitch is rejoined by the stream which is avoided by a
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parallel fossil pitch. There immediately follows another pitch of 55m,
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totally wet and characterised by an elliptical cross-section and constant
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slope. At the bottom, the water is engulfed by a fissure about three metres
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long, followed by a tight meander which we haven't pushed.
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<h3>Fossil system</h3>
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<p>Upstream from the Galactic Hall, a window some metres high gives access to
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a good-sized passage (3x3m on average), the <b>Little Green Men's
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passage</b>. One comes up against a climb of 3m at the base of which the
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trickle of water is lost into a meander cut below the fossil passage (see
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below). After a narrowing and a climb, the passage ends in boulders between
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which it is still possible to penetrate for a dozen metres.
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<p>Back in the meander below the fossil passage: this ends at the
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<b><span lang="fr">Gomette</span> pitch</b> (discovered by the <span
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lang="fr">Gaumais</span>), a 60m pitch, spray-lashed in its lower part by
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"the wee-wee". At the base of this pitch is the beginning of the <b>Mutants'
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meander</b>. This is a passage for masochists <span lang="fr">par
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excellence</span>: at the bottom, tight and suit-snagging. It ends in a
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series of climbs and a 30m pitch joining the active system.
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<h2>Geology</h2>
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<h3>General</h3>
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<p>From the geological point of view, the <span lang="fr">Gouffre Ovni</span>
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is a typical example of the karstic phenomena of the massif, and likewise of
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the greater part of the karst of Austria. There isn't a zone of pitches
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leading to a master-cave on an impermeable bed (of the Pyrenean type) nor
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tight vertical caves (of the <span lang="fr">Vercors</span> or <span
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lang="fr">Chartreuse</span> type). The primary factors in the formation are
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the intense orogenic fracturing combined with a very wet climate and heavy
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snow-falls since the start of the era.
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<p>These caves generally open by virtue of the simple form of the
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discontinuities in the limestones (joints, bedding-planes). Then they enlarge
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more and more by following the larger-scale phenomena (faults,
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master-joints). The master-cave, when it exists, is generally only short and
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near the resurgence.
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<h3 lang="fr">Gouffre Ovni</h3>
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<p>The entrance is in a bedding plane open for about two metres. There
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follows a series of pitches, quite small, formed in a quite sinuous joint and
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enlarged on bedding planes and very strong [<span lang="fr">pendage</span> -
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dictionary failure] in this zone. At about -200m, the influence of another
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factor starts to be felt. The pitches become bigger and bigger and the walls
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cleaner and cleaner. This section is characterised by a fault running roughly
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East-West (see figure 1).
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<p><center><img alt="fig. 1, 3k gif" width=512 height=128
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src="../ovnif1.gif"></center>
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<p>This fault controls the major part of the formation of the cave. In
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effect, the course of the cave is hollowed out of different levels of this
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fault. (figure 2)
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<p><img alt="fig. 2, 3k gif" width=275 height=385 align="left" hspace=10
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vspace=10 src="../ovnif2.gif">
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<b>Figure 2: Plan of the fault</b>
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<ul>
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<li>1st The Zorglub pitch and the Father Christmas chimneys.
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<li>2nd The Galactic Hall and the first third of the Little Green Men's
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passage (the other two thirds lie on bedding planes).
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<li>3rd The pitch to pass [?] the time and the
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<span lang="fr">Gaumette</span> pitch with the Mutants' meander.
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<li>4th The major part of the Anti-matter meander (the unwedging of this
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part [?]) by connection with the rest (plan) is [complete translation
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failure - something about the fault being broken ?]
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</ul>
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<br clear="all">
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<p>Following the large part of the Anti-matter meander, a very narrow zone
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marks the junction with a second fault orientated <acronym>SE-NW</acronym>
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which controls the rest of the cave. [next sentence is real gobbledegook to
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me unless there is a misprint in the french ?] One rotted to believe
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conspicuously the survey, which concerns a meander in a joint seen its
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sinuosity [???]. In fact, the straight part and space of this fault is
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impracticable because it overhangs continually a perpendicular of 6m whence
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the lips are sloping and muddy. One is therefore obliged to borrow the bottom
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in [<span lang="fr">surcreusement</span> - what a time for a dictionary
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failure !]. More unwavering [lots of alternative translations for this word -
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none make much sense] by an unhooking where the stream destroys itself [sinks
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?]. The passage continues in the same direction always controlled by the
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jointing/faulting. The zone of pitches which follows develops equally in the
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lower part of the fault; [<span lang="fr">elle ait</span> is the present
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subjunctive of <span lang="fr">avoir</span> - what the fuck does present
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subjunctive translate as ?] well what/as/who/as/how has the appearance of a
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forced conduit [phreatic passage/lift ?]
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<h3>Possibilities for continuation</h3>
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<p>As one the remark to the observation of the survey, the main passage
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continues unexplored. It appears that [present subjunctive of to be] in the
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presence of a simple phenomenon of regression and so logically one should
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find another series of fossil pitches dropping to the base level. (figures 3
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and 4)
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<center><p><img alt="Fig. 3 - 5k gif" width=460 height=480
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src="ovnif3.gif"><p><img alt="Fig. 4 - 3k gif" width=320 height=340
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src="ovnif4.gif"></center>
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<p>The strength [power, force ?] of the <span lang="de">Dachsteinkalk</span>
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(granular Jurassic limestone) lies next to the 700m from the entrance. [??]
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<h3>Meteorologie</h3>
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<p><img alt="fig. 5 - 2k gif" width=265 height=435 align=right hspace=10
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vspace=0 src="../ovnif5.gif">
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<b>Figure 5: Diagram of the draughts at the principal points of
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perception:</b>
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<p>As we have already said, there is a strong draught which drew our
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attention to Ovni. This draught was blowing in a hot period (summer) [so] we
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logically [expected] to find the presence of an intermediate entrance. Seeing
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the strength of the cold draught [<span lang="fr">chassé</span>], the
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existence of an upper entrance is fairly certain. Prospecting on the hillock
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above the entrance didn't yield results. It concerns there of an objective to
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see again because the vegetation and the snakes didn't permit us to operate
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an efficient search pattern.
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<p>The junction with this higher entrance must be at the level of the Little
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Green Men's passage; either by the wet chimney at the bottom of the 1st fault
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or in the roof of 2/3, there where the draught is lost. For the other part,
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the presence at the bottom of another strong draught, suggests a lower
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entrance, probably a fossil resurgence. Nevertheless these are only
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suppositions, the caprices of a draught are very difficult to deal with.
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<br clear="all">
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<h3>Conclusions</h3>
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<p>One sees from this brief analysis of the cave that the chances of a
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continuation aren't minimal. Now this cave isn't extremely difficult of
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access or of exploration. The work [god knows - rotted to be there mend] very
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soon, but it is nevertheless a secondary objective compared with other
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Austrian possibilities.
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<p lang="fr">G Feller <acronym>GSAB</acronym>
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<hr>
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<!-- LINKS -->
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<img alt=">" src="../../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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<a href="../index.htm">GSAB articles list</a><br>
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<img alt=">" src="../../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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<span lang="fr">Gouffre Ovni</span> :
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<a href="../../../noinfo/1626/122.htm">description</a>, in English<br>
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<img alt=">" src="../../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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<a href="../../../1626/index.htm">Overview</a>
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of area 1626, and index to caves<br>
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<img alt=">" src="../../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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Back to <a href="../../../index.htm">Expedition Intro page</a><br>
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<img alt=">" src="../../../../icons/lists/0.gif">
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<a href="../../../../index.htm">Back to CUCC Home page</a>
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</body>
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