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Today in Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia we visit the Bauma de les Rocasses, in the municipality of Santa Maria de Merlès (Berguedà), an incredible and very hidden corner in a hollow.
In this immense shelter in a cave we can see how the fall of water from the torrent has formed a large and beautiful column of pumice or travertine stone. It is worthy of admiration as a sample of nature's architecture.
A bauma is a rock shelter in a shallow natural cave into which light penetrates. It is found on rock walls, often at their base. In mountainous areas, this type of cave can also be important for hikers as shelter.
As can be seen in the images, in this shelter we find a variety of rock formations, not only this large column, which gives it the air of an open-air natural museum. And the endogenous leaks (some of these have been channeled) have formed incipient stalactites and other elements.
The Bauma de les Rocasses forms a large cave with a maximum measurement of 100 meters wide, 15 meters deep and about 7 meters high. The fall of the waters of the Vilaró torrent have formed in this shelter this large column of pumice stone that is partially covered with calcareous concretions.
The excursion to the Bauma de les Rocasses is one of the most popular among the routes to the Berguedà caves, but it is not the only attraction of Santa Maria de Merlès, where we find points of interest such as the Pont de Santa Martí, Sant Pau de Pinós, Sant Miquel de Terradelles, the hermitage of Our Lady of Ginabret, the church of Santa Maria de Merlès, the Riera de Merlès, the church of Sant Martí de Merlès, Santa Magdalena or the fortified farmhouses.
