Outdoors | Find a cave near you

Did your grandfather sometimes talk about this little cave lost in the woods? Did your cousin see a cavity while following the tracks of a deer in the middle of a forest? Spéléo Québec would like to discuss it with them.

Mary Tison
The Press

“It’s part of our mission: to discover and protect all that there is as caves in Quebec, and to educate on this subject”, recalls Marie-Claude McDuff, geomatics project manager at Spéléo Québec (Quebec Speleological Society). . “Since we have existed, word of mouth has been one of our most important sources, so we are relaunching a call to try to get our reports going again. »

In the past, it basically worked like this: there were legends, anecdotes told by grandparents. It was precious. This information sometimes allowed the Quebec Speleology Society to rediscover what were often called fairy holes.

“We have a lot of archives that we are digitizing for the relocation of our office. It takes us back to the memories of the organization, it makes us see the extent of the public’s contribution. »

People’s boost

Currently, speleologists are using new technologies to unearth caves, such as LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) images. “These are images of the relief taken by satellites, explains Mr.^me McDuff. We can superimpose this with shading effects, it allows to highlight certain relief elements which give good clues to find caves. For example, we see rivers disappear and reappear. »

Despite the advantages of new technologies, information from the population continues to be of great interest to speleologists. Michel Beaupré, geologist from Spéléo Québec, compiles the points of interest and when the opportunity arises, the members go out into the field to verify the most promising clues.

Spéléo Québec organized a research camp in the Outaouais, in the valley of the Lièvre River, during the weekend of the Fête des Patriotes. A dozen members formed themselves into teams of three or four people to scour the terrain in search of caves.

“We found one! exclaims M.^me McDuff. We found what is called a collapse sinkhole, where the ground is subsiding. It revealed a porch, the entrance to a beautiful white marble cave about thirty meters. We could come out further by the resurgence of a stream. It’s a very passable cave: we weren’t standing in it, but we weren’t crawling either. »

After the excitement of the start, the cavers quickly got into analysis mode: what happened here? Are there concretions? Stalactites? Stalagmites? “We haven’t seen any,” says M.^me McDuff.

The speleologists, well helmeted, also make an analysis of the potential danger.

Since the team discovered the cave on private land, M^me McDuff cannot reveal his positioning. Permission was obviously requested from the owner to explore his land. “He was curious, he didn’t know there was something penetrable. »

Other side

Speleo Quebec has organized another research camp for the end of June, again in the Outaouais, but this time in the Gatineau Valley. “There are a lot of points of interest in this region, more than in regions like Estrie and the South Shore,” says Ms.^me McDuff. It is linked to the geology of the territory. »

For the members of Spéléo Québec, these camps are an opportunity to meet again and exchange anecdotes. The most experienced share their knowledge with newer members. “Everyone is excited about discovering a cave, and if we don’t find anything, well, we’ll have had fun walking around in the woods. »