Aven d'Orgnac, Show cave in Ardèche, France
Aven d'Orgnac is a limestone cave system in the village of Orgnac-l'Aven in southern France. Three stacked chambers reach a combined depth of 121 meters (397 feet) and contain formations ranging from slender columns to broad curtains of flowstone.
The explorer Robert de Joly discovered the entrance in 1935 after lowering himself on a rope. The first prehistoric tools were found in the 1950s during excavations near the cave opening.
The name comes from the Provençal word for sinkhole, because shepherds used to lose animals in these natural openings. The attached museum displays finds from the entire Ardèche river gorge, which people have lived in since the Stone Age.
Visitors walk down 700 steps during the hour-long tour and take an elevator back to the surface. Sturdy shoes and a light jacket make sense because the path can be slippery and it feels much cooler inside than outside.
The temperature inside stays at 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) all year, no matter the weather outside. The site generates part of its electricity through more than 300 solar panels installed on the roofs of the buildings.
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