Gouffre Jean-Bernard
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Gouffre Jean-Bernard or Réseau Jean Bernard, sometimes known simply as Jean Bernard, is one of the deepest caves known in the world. It is in the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
in
Samoëns Samoëns () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is the principal commune for the canton which bears its name. The town of Samoëns is located in the Vallée du Giffre (Giff ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The first entrance to the
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
was found by the French caving group Groupe Vulcain in 1963. More entrances have been found over the years since, and currently at least thirteen are known. The highest entrance, known as C37, is at above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
.. The cave is named after Jean Dupont and Bernard Raffy, two Groupe Vulcain members who died in 1963 in an unrelated expedition.


Exploration

Exploration of the cave began shortly after discovery in 1963. By 1969, the cave had been explored to a depth of below the level of the highest entry point. At that point, further exploration was blocked by a water-filled tunnel. Subsequently, another entrance was discovered that had passages that bypassed the flooded tunnel. The cave was explored to before again becoming blocked, this time by fallen rocks. In 1976, these rocks were removed, allowing explorers to descend to ; that made it the second-deepest cave known at the time. More recent explorations have found it to be approximately deep and in july 2022 , making it the seventh deepest cave known in the world .


See also

*
List of caves This is a list of caves of the world that have articles or that are properly cited. They are sorted by continent and then country. Caves which are in overseas territories on a different continent than the home country are sorted by the territory' ...
*
Speleology Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form ( speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology) ...
*
List of deepest caves This list of deepest caves includes the deepest known natural caves according to maximum surveyed depth . The depth value is measured from the highest to the lowest accessible cave point. See also * List of caves * List of deepest mines * Lis ...


References

{{Authority control Landforms of Haute-Savoie
Jean-Bernard Jean-Bernard is a French masculine given name. It may refer to : * Jean-Bernard Gauthier de Murnan (1748–1796), a French officer for the Continental Army * Jean-Bernard Knepper (1638–1698), a Luxembourg advocat and notary * Jean-Bernard Ndong ...