Las Caldas Cave and the surrounding partial nature reserve (''Reserva Natural Parcial de la Cueva de las Caldas'') is a protected area covering 45 hectares within the Nalón Valley in the Municipality of Oviedo in the vicinity of the towns of

La Piñera La Piñera is one of seven parishes (administrative divisions) in Morcín, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat ...

and Las Caldas. The cave itself has a length of about 600 m and has three entrances. The main cavity is around 5 m high and contains a

subterranean river A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It is distinct from an aquifer, which may flow like a river but is contained within a per ...

. The cave has no particular geological significance but it is important for the wildlife and archaeological sites from the

Solutrean The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Paleolithic of the Final Gravettian, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP. Solutrean sites have been found in modern-day France, Spain and Portugal. Details ...

and Magdalenian periods located there. Bats living in the cave include the medium

mouse-eared bat The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (''Myotis'') of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "''myotis''" itself is a New Latin construction, from the Greek "''muós'' (meaning "mouse") and "''oûs''" (mea ...

, cave bat,

greater horseshoe bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

, lesser horseshoe bat and

Natterer's bat Natterer's bat (''Myotis nattereri'') is a European vespertilionid bat with pale wings. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa. It fe ...

. Archeological excavations in the cave have become one of the most important

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

sites in the

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

region. Finds from the cave are of exceptional quality and include amongst others: * the Venus of Las Caldas, a Magdalenian antler carving with an

ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...

's head and a woman's legs and genitals, that may be either a

Venus figurine A Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statuette portraying a woman, usually carved in the round.Fagan, Brian M., Beck, Charlotte, "Venus Figurines", ''The Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', 1996, Oxford University Press, pp. 740–741 Most ...

or decorated

atlatl A spear-thrower, spear-throwing lever or ''atlatl'' (pronounced or ; Nahuatl ''ahtlatl'' ) is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart or javelin-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to store ene ...

-type device * paleolithic rock art * two stylised overlapping female profiles on an engraved rod dating from the Middle Magdalenian. * a stone plaque displaying a woman's stylised profile, * a whale and 2 bisons engraved onto a sperm whale teeth, * a high quality unused rock-crystal laurel leaf point, * engraved horse teeth, * a horse bone carved with bison heads.

References

{{Authority control Paleolithic Europe Nature reserves in Spain Caves of Spain Landforms of Asturias Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Asturias