The cave with prehistoric art: Cueva del Pindal, northern Spain

Cueva del Pindal is a prehistoric cave in northern Spain, located near Pimiango, Ribadedeva. It is part of the 'Cueva de Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain' UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2008 and is included on the Spanish Cultural Heritage list since April 25, 1924. It is open for public visits. The cave's intricate paintings have captured our attention for over a century, from the dozen bison etched into the walls to the mysterious red signs that mark out shapes and figures.

But the cave's history extends far beyond these images. The geological substrate of the surroundings dates back to the Paleozoic. Gravitational processes have caused derrubios in the slopes of the cuencas torrenciales and in the zone of the frente of Rasa II de Pimiango. Karstic processes have formed dolinas, a valley blind and other karstic forms in the cave. Anisotropias prefer the infiltration of surface waters and nearby creek waters, forming aggressive waters that dissolve carbonate rocks, generating subterranean caves.

Torrential processes have originated cuencas and torrential abanicos in the north of Rasa II de Pimiango. The cave of Pindal is characterized by the development of fluvio-karstic (roof pendants), gravitational (deposits of collapse) and precipitation chemical forms, as well as a considerable amount of speleotemas (stalactites, stalagmites and columns). The majority of the representations are located in the right-hand panels of the cave. Thirteen bison, eight horses, a deer, a cow, isolated antlers, a mammoth and other unidentified figures have been documented. Abundant red signs such as points, strokes, parallel strokes and claviform figures have been found.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons