The portal
Stalactites and columns.
Jani Pereira — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jani Pereira — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Luan Alves Chaves — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JADER VINÍCIUS DA SILVA PEREIRA — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jani Pereira — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jani Pereira — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Leonardo Palermo Gentile — CC BY-SA 4.0
Morro Preto Cave, officially Gruta do Morro Preto I, lies in the Santana nucleus of PETAR in Iporanga and is rated a geosite of national importance. It is 832 metres long with a 61-metre drop, and is actually part of a single cavity with the neighbouring Couto cave, in the Onça Parda, Morro Preto and Couto karst system. You enter through a medium-height portal crowded with huge stalactites and ornate columns, where the floor shows traces of archaeological digs and large quantities of mollusc shells left by prehistoric people. Beyond it lies a hall full of columns and blocks broken by powerful natural forces, with formations lying upside down or fallen. The naturalist Richard Krone recorded it in 1908 as cave number 21, describing the stone tools, pottery and hearths he found. Visits grew sharply in the 1990s, and today it is seen with a mandatory guide on the Santana nucleus tours.
Stalactites and columns.
Signs of early people.
Fallen blocks.
Santana nucleus, Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park (PETAR), Iporanga, São Paulo state
Yes, it and the Couto cave are parts of one cavity.
