| Trou du Diable | |
| Other Name: | Devil's Hole (En) |
| Geology: | Karsts in Eastern Canada |
| Access: | Quebec Speleology Society |
| Website: | https://parcportneuf.com/grotte-trou-du-diable/ |
Trou du Diable (pronounced as /fr/, Devil's Hole) is a cave situated in Portneuf Regional Natural Park, St-Casimir Municipality, Portneuf RCM, Capital Nationale, Quebec, Canada.
Speleology and caving are the study and exploration of caves. Caution is required, caves are dangerous places which carry risks of serious injury or even death.[1] Note: The Trou du Diable cave is only accessible by guided tours offered by the Portneuf Regional Natural Park.[2]
The cave underground environment is an immense natural laboratory for caving, geomorphology, geology, biology, climatology and other disciplines.
The use of a glossary proves to be a valuable aid in defining the meaning of terms and meanings in current use within the speleological fraternity.[3]
The Trou du Diable is the second largest cave in Quebec, with a little over a kilometer of underground galleries, it's located east of the village of Saint-Casimir.
We notice:
— the presence of a network of dry galleries, the most typical of which is the pot gallery with beautiful forms of vortex erosion
— the vast dimensions of certain parts of the cave
— the arrival of underground tributaries joining the main channel
— the mediocrity of concretions, which testifies to the importance of dissolution actions[4] [5] [6]
Caves are often associated with legends and superstitions of all kinds, dragons, sorcerers and devils like the Quebec caves called fairy hole, devil's hole or bottomless hole.On the Devil's Hole cave of Saint-Casimir, it is said that:
It is also said that:
... When New France was discovered, people thought they had found a virgin continent, an earthly paradise, a place where malevolent minds had not set foot.
... Rather, the Devil had taken refuge on this land, enjoying a place where he could take some time off, telling himself that the most prosecuted entity of this world certainly deserved this perfect sanctuary. This is how the Devil found a home in an endless cavern, at the base of a waterfall where he was sheltered by an immense and eternal whirlpool. There he found tranquility and peace, as well as a place where he could drink and feast without being disturbed.
... Sometimes he even allowed himself to torment some poor, lost souls who had the misfortune of falling into the waterfall.
...They called that place ‘The Den of Evil Manitous’. Later, it was named the ‘Trou du Diable’, meaning the Devil’s den. People said it would forever imprison those who fell into it. The Iroquois threw into it the remains of Father Buteux.
Source: Trou du Diable, microbrewy[8]