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Michele Angileri

Torrente Tullio

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The canyon of Tullio creek lies at the northern border of the hill on which stands Cerreto Sannita village. It begins as relatively narrow and majestic canyon, followed by a wider gorge featuring numerous weirs.

Name	Torrente Tullio
Area	Campania
Nearest village	Cerreto Sannita
Elevation loss	110 m
Length	1100 m
Highest cascade	10 m
Rock	Limestone
Rating	3
Shuttle	Possible
Explored by	First descent canyoning-style: Michele Angileri; May 9th 2021

I remember ...

Oh, weirs ... those little dams made with the intention of mitigating the effects of floods. In Italy every creeks have weirs, and many canyons too! They are not nice-looking at they are a problem for canyoneer, because rope can easily get damaged by their sharp edge. Placing bolts on a weir is often difficult, because the concrete crumbles and the stones come away. It is not uncommon to abseil down a weis that's on the verge of collapsing, sometimes eroded from below and therefore with the upper rows of stones coming loose if you place your foot or rope on them...

Okay, you might say, flood mitigation is worth a few more problems for those who enjoy going down streams ... Alas, things are not like this: weirs actually reduce the erosion of the banks by guiding the stream in one direction, reduce the risk of landslides on the slopes, but they favor the formation of flood waves and increase the destructive power of flash floods. These are formed, in fact, when water that flows in front goes slower than the one that follows, allowing the latter to reach it. Thus on the flood front there is an instantaneous flow rate higher than the average of the flood itself: a wave is formed, a wall of water with a very high destructive potential.
To avoid the formation of flood waves, the flow of the flood front should be facilitated: any phenomenon that slows it down allows the following water to move onto the front itself, increasing the height of the wave. Waterfalls, whether natural or artificial, stop water as it reaches the base for an instant, and therefore favor the formation of flood waves.

Ugly, uncomfortable, useless in canyons ... but now they are there, and overcoming them constitutes an important part of the descent of Tullio canyon. At least until time and floods have destroyed and swept them away.