List of caves in Canada
Appearance
This is an incomplete list of caves in Canada. Most notable caves are in western Canada and in parts of southern Ontario where limestone predominates.
Name | Image | Province | Entrance elevation (m) |
Depth (m) | Length (m) | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arctomys Cave | British Columbia | 536 | 3,496 | Located in Mount Robson Provincial Park | ||
Artlish River Cave | British Columbia | 396 | Located in Artlish Caves Provincial Park | |||
Bisaro Anima | British Columbia | 670 | 5,300 | Discovered in 2012 on a mountain plateau north of Fernie. Extreme depth reached in a sump in late 2017.[1] | ||
The Black Hole | British Columbia | 740 | Located in Artlish Caves Provincial Park | |||
Bluefish Caves | Yukon | Located south of Old Crow | ||||
Bonnechere Caves | Ontario | Located at Eganville | ||||
Booming Ice Chasm | Alberta | 140 | 704 | Located near Crowsnest Pass | ||
Cadomin Cave | Alberta | 1,891 | 220 | 2,791 | Closed in 2012 due to an outbreak of white nose syndrome | |
Canyon Creek Ice Cave | Alberta | 1,769 | +89.4 | 727.12 | Impassable beyond first 150m since 1980, due to ice buildup[2] | |
Cape Dauphin cave | Nova Scotia | Located at Cape Dauphin | ||||
Castleguard Cave | Alberta | 2,016[2] | 384 | 20,357 | The longest cave in Canada. Located in Banff National Park, the cave entrance is gated and requires permission from Parks Canada to enter. | |
Cave and Basin | Alberta | 1,403[2] | Located in the town of Banff. Cave consists of a tunnel blasted through to a natural cavern containing hot springs. Has an entry fee. | |||
Cave Falls | Ontario | Located in Hamilton | ||||
Charlie Lake Cave | British Columbia | An archaeologically significant cave near Fort St John. | ||||
Chipmunk Caves | British Columbia | Located near the Chilliwack River | ||||
Close To The Edge | British Columbia | 700 | 475 | 967 | Located in Close To The Edge Provincial Park and Protected Area | |
Cody Caves | British Columbia | 800 | Guide necessary | |||
Devil's Bath | British Columbia | Large sinkhole located 13.5 km southeast of Port Alice on Vancouver Island. | ||||
Duncan Crevice Caves | Ontario | Located at Beaver Valley | ||||
Eramosa Karst | Ontario | Located in Hamilton | ||||
Eternal Fountain | British Columbia | A waterfall emptying into a sinkhole near Port McNeill on Vancouver Island. | ||||
Gargantua Cave | Alberta British Columbia |
2,501[2] | 286 | 6,001 | Contains the largest and highest elevation natural cavern in Canada. | |
Gumdrop | British Columbia | Located near Sechelt | ||||
Hayes Cave | Nova Scotia | 400 [3] | Located near Elmsdale | |||
Hole in the Wall | Alberta | 2,013[2] | 30[2] | A prominent feature on the side of Mount Cory, north of Banff, visible from the Trans-Canada Highway | ||
Hoodoo Cave | Alberta | Near Nordegg | ||||
Horne Lake cave complex | British Columbia | Located on Vancouver Island | ||||
Horseshoe Falls grotto | Ontario | 46 | Large manmade grotto behind Horseshoe Falls of Niagara Falls | |||
Kitt's Cave | New Brunswick | 8 | 141 | Located near Hammondvale, New Brunswick | ||
Limestone deposits | Manitoba | Located near Lake Winnipeg | ||||
Little Huson Cave | British Columbia | Located in the Nimpkish River valley on Vancouver Island | ||||
Nakimu Caves | British Columbia | Located in Glacier National Park | ||||
Plateau Mountain Ice Cave | Alberta | 2,226 | 90[2] | In the Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve. Closed to the public in the early 1970s.[4] | ||
Raspberry Rising | British Columbia | 220 | 975 | Located in Mount Tupper, BC. Still being explored, its full extents are yet to be determined.[5] | ||
Rat's Nest Cave | Alberta | 1,450[2] | 245 | 4,003 | Near Exshaw, beneath Grotto Mountain. Access is by guided tour only. | |
Saint-Alban caves | Quebec | Located in Saint-Alban | ||||
Saint-Leonard Cavern | Quebec | 250 | Saint-Léonard; original cave is 35 metres long with a depth of 8 metres;[6] a second 250-metre cave was discovered in 2017.[7] | |||
Sarlacc's Pit cave | British Columbia | +130 | +2,000 | Located in Wells Gray Provincial Park. Discovered in 2018 and not yet accurately measured. The largest known cave of its type. Given the working name of "Sarlacc's Pit".[8] | ||
Scenic Caves | Ontario | Located near Collingwood | ||||
Skaha North Cave | British Columbia | 40 | 300 | ~5km south of north end of Skaha and 3km up from Skaha lake | ||
Skaha South Cave | British Columbia | 30 | 150 | ~2km south of Skaha North | ||
Slesse Creek caves | British Columbia | Near Slesse Creek | ||||
Thanksgiving Cave | British Columbia | 479[9] | 8,386[9] | Located on Vancouver Island, near Tahsis. A through passage was discovered in September 2017. | ||
Trou de la Fée | Quebec | Located in Desbiens on the Métabetchouane River | ||||
Trou du Diable | Quebec | 980 | Second longest cave in Quebec | |||
Trou du Perdus | Quebec | Located in Saint-Michel-du-Squatec | ||||
Underground Lake | New Brunswick | 13.1 | 141 | Gypsum cave in Demoiselle Creek | ||
Valdes Island cave | British Columbia | Located on Valdes Island | ||||
Vanishing River/Reappearing River | British Columbia | Located on Vancouver Island | ||||
Wapiabi Cave | Alberta | 152 | 540 | Located near Nordegg | ||
Warsaw Caves | Ontario | Located in Douro-Dummer Township near Warsaw |
See also
References
- ^ Heide Pearson, Calgarian explorers among team that discovered Canada’s deepest cave near Fernie, BC, Global News, January 15, 2018
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rollins, Jon (2004). Caves of the Canadian Rockies & Columbia Mountains. Surrey, BC: Rocky Mountain Books. ISBN 0921102941.
- ^ Derek Davis, et al, (1996 Revised Edition), Natural History of Nova Scotia, Volume II: Theme Regions, Nova Scotia Museum, p. 96
- ^ Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve Management Plan
- ^ Joshua Rapp Learn, "Cave Mappers", Canadian Geographic Magazine, April 2014, pp. 36-37.
- ^ The Saint-Leonard Cavern Archived 2017-12-04 at the Wayback Machine, Alive 375: Society for the Celebrations of Montréal’s 375th Anniversary, 2015
- ^ Michelle Lalonde, Spelunkers discover 15,000-year-old cavern in St-Léonard park, Montreal Gazette, December 1, 2017
- ^ The Canadian Press (3 December 2018). "Newly discovered cave in B.C. might be largest ever found in Canada". CBC News. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Canada's 100 Longest and Deepest surveyed caves". CanCaver. Caving Canada. Retrieved 20 March 2018.