Cadomin Cave is a natural limestone

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost par ...

near the town of

Cadomin, Alberta Cadomin is a hamlet in the west-central Alberta, Canada within Yellowhead County. It is located along the McLeod River in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, approximately south of Hinton near the Bighorn Highway. It is served by a spur of t ...

Geography

Cadomin Cave is located within Leyland Mountain at an elevation of 1890m, and was formed within the thickly-bedded limestones of the

Palliser Formation The Palliser Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian (Famennian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is a thick sequence of limestone and dolomitic limestone that is present in the Canadian Rockies and foothills of western A ...

. The cave consists of an upper series of spacious

phreatic ''Phreatic'' is a term used in hydrology to refer to aquifers, in speleology to refer to cave passages, and in volcanology to refer to a type of volcanic eruption. Hydrology The term phreatic (the word originates from the Greek , meaning "well" ...

and keyhole-type passages underlain by somewhat smaller passages connected by tight crawlways. There is only one known entrance. Cadomin Cave is named after the town of Cadomin, an acronym for the Canada Dominion Mining company.

Exploration

Cadomin Cave has been known since the early 1900s when prospectors opened up the Coal Branch district, but it was almost certainly known to native peoples before then. The first

cave survey A cave survey is a map of all or part of a cave system, which may be produced to meet differing standards of accuracy depending on the cave conditions and equipment available underground. Cave surveying and cartography, i.e. the creation of an a ...

was conducted in 1959 prior to the formation of Canada's caving clubs, and produced an accurate map of the passages of the upper series as far as the Mess Hall, the cave's principal chamber. In 1977 and 1978 a long-rumored lower series of passages was discovered and surveyed by members of the Alberta Speleological Society, significantly increasing the cave's measured length to 1704m and its depth to 171m. Subsequent explorations including the discovery of the decorated Crystal Crawls in 1982 and unsuccessful dives of the sump have resulted in a measured length of 2791m and a depth of 220m.

Environmental issues

The spacious, easy cave passages of Cadomin Cave's upper series have been popular with local and visiting outdoor enthusiasts for over a hundred years, and are amongst the most vandalized in the

. In 1997 the Alberta Speleological Society became official stewards of Cadomin Cave under a program managed by Alberta Environment, and periodically conduct garbage cleanups and graffiti removal and assist with bat counts. In 1999 the cave was included within the newly formed Whitehorse Wildlands Provincial Park. Cadomin Cave is a hibernaculum for

Little Brown Bat The little brown bat or little brown myotis (''Myotis lucifugus'') is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. It has a small body size and glossy brown fur. It is similar in appearance to several other mouse-ea ...

s, and access is currently prohibited between the first weekend in September and the first day of May.

White nose syndrome White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease in North American bats which has resulted in the dramatic decrease of the bat population in the United States and Canada, reportedly killing millions as of 2018. The condition is named for a distinct ...

is expected to arrive in the next few winters, so the cave has been closed via Ministerial order, effective May 14, 2010. A locked gate will be installed designed to prevent human access while facilitating bat movements.

References

The Canadian Caver ''The Canadian Caver'' is a semiannual publication that documents the activities of Canadian cavers exploring caves within Canada and overseas. ''The Canadian Caver'' was created by members of the McMaster University Climbing and Caving Club from ...

'' Vol 10 No 1 and Vol 14 No 1 Cave Closure - http://www.caving.ab.ca/cadomin

External links

Alberta Speleological Society - Cadomin CaveAlberta West Country - Cadomin Cave Map
{{Alberta parks Caves of Alberta Yellowhead County