Canadian team confirms presence of huge unexplored cave in British Columbia

www.canadiangeographic.ca...

A massive pit that was spotted in a remote high alpine valley in British Columbia’s Wells Gray Provincial Park earlier this year is the entrance to a previously unexplored cave of “national significance,” say two members of a Canadian team that helped conduct a preliminary exploration of the site in September.

The cave “has a number of features that when combined indicate a cave of national significance” and constitutes “a major new find in Western Canada, and promises a dramatic new chapter in the story of Canadian cave exploration,” say John Pollack and Chas Yonge in a document they co-wrote that summarizes the significance of the find.

You don’t get lines of sight of 600 feet in Canadian caves — it just doesn’t happen. And this is a shaft. It goes down quite precipitously, it had a large amount of water flowing into it and is wide open for as far down it that we’ve gone. The scale of this thing is just huge, and about as big as they come in Canada.”

Pollack said that the pit was spotted in April during a routine aerial caribou survey conducted by British Columbia's Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, and that Bevan Ernst, a regional caribou biologist with the ministry, called it “Sarlaac Pit” (a reference to a subterranean creature that made a brief appearance in the film Return of the Jedi).

The entrance to the massive cave that was spotted earlier this year in British Columbia's Wells Gray Provincial Park. Two members of the Canadian team that conducted a preliminary exploration of the site in September are circled in red to give an idea of the size of the entrance of the cave, which measures 100 metres long by 60 metres wide. (Photo: Catherine Hickson)

This is pretty cool. I've been to a few small limestone caves on bc that are kind of just holes in the ground you can't go into really or anything. I never knew there was anything like that in the province.

Apparently someone's added the entrance to openstreet maps too already.


www.openstreetmap.org...

Though this time of year I think it's going to be buries in snow.

a reply to: dug88

Wow! This is really not that far from me, finally something worth exploring that's in my neck of the woods. Can you say, underground base ? Just kidding, or am I...it would probably make a good one if you could navigate the drop down from the entrance.

That being said it's not like it wont end up being a popular place to visit in the near future. Thanks for posting and giving me something to look into.

a reply to: dug88

Reminds me of the exit holes the big bug things made when they woke up in the most recent Godzilla movie...

Hmm, I’m going to contact them.
One of my drones uses active lidar for position control underground.
It maps in real time using the active lidar for obstacle detection.

Would be interesting to see just how deep she goes.

I'm sure it was discovered and explored many times in the past. It almost looks like an ancient mine of some sort.

Dateline January 2019:
A representative of the Sasquatch Peoples, has stated "That any incursion into the mouth of the so called "Pit", will be considered a border crossing violation. And that Sasquatch Forces would defend it with the utmost vigor."

originally posted by: vance
Dateline January 2019:
A representative of the Sasquatch Peoples, has stated "That any incursion into the mouth of the so called "Pit", will be considered a border crossing violation. And that Sasquatch Forces would defend it with the utmost vigor."

Good one!
That being said, I'm interested in what the local First Nations have to say on the topic. Very little was not known, and features like this would generally be assigned 'sacred' status. Water...liminal connections to the underworld...it has all the right components.

originally posted by: Macenroe82
Hmm, I’m going to contact them.
One of my drones uses active lidar for position control underground.
It maps in real time using the active lidar for obstacle detection.

Would be interesting to see just how deep she goes.

Probably closed off by military personnel by now haha but much safer to fly a drone down there than by foot.

OP great find S&F

originally posted by: threeeyesopen
a reply to: dug88

Wow! This is really not that far from me, finally something worth exploring that's in my neck of the woods. Can you say, underground base ? Just kidding, or am I...it would probably make a good one if you could navigate the drop down from the entrance.

That being said it's not like it wont end up being a popular place to visit in the near future. Thanks for posting and giving me something to look into.

Ya it's still a bit far out for me. Probably not somewhere im gonna head any time soon. But it's nice to know it's there in the same province at least.

originally posted by: Macenroe82
Hmm, I’m going to contact them.
One of my drones uses active lidar for position control underground.
It maps in real time using the active lidar for obstacle detection.

Would be interesting to see just how deep she goes.

That'd be pretty cool. Keep us updated if they ever get back to you.

a reply to: dug88

Would be a great place to store supplies, once upon a time.

Near as I can figure at least 10 miles from a road and definitely rough country to hike in. Need some better coordinates

a reply to: mikell

Hopefully someone can map it out for us, I'll hopefully check it out this summer.

a reply to: dug88

That's my bug out cave. Don't touch my rocks.

a reply to: tadaman

Lmao I'll be sure to be expecting company, dont worry I'll just be bringing some extra brew with me

a reply to: Macenroe82

Please let us know if they do want your help. Would be very cool to hear updates!

Great find OP!

a reply to: threeeyesopen

www.cavecartography.com...

caves.org...

a reply to: lunarcartographer
Thank you for sharing that information, though I will have to assess when I get there to see if I can enter. From my understanding theres a deep precipice so i would need some ropes to get down, at which I'm amateurish at best. Like I said though, I'll assess it and see if it can be entered from elsewhere.

a reply to: threeeyesopen

Good luck, but at most be safe and get a buddy system. I have explored several limestone caves in Kentucky and Indiana. One cave I explored seemed to have been untouched, its' entrance was below a cliff but not at the bottom, you had to climb up a a ways to see it's small entrance hidden behind a rock structure; it was not large but had a nice stand up circular room next to the cliff face. and lit up from a crack in the cliff face wall. I found what I believe to have been a serrated hide scraped made from a large bone.

This place appears to be a structure that requires expert advice and guidance, see if you can hook up with an experienced group.

a reply to: dug88


You will, therefore, be taken to the Dune Sea and cast into the Pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all powerful Sarlacc.

In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over a thousand years.

C3PO, speaking for His High Exaltedness.

Canada has everything! Pot. A fake Mars rover island. Bigfeet. And now a Sarlacc. Not to mention some b1tching mountains to slide down on your one planker!

BBC said it is known as "striped karst" and similar to a sinkhole to how it is made. There is a flowing river at the bottom that was kicking up mist so they could not get down there and explore. I hope one of the cable TV shows tags along and films the descent.

Looks to have a massive block of ice inside, Has this recently been exposed by a retreating glacier. How else would ice that size end up in that entrance? It's huge. wow.