Arctomys Cave
Encyclopedia
Arctomys Cave is a cave
in Trio Mountain above the Moose River Valley
in Mount Robson Provincial Park
in the Rocky Mountains
of British Columbia
. Arctomys Cave has 3496 metres of surveyed passages and is currently Canada's
second deepest known cave at 536 meters (1608 feet) deep.
in 1912 by mountaineer A.O. Wheeler
who, accompanied by Conrad Kain
, Byron Harmon George Kinney and 'Curly' Phillips , had descended to a waterfall at a depth of about 80 metres, stating that: “Beyond that the going is wet and the exploration was not carried further, as there was no change in the character of the subterranean shaft.” There is no record of subsequent visitation until 1971 - 1973 when cavers from the McMaster University Climbing and Caving Club, Guelph University Caving Club, Alberta Speleological Society and some visiting British cavers explored and surveyed the cave to its maximum depth of -522 metres. Passages above the entrance were surveyed by British and Canadian cavers in 1983 resulting in the current vertical range of 536 metres. Arctomys Cave was the deepest known cave in Canada for many years, until surpassed by Heavy Breather in 2010 with its depth of 653 metres.
. Despite its great depth, the cave includes only five pitch
es up to 15m deep. Although most of the cave is undecorated, the Straw Gallery has flowstone
and relatively long soda straw
s.
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
in Trio Mountain above the Moose River Valley
Moose River (British Columbia)
The Moose River is a river in Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia. It is the first "river" tributary of the Fraser, entering the Fraser just above the inlet to Moose Lake, which ironically, is along the course of the Fraser & not the Moose....
in Mount Robson Provincial Park
Mount Robson Provincial Park
Mount Robson Provincial Park is a large provincial park in the Canadian Rockies with an area of 2,249 km². The park is located entirely within British Columbia, bordering Jasper National Park in Alberta. The B.C. legislature created the park in 1913, the same year as the first ascent of Mount...
in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Arctomys Cave has 3496 metres of surveyed passages and is currently Canada's
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
second deepest known cave at 536 meters (1608 feet) deep.
Exploration
Arctomys Cave was discovered in 1911, and first reported in the Canadian Alpine JournalCanadian Alpine Journal
The Canadian Alpine Journal is the yearly magazine of the Alpine Club of Canada. It serves as a worldwide journal of record for achievements in climbing, mountaineering, ski mountaineering, and exploration of mountains....
in 1912 by mountaineer A.O. Wheeler
Arthur Oliver Wheeler
Arthur Oliver Wheeler was born in Ireland and immigrated to Canada in 1876 at the age of 16. He became a land surveyor and surveyed large areas of western Canada, including photo-topographical surveys of the Selkirk Mountains and the British Columbia-Alberta boundary along the continental divide...
who, accompanied by Conrad Kain
Conrad Kain
Conrad Kain was an Austrian mountain guide who guided extensively in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, and was responsible for the first ascents of more than 60 routes in British Columbia...
, Byron Harmon George Kinney and 'Curly' Phillips , had descended to a waterfall at a depth of about 80 metres, stating that: “Beyond that the going is wet and the exploration was not carried further, as there was no change in the character of the subterranean shaft.” There is no record of subsequent visitation until 1971 - 1973 when cavers from the McMaster University Climbing and Caving Club, Guelph University Caving Club, Alberta Speleological Society and some visiting British cavers explored and surveyed the cave to its maximum depth of -522 metres. Passages above the entrance were surveyed by British and Canadian cavers in 1983 resulting in the current vertical range of 536 metres. Arctomys Cave was the deepest known cave in Canada for many years, until surpassed by Heavy Breather in 2010 with its depth of 653 metres.
Characteristics
Arctomys Cave is formed in the steeply-dipping Mural Formation limestone of the Lower Cambrian Gog Group. The top half of the cave (The Endless Climb) descends relatively steeply, but at a depth of about 400 metres the cave becomes more horizontal with several pools, and ends at a sumpSump (cave)
Sump is a term used in caving to describe a submerged passage in a cave. A sump may be static, with no inward or outward flow, or active, with continuous through-flow...
. Despite its great depth, the cave includes only five pitch
Pitch (vertical space)
-Climbing:In rock climbing and ice climbing, a pitch is a steep section of a route that requires a rope between two belays, as part of a climbing system...
es up to 15m deep. Although most of the cave is undecorated, the Straw Gallery has flowstone
Flowstone
Flowstones are composed of sheetlike deposits of calcite formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution", or limestone caves, where they are the most common speleothem. However, they may form in any type of cave where water enters that...
and relatively long soda straw
Soda straw
A soda straw is a speleothem in the form of a hollow mineral tube. They grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of caves...
s.