List of caves in Canada

Summary

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 high plateau of Mount Bisaro near 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 near Old Crow
Bocock Peak Caves[2]  British Columbia Located in Bocock Peak Provincial Park
Bonnechere Caves  Ontario Located in Eganville
Booming Ice Chasm  Alberta 140 704 Located near Crowsnest Pass
Cadomin Cave  Alberta 1,891 220 2,791 Located near Cadomin. Closed in 2010 due to an outbreak of white nose syndrome.
Canyon Creek Ice Cave  Alberta 1,769 +89.4 727.12 Located near the town of Bragg Creek. Impassable beyond the first 150m since 1980, due to ice buildup.[3]
Castleguard Cave
 Alberta 2,016[3] 384 20,357 Located in Banff National Park. It is longest cave in Canada. The cave entrance is gated and requires permission from Parks Canada to enter.
Cave and Basin
 Alberta 1,403[3] Located in the town of Banff. The 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 located near Charlie Lake
Chipmunk Caves  British Columbia Located in the Chilliwack River valley near Ford Mountain Correctional Centre
Close To The Edge
 British Columbia 700 475 967 Located in Close To The Edge Provincial Park
Cody Caves
 British Columbia 800 Located in Cody Caves Provincial Park. Access is by guided tour only.
Devil's Bath  British Columbia 90 44 Large cenote located 13.5 km southeast of Port Alice near Kathleen Lake
Duncan Crevice Caves  Ontario Located in Beaver Valley
Eramosa Karst
 Ontario Located in Hamilton
Eternal Fountain  British Columbia A waterfall emptying into a sinkhole near Port McNeill
Fairy Hole  Nova Scotia A sea cave reputedly linked to various legends of the Mi'kmaq Nation
Fang Cave[4]  British Columbia Located in Evanoff Provincial Park
Gargantua Cave
 Alberta
 British Columbia
2,501[3] 286 6,001 Located near Crowsnest Pass. Contains the largest and highest elevation natural cavern in Canada.
Hayes Cave  Nova Scotia 400[5] Located near Maple Grove
Hole in the Wall
 Alberta 2,013[3] 30[3] A prominent feature on the side of Mount Cory. Visible from the Trans-Canada Highway about 14 km west of the town of Banff.
Homesite Creek Caves  British Columbia Located near Halfmoon Bay
Hoodoo Cave  Alberta 220 Located near Nordegg
Horne Lake cave complex
 British Columbia Located in Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park
Horseshoe Falls grotto
 Ontario 46 A large manmade grotto behind Horseshoe Falls of Niagara Falls
Kitt's Cave  New Brunswick 8 141 Located near Hammondvale
Limestone deposits  Manitoba Located near Lake Winnipeg
Little Huson Cave complex  British Columbia Located in Little Huson Cave Regional Park
Nakimu Caves  British Columbia Located in Glacier National Park
Plateau Mountain Ice Cave  Alberta 2,226 90[3] Located in Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve. Closed to the public in the early 1970s.[6]
Raspberry Rising  British Columbia 220 975 Located beneath Mount Tupper in Glacier National Park. Still being explored, its full extents are yet to be determined.[7]
Rat's Nest Cave  Alberta 1,450[3] 245 4,003 Located beneath Grotto Mountain near Exshaw. Access is by guided tour only.
Saint-Alban caves  Quebec Located in Saint-Alban
Saint-Leonard Cavern
 Quebec 250 Located in Saint-Léonard. Original cave is 35 metres long with a depth of 8 metres;[8] a second 250-metre cave was discovered in 2017.[9]
Sarlacc's Pit cave
 British Columbia +130 +2,000 Discovered in 2018 within Wells Gray Provincial Park. Not yet accurately measured. The largest known cave of its type. Given the informal name of "Sarlacc's Pit".[10]
Scenic Caves  Ontario Located near Collingwood
Skaha North Cave  British Columbia 40 300 Located approximately 5 km south of north end of Skaha and 3 km up from Skaha lake
Skaha South Cave  British Columbia 30 150 Located approximately 2 km south of Skaha North Cave
Slesse Creek caves  British Columbia Located near Slesse Creek
Small River Caves complex[11]  British Columbia Located in Small River Caves Provincial Park.
Stone Corral Caves[12]  British Columbia Located in Monkman Provincial Park
Thanksgiving Cave  British Columbia 479[13] 8,386[13] Located near Tahsis. A through passage was discovered in September 2017.
Trou de la Fée  Quebec Located in Desbiens
Trou du Diable
 Quebec 980 Located in Saint-Casimir. Second longest cave in Quebec.
Trou du Perdus  Quebec Located in Saint-Michel-du-Squatec
Underground Lake  New Brunswick 13.1 141 A gypsum cave located in the community of Demoiselle Creek
Valdes Island cave
 British Columbia Located on Valdes Island
Vanishing River/Reappearing River  British Columbia Located southeast of Port Alice near Kathleen Lake
Wapiabi Cave  Alberta 152 540 Located near Nordegg
Warsaw Caves  Ontario Located in Douro-Dummer Township near Warsaw
Weymer Creek caves complex  British Columbia Located in Weymer Creek Provincial Park. Caving is strongly discouraged until a park management plan is completed.[14]
Hell Holes Caves  Ontario Located in Lennox and Addington County near Centreville[15]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Heide Pearson, Calgarian explorers among team that discovered Canada's deepest cave near Fernie, BC, Global News, January 15, 2018
  2. ^ Environment, Ministry of. "Bocock Peak Provincial Park - BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Environment, Ministry of. "Evanoff Provincial Park - BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  5. ^ Derek Davis, et al., (1996 Revised Edition), Natural History of Nova Scotia, Volume II: Theme Regions, Nova Scotia Museum, p. 96
  6. ^ Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve Management Plan
  7. ^ Joshua Rapp Learn, "Cave Mappers", Canadian Geographic Magazine, April 2014, pp. 36-37.
  8. ^ The Saint-Leonard Cavern Archived 2017-12-04 at the Wayback Machine, Alive 375: Society for the Celebrations of Montréal's 375th Anniversary, 2015
  9. ^ Michelle Lalonde, Spelunkers discover 15,000-year-old cavern in St-Léonard park, Montreal Gazette, December 1, 2017
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Environment, Ministry of. "Small River Caves Provincial Park - BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  12. ^ Environment, Ministry of. "Monkman Provincial Park - BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  13. ^ a b "Canada's 100 Longest and Deepest surveyed caves". CanCaver. Caving Canada. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  14. ^ Environment, Ministry of. "Weymer Creek Provincial Park - BC Parks". bcparks.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  15. ^ "Spelunking The Hell Holes Caves". Retrieved 2021-06-30.