To date, more than 200 caves have
been found in these Parks. Most caves are in the
Western one-third of the Parks in narrow bands of
marble paralleling the trend of the Sierra. They are
found at elevations ranging from over 10,000 feet to
under 1,500 feet and have internal temperatures
ranging from just above freezing to over 60 degrees.
Some of the caves have active stream systems, but
many are the dry remnants of ancient, water-flow
patterns. To date, nearly 20 unique species of
invertebrates have been discovered in Park caves, at
least 4 caves are roosts for the rare bat sub-species
Corynorhinus townsendii intermedius. Areas where
caves are found include the South Fork of the Kaweah,
Mineral King, Paradise Ridge, Deep Canyon, Yucca
Creek and Redwood Canyon.
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Lilburn Cave
At more than 17 miles of passage,
this is the longest cave in the Parks and in
California. The cave is a complex, deep,
three-dimensional-maze with beautiful marble banding
and several large streams. Lilburn is one of the most
mineral-rich other caves in the world, with more than
30 identified minerals. These minerals color cave
formations unusual colors including blue, green,
yellow and black in Lilburn. The cave's stream
returns to the surface at Big Spring, which has a
rare "ebb and flow" pattern of drainage.
Lilburn is not heavily decorated with speleothems,
but its few formation areas are exceptional. This
cave is managed for research. Most work in the cave
is conducted and organized by the Cave Research
Foundation.
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Crystal Cave
Crystal is the parks' only
commercialized cave. It has 3 miles of passage,
making it the second longest cave in the two parks.
More than 2,000 feet of passage and three new
entrances were found in the early 1990s. The cave is
a complex, "anastomotic" maze and is
heavily decorated with many varieties of speleothems
including rarely formed "shields" and
"raft cones". The cave has suffered heavy
vandalism through its commercialization. Crystal has
at least four unique species of invertebrates
including spiders and aquatic isopods living in the
cave stream.
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Hurricane Crawl
Hurricane Crawl Cave was discovered
in 1988 and has approximately 2 miles of passage.
This heavily decorated cave is quickly becoming
famous as one of the most beautiful caves in the
Western United States. It has outstanding examples of
many formation types including shields (disc-like
formations) and helictites (formations that twist and
turn in defiance of gravity). The cave also has
unusually colored speleothems that are orange, red
and yellow. Hurricane Crawl is composed mostly of
narrow canyon passages, but the cave also has several
large rooms. Hurricane is very linear and has an
active stream. Several unique species exist in
Hurricane including both aquatic and terrestrial
isopods.
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Soldier's Cave
This cave has long been a favorite
with California cavers since its exploration in 1949
and 1950. Three vertical rope drops must be
negotiated to reach its lowest and most extensive
level. The cave is dry and has not been biologically
inventoried. Several outstanding formation areas
exist, one of which has beautiful needle-like
"dog-tooth spar" crystals. This cave has
suffered due to inadvertent vandalism by cave
explorers and has approximately 1 1/2 miles of
passage. A complete map of the cave was recently
finished.
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Mineral King Caves
This area contains one of the finest
examples of alpine-karst topography in the United
States and probably is the finest alpine karst
protected in the National Park System. More than 30
caves, 15 springs, dozens of sinkholes, blind valleys
and sinking streams occur in this area. The largest
cave, with more than 1 1/2 miles, has six entrances,
and contains an active stream. This cave has few
formations, but features beautiful marble banding and
a large room with an ice floor. Upper levels and
abandoned water courses make the cave fairly
complicated. Another large cave is Cirque, which also
has an active stream, five entrances and is 4,000
feet in length. Three smaller, but significant caves,
are Batslab, Seldom Seen and Never Seen. No
biological work has ever been done in any of these
caves.
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Slide Creek Caves
Thirteen caves were found along the
steep walls of Slide Creek Canyon in 1991 and 1992.
All of the caves consist of "fossil"
passages denoting ancient patterns of water flow and
drainage. Many of the passages are partially
collapsed. The largest cave is 18th Hole with nearly
1,000 feet of passage. It contains many cave
formations, some of which display unusual colors or
crystal growth. Other shorter, but interesting caves
include Clinker, Winding Road, and Pimoa. Caves in
this area are complex and are generally damp and have
perennial pools of water. Biological work has not
been done in these caves. However, the presence of
bats, roots and many entrances, all of which can
provide organic matter for cave ecosystems, may mean
that these caves will be biologically rich and
varied.
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Marble Fork Caves
Eighteen caves have been discovered
in an area where the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River
cuts through several large lenses of marble. Some of
the area's caves are dry, fossil passages, while
others are active stream caves. Two caves in the
area, capture the river's water and channel it into
their passages. The largest cave along this stretch
of river, Wild Child Cave, was discovered in 1992.
For much of the year this young, high-energy cave is
flooded. During low-water Wild Child's large walking
passages, waterfalls and stream channels can be
explored. Marble Falls Cave was discovered by the
Park's first Superintendent, Walter Fry. This cave's
complex, stream-polished passages are also easiest to
explore during low water.
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Panorama Bowl and Cave
Panorama Bowl is a spectacular alpine
karst valley. A single stream flows through three
separate caves in this area. This complex
hydrology-pattern begins when a surface stream flows
into Alto Cave, sumps and then appears again in
Bathing Cave where it plunges over a 20-foot high
waterfall. The water flows from Bathing across the
surface and into Sink Cave where it disappears again.
Dry passages connect Sink to Panorama Cave where the
stream again appears. Panorama-Sink is the longest
cave in the area with nearly 4000 feet of passage.
Panorama Cave is one of the most unique caves in
Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It is formed in black
marble, which contains amphibole asbestos minerals in
the form of tremolite crystals. The cave's passages
have developed in a varied pattern of rising and
falling tubes and canyons, denoting a complex
hydrology.
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