WASHINGTON,

DEPAICT~AENI: O F CONSE.Q'BY*T;IOH
O E MINFS A N D . ; G E O L ~ G Y

awlslow

I N F O W T t O N \ClRCUVU NO. 43 .
1963

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Descriptions of caves-Continued Whatcom County-Continued Sumas Mountain Cave

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FIGURE 1. Map o f Washington showing locations of caves .............................. 2. Cavernous fissure southeast of the Ideal Cement Companyquany near Soda Springs

3.

Typical small littoral cave on the Washington coast 4. Hole-in-the-Wall, littoral cave xi

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ILLUSTRATIONS
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ILLUSTRATIONS Page FIGURE 39.

56 59 59
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40. 41. 42. 43.

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60 61 62 63 64 67 70 72 73 73 73 73 75

45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51.

b o l l " inApe Cave-----------------------------------------------56, "bvo 57. Tubular lava stalactite and globular lavo stalagmite ......................... 58. "Pipestem" variations o f a tubulor lava stalactite ........................... o f A+ Cave ....................................... 59, H o l e in "upper floor1'

75 75 75 76 76 76 78 78 80 81 83

60. Horizontally divided passage at the lower end o f Ape Cave 61. An unusual form o f lava stalactite i n Ape Cave 62, Mop of &It Cove------------------------------------------------------63, Upper entrance o f k t Cove 64, 65,

-----------------.............................

66. 67. 68. Entrance o f Dynamited Cave--------------------------------------------69. Downslope end o f entrance section, Dynamited Cave 70. 71. 72. 73.
Lavafall into chamber above 40-foot pit,

............................................. Map of Big Cove ....................................................... Moths on a breakdown bl oc k in Big Cove -------------- ------ -------------Map of C u rl y Creek Cave ---............................................ Main enhance o f Dry Creek Cove ........................................
........................ Dynamited Cave ------------------............................ ................................

Lava cascade from an upper level to the main passage i n Falls Creek Cave Group o f lava stalagmites in a Washington cave Map of Fish Hatchery (Boyles Creek) Cave
Xlll

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89 90 90

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CAVES OF WASHINGTON
By William R. Halliday

INTRODUCTION

Washington i s not generally considered to be a "cave state." For those speleologists who are concerned wholly with solution caverns i n limestone and other soluble rocks, this i s a reasonable concept. I t was not until 1942 that the National Speleological Society, the nationwide organization of speleologists and spelunkers, was able to determine that any solution cave existed in Washington (Bischoff, 1942). The total slope length of the passages of the largest limestone cave in Washington, Gardner Cave, i s only about 1,050 feet. Nevertheless, the limestone caves of Washington are of interest because the unusual variety of their environments i s reflected in their differing natures, features, and contenk. Persons concerned with broader implications of speleology w i l l find Washington a fruitful area of study. This is purticularly true o f the student of lava tubes and of vulcanism in general. Skamania County.

Ape Cave,
a Beds

the longest lovo-tube cave known in the continental United States, and perhaps the world's longest, is in The concentration of lava-tube caves in Woshington i s not so great as in h National Monument in California, or perhaps in the Bend area of Oregon. However, Washington's nu-

merous and extensbe lava tubes provide a great variety of features of these caves and their enveloping bedrock. To a lesser degree, the littoral (sea) caves of Washington, pounded out by wave action on In discussing the caves of Washington, i t i s convenient to divide the State into four regionsthe Olympic Peninsula-Willapu Hills area, northern Cascade Mountains, southern Cascade Mountains, and the Columbia lava plateau. The basalt flows of Miocene age in the Columbia lava plateau of eastern Washington contain no known lava tube or sizable remnant thereof. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic limestones of limited extent in Both areas, however the Olympic Peninsula and Willapa Hills region contain no known limestone cave. contain numerous caves of other types. mostly i n the Columbia plateau region.

fissures and by compression of air therein, are also o f specialized interest.

In 1954 (Swanson and Bryan, 1954) the Washington Archeological

Survey recorded 188 coves in the state, 99 percent o f which, i t was stated, were in Miocene basalt

As far as i s known, the latter were a l l rockshelters rother than

s true caves. In that report some lava tubes of the southern Cascade Mountains were erroneously listed a occurring in Miocene basalt.

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

INTRODUCTION

The limestone cave region of Washington i s i t s northern strip, which includes the San Juan Islands, the northern Cascade Mountains, and the Okanogan Highlands. limestones are difficult or impossible. The other speleolikrous region of Washington i s the southern Cascade Mountain area, where lava tubes have been found i n a number of lava'flows in a wedge-shaped area south of Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams, extending from east to west across the central port of Skamania County and into adioining counties. N o evidence has been found that any of these caves are in flows that were extruded prior to 1960b). In this strip there are caves in limestones that appear to range from Cambrian to Permian (7) age, although age determinations in most of these

the Pleistocene epoch, and i t oppears that a l l these tubes were formed in late Pleistocene and Recent time (Halliday, This report on the caves of Washington i s based on a correlated 10-year field and bibliographic study, fnitiated by the Cascade Grotto of the Notional Speleological Society, continued by individual membersof The Mountaineers after the temporary inactivation o f the Cascade Grotto, ond revitalized by the Washington Speleologicol Survey, a unit of thewestern Speleological Survey. The goals of this Survey have been to locate, survey, study, and describe in detail every limestone cavern and related karstic phenomenon, and every major lava tube in Washington. This report i s the result. The Survey has not attempted to locate and record every rockshelter or every littoral, talus, Only cursory mention or fissure cove in Washington, asthese are of minor speleological importance, even though they may be significant to archeologists, biologists, and others in fields ollied to speleology. Washington thot has been termed a cave. has been given to such caverns in this report, although an attempt has been mode to list everything in

This has been done not only for the reference of students o f the

allied sciences, but in order to prevent future confusion about the nature of minor caves, some of which hove received surprisingly wide publicity in print and by word o f mouth. Because of the logistic problem of a volunteer effort of this kind, the rugged terrain and heavy vegetation of most o f the cave areas, and the scant stratigrophic and geomorphic knowledge about much of the State, the goals of this Survey have not been reached in full; even though odditional exploration and mapping w i l l be completed in future years, they w i l l probably always remain mere goals. As indicated further in the text, i t has not been possible to locate a few coves that have been reported to exist. One Washington cave i s so difficult to find that the Survey has been unable to locate i t agoin after an initial cursory visit. I t i s entirely probable thot a few important caves hove not come to our attention, Undoubtedly, there are still others thot are choked with glacial ond even more proboble that there are a number of important caves not yet discovered because of dense vegetation or lack o f human visitation. deposits, allwium, or logging debris. Additions, corrections, and further information of any kind on Washington caves would be extremely welcome, as would be the assistance of individuals who wish to aid the future work of the Survey in any other way. In this report the limestone caves of the State are discussed in more detail than has been customory in other state speleologicol surveys. I t appears that the origin and development of limestone caves in

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Washington, like those of other regions, are intimately related to regional and local geomorphic cycles. Solution o f the limestone by acidic ground water begins beneath the water table, in a honeycomb or latticelike pattern, along joints and other zones of greater permeability. and modified by stratigraphic and other factors. Subsequently, in certain areas preferential solution occurs under the influence of gravity and hydrostatic factors o f sub-water-table flow, At a later stage the cave i s drained by regional uplift Still The and (or) downcutting, and subsequently modified by vadose solution and speleothem deposition. further modifications result from deposition of fills, under either vadose or phreatic conditions. considerable degree within its caves. Because these caves are so few, are scattered so widely, and occur under such varied environmental conditions, i t has seemed appropriate to discuss their features and speleogenesis individuall y and i n terms of the locality rather than as a group.

complexity of the recent geomorphology of most of the limestone areas of Washington i s reflected to a

As in caves of other areas, both phreatic and vodose

features are evident. The high-elevation caves of Mount Snoqualmie show marked modification by, for example, solution by films, trickles, and d r i p of descending water, whereas the two large limestone caves of eastern Washington (elevation 2,900 feet) have the massive speleotherns that the other limestone caves in Washington lack. Discussion of the features and speleogenesis o f the lava tubes of Washington has been hampered by additional factors. As elsewhere, they are found only in flows of pahoehoe basalt. Accurate surveying o f lava tubes i s a very difficult process, not only because of compassdeviations caused by magnetite in the lava flows, but also because in many lava tubes the physical effort o f mapping approaches the endurance burrier. This report discusses lava tubes in much more detail than do previous, similar studies of other areas. Nevertheless, much progress descriptions of their individual features.

i; still

to be made.

The study of lava tubes i s also hampered by the lack o f a standard classification and specific

As a result, some of the terminology in this report may be some-

what vogue and may overlap or contradict usages elsewhere in the world. With the exception of a few terms such as "cupola" and "contraction fissure," wh:ch i t is hoped are used in the same sense as by their originators in Hawaii, the terminology of the features of lava tubes used here i s largely originol, and i s as descriptive as possible. The study of lava tubes i s i n its infancy, and detailed sequential speleogenetic Many features and partial sequences indicative of this O n the basis of studies are needed. I t i s e\;ident from even these preliminary studies that lava-tube speleogenesis i s much more complex than i s generally recognized. cornplexify are listed i n the descriptions of individual caves. This writer tentatively holds a modified version of the theories of Wentworth and Macdonald (1953) on the origin of lava tubes. preliminary study of the lava tubes of Washington, i t appears that they originate as sinuous, roughly cylindrical structures, which m y be simple or complex depending on prior surface and subsurface topography, as a result of effluence of molten lava and with some effects due to hot gases, and most of them are markedly modified by the passage of lava through the primitive tube or system under a variety of conditions. Additional studies w i l l be necessary to determine or disprove the validity o f this theory, and

INTRODUCTION

to determine the nature o f many details of these caves. Studies of these processes are in progress and w i l l be the subject of a later report. In passing, i t should be noted that this report follows the standard practice of nomenclature of coves in glaciers and caves in various rocks that trap cold air and form ice. The former are glacier caves; the latter are ice caves or placieres. For a detailed study of ice caves and their meteorology the reader

i s referred to an earlier report (Halliday, 1954).

A l l the lava tubes examined during this survey occur in pahoehoe basaltic lava flows on gentle slopes. minute. The thickness of roofs ranges from 1 to about 50 feet. Calcareous speleothems are absent or Lava stalactites and stalagmites formed by dripping of lava are present in a few caves. Ridges A l l the caves can be entered through breakdowns in the roof caused by collapse. Where not coveredby rubble, most, but not all, of their floors show typical congealed surfaces of lava rivers. are t y pical smooth or ropy pahoehoe lava; others are granulated. or confluent branches or both. short steep pitches. types. Most of the tubes' original surfaces are heavily glazed by secondary remelting. some tubes i s so great thot the pile of rubble on the floor i s higher than the original roof. Breakdown of In other tubes, Some Most of the lava tubes hove effluent

and grooves on the walls o f most of the coves record temporary levels of flow of a lava river.

Several of them have two or more gently sloping sections connected by

Others have as many as five superimposed levels, connected by pits of at least two

only a thin veneer has fallen, revealing multiple layers, each with a surface glaze. Some stretches of the tubes are inaccessible as a result o f trenchlike collapse of the roof; others because of solid fills of undrained lava. None show explosion features, although two or three are entered through schollendom. None were noted in pressure ridges. The slope o f the floors of the tubes i s subiect to some variation and may be related to the pielava topography. These caves contain many features that indicate the conditions present during their They appear to have In several origin and development, and in some a complex series of events can be traced.

functioned as conduits of lava flow. Some show distal ramification; others definitely do not.

of these caverns there are features that seem to indicate the existence of multiple extra-tubal lava sources thot have intersected the tubes at various points. As a group, these tubes do not seem entirely in accord with the traditional concept of these caves as simple lava conduits with distal ramifications. I t must be stressed that many Washington caves, like those elsewhere, are dangerous and also fragile. A cave visitor should never break, destroy, or remove any feature of any cave unless i t i s I t may well not be replaced within the life span of the Because essential for study by competent authorities.

human race, as many cavern features were formed under different conditions than now prevail. do well to accompan persons. The writer

most o f the caves of Washington are at least potentially dangerous, neophytes interested in caves would

rP"

rties of experienced covers, rather than explore alone or with other inexperienced

w i l l be glad to assist such persons upon request.

v ~ h author's e present (1962) address i s 11 17

- 36th Ave.

E., Seattle, Wash.

CAVES OF WASHINGTON ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Speleology requires teamwork, and a great many persons have assisted in the preparation of this

report and the research that preceded i t .

Their help is deeply appreciated. W. R. Donner, o f the Uni-

versity o f British Columbia, contributed much of the information on limestone deposits o f western Woshington and other valuable assistance, including critical review and several photographs. Homer I. Spencer aided greatly in the survey o f the Trout Lake area, as did (elsewhere) Carl Nielsen, Miss Ruth Brown, and Datus Perry. Members of the San Juan Reef Raiders and of the Washington Foldboat Clubsupplied data on various littoral caves. Without the cordial ossistance of Harry Reese, the extremely important lava tubes of the Mount St. Helens flows would still be largely unknown. Senator N a t Washington supplied information on coves near Soap Lake. Richard Snyder, o f the University of Woshington, kindly identified salamanders; and Thomas C. Barr, of Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, identified the invertebrates mentioned, with the exception of the grylloblattids, which were studied by Ashley 8. Gurney, of the U.S. National Museum. Howard Coombs, of the University of Washington, identified the puzzling Bob and Ira Spring kindly contributed some of their and arranged for the use o f those red autobrecciated lava seen in Ape and Lake Coves.

magnificent photographs. Charles I. Barker also supplied a

by B i l l Lancaster. Special credit i s due B i l l Dailey o f Portland for preparing the original maps used as

a base for the tracings used in this report.

David Bronnon, Jr. and Leonard Libbey gave valuable biblio-

graphic assistance. So many persons h e l p d in field work that i t i s impossible to name them a l l here. Assistance o f the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the National Speleological Society, the Western Speleological Survey, the Seattle Public Library, and the University of Woshington Library is gratefully acknowledged, MAP SYMBOLS

Cavern passage ksurveyed cavern passage Passage with division

.<::::..

Breakdown Prominent rock

k
2

Dip Feet below entrance Feet above entrance Flowstone Stalagmite Stalactite Column Ladder

W Mfd Dirt or mud slope

@ )
Narrow passage overlying wide passage
up>dorn

Ceiling height

/ &@
A V

Slope
Paol or lake

Chimey Pit Ledge

--------' Dry streomcourse

z=ss

TSiY

Streamcourse

XW
,

DESCRIPTIONS OF CAVES

DESCRIPTIONS

OF

CAVES

ADAMS COUNTY Adams County i s not known to contoin any limestone. MEYER CAVE This i s a rockshelter near Ritzville in Miocene basalt (Swanson and byan, 1954). ASOTIN COUNTY A little limestone occurs in the southeastern corner of Asotin County, but no caves o f any type hove been reported. There are a number of rockshelters i n the basalt walls of the canyon of the Snake River. BENTON COUNTY N o limestone i s known in Benton County. Rockshelters undoubtedly are present, but no caves have been reported. CHELAN COUNTY Chelan County contains small scattered deposits of limestone, but, despite rumors o f their occurrence, the Survey has been unable to locate any limestone caves in this county. The most extensive limestone areas are west of Lake Wenatchee, in the valley of the Little Wenatchee River. In that localit y there are numerous karstic features, including collapse and solution sinks, a narrow cavernous fissure (fig. Only one cave has been reported.

2), a sinkhole swallet, and a resurgence.

The latter two features are, respectively, in and below the Soda Springs quarry o f the Ideal Cement Company. Another karst area with sinks and at least three swallets i s located on the hillside on the south side of the Little
Figure 2 .-Cavernous fissure southeast of the ideal Cement Company quarry near Soda Springs, Chelan County. Photo by W. R . Danner.

Wenatchee River for about 1 mile eastward from Rainy Creek

(W. R. Danner, written

8
communication).

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Caves have been locally reported about 2 miles southwest of Cashmere, but none were

found during field work, and this i s not a limestone area. CHELAN ICE CAVE

(I)*
It is a

This i s a small overhang at the lower end o f a talus slope, near the bottom of the canyon 6.2 miles south o f the Chelan-Okanogan county line on U.S. released cold air remaining from the previous winter. Highway 97, east of the highway. typical example o f cold-trapping talus, and in warm weather the overhang serves as the egress o f slowly Because o f its heavier weight, the cold air slowly Ice usually migrates downward through the irregular spaces among the talus fragments (Halliday, 1954). feet.

remains on the floor o f the "cave" i n late spring, and temporarily extends past the overhang for a few Other, similar occurrencesare listed in this report, and local inquiry has produced the information Because of its loc; ion beside a main highway, that they are relativel y common in Chelan County.

Chelon Ice Cave has been known for more than 50 years (Steele, 1904, p. 700). CLALLAM COUNTY The only caves reported in Clallam County are littoral. Most widely known are probably those at Agate Boy, but sizable littoral caves are reported at the south end o f Shi Shi Beach, a t Point o f Arches, north of Cope Alovo, and north o f Lo Push (fig. 3). AGATE BAY CAVES (2) Sec. 20, T. 31 N., R. 8 W., Joyce quadrangle. They are o f interest largely because o f the

The extent o f these littoral caverns i s undetermined. Indian legend which claims thot,

long before white men came to the Northwest, two adventurous

braves paddled into one o f the caves and were never seen again. CARSON CAVE Sec. 13, T. 31 N., R. 16 W.,

(3)

Ozette Lake quadrangle. A large variety o f marine life in-

This i s a major littoral cavern 2 miles north o f C a p Alava. hobits the cavern (Anon., 1960). HOLE-IN-THE-WALL (4)

This i s o tunnellike littorol cavern (fig. 4) that extends through a headland about 2 miles north of La Push. There i s a smaller, somewhat similar tunnel north of Yellow Bonks (W. R. Danner, oral communication). *The numbers following cave names correspond with the numbers that indicate the locations of the caves on the mop (fig. 1) on page 2.

ClARK COUNTY

Figure 4.- Hole-irrthe-Wall, a littoral cave extending completely through a small headland about 2 miles north d La Push.

CLARK C O U N T Y N o limestone and no Recent or Pleistocene p h w h o e lava flows are known i n Clark County. There is said to be a small cave near Washougal, but i t was not found during field work. COLUMBIA COUNTY

N o caves hove been reported i n Columbia County. COWLITZ COUNTY The western fringes of the Mount St. Helens lavetube area extend into C o w l i n County. date, only one small lava tube has been found within the county, however. To

STRING CAVE (5)

Sec. 25, T. 7

N., R. 4 E., Cougar quadrangle. Elevation about 1,100 feet.

The main entrance is about 8 feet wide and 4 About 25

This smoll cave was found by the writer on Nov. 5, 1960, but the presence of rotting string within the cove indicates that i t hod been visited previously. feet high. The cave continues northwestward for about 60 feet as a stoopway and crawlway.

feet from h e entrance i s a chimney to the surface 10 feet overhead. Debris on the floor indicates that the cave i s a seasonal streamcourse. Tree casts and a few flow marks ore present.

10

CAVES OF WASHINGTON OTHER CAVES On the southwest side of Grass Lake, west o f the Mount St. Helens cove area, there is said to be

a lova sinkhole plugged by logs standing on end as i f drawn into i t by a whirlpool.

I t i s believed locally

that this i s the opening o f a swallet that engulfed flood waters of Grass Loke on December 24, 1933, the resurgence of which, on that date, excavated Christmas Canyon, a prominent landmark on the north wall of the canyon of the Lewis River. DOUGLAS COUNTY

A "cave dwelling" north of Orondo i s shown on current State road maps. This i s undoubtedly a rockshelter site, as neither limestone nor pahoehoe lava occurs near Orondo. a glaciere in talus, between Bridgeport and Brewster. FERRY C O U N T Y N o coves are known in Ferry County. The Washington Division of Mines and Geolo g y (written There are local reports of

communication, 1960) reports that a supposed ice cave near Covada i s an old mine adit, which penetrates about 75 feet of cold-trapping talus before entering solid rock. GARFIELD COUNTY

N o coves have been reported in Garfield County. GRANT COUNTY

N o limestone i s known in Grant County. Most of the bedrock i s basalt o f Miocene age. considerable number of rockshelters in this county have been termed "caves." ARROW SHAFT CAVE

This i s a large rockshelter east of Lake Lenore (Washington, 1958), one o f at least seven in the area. BEVERLY ICE CAVE (See Srnyrncflce Cave.)

BLUE LAKE CAVE

This i s a small rockshelter near Blue Lake (Washington, 1958).

BLUE LAKE RHINO CAVE (See Rhinoceros Cove.)

GRANT C O U N W

11

BOY SCOUT CAVE This i s a small cave in talus, west of the north end of Soap Lake (N. W. Washington, oral communication). CRAB CREEK CAVE (Wilson Creek Cave) This cave was not found during field work. It i s believed to be a rockshelter near the town of Wilson Creek. DRY FALLS CAVE This small rockshelter (fig. 5) i n basalt is near the trail descending into the Dry Falls basin from the observation platform on the rim. The opening extends about 60 feet back into the sheer cliff.

Figure 5.-Dry Falls Cave.

Pholo by Bob and Ira Spring.

12

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

EAST LENORE CAVES Besides Arrow Shaft Cave, six small rockshelters have been reported in the area east of Lake Lenore (Washington, 1958). HORSETHIEF CAVE This is a 300-foot cave with two entrances in the c l i f f north of Soap Lake. suggestive of a block-creep cavern. The description i s

(N. W. Washington, oral communication.)

I N D I A N CAVE

This i s an easily seen rocksheltei (fig. 6) about \ mile south of Vantage, on the east bank of the
Columbia River. The name i s also applicable to a number of other rockshelters in this area, which i s under study by various archeological organizations. JASPER CAVE This i s a large rockshelter on the west wall of Jasper Coulee (Washington, 1958). MOONSHINER'S CAVES These two adioining rockshelters are in T. 23 N., R. 23 E. one of them (Washington, 1958).

A spring emerges from the floor of

Figure 6.- Indian Cave near Vantage, Grant County. This i s a typical rockshelter in the basalt of
eastern Washington.

Figure 7.-Srnyrna

Ice Cave, a typical example of eoldtrapping talus, with an "ice cave" at the lower end. A door closes the "cave" entrance.

GRANT COUNTY OWL CAVE This i s another rockshelter in basalt in the Grand Coulee area (Osborne, n.d. a). PICTOGRAPH CAVE This i s a small rockshelter in T. 24 N., R. 26 E. (Osborne, n.d. b). RHINOCEROS CAVE (Blue Lake Rhino Cave)

13

The mold of a rhinoceros in pillow lava at the mouth o f Jasper Canyon has been termed a "cave" in both popular and technical (Chappell and others, 1951) usoge. entered through a small opening in the left thigh region. SMYRNA ICE CAVE (6) (Beverly Ice Cove) This i s an artificial "cave" (fig. 7) dug into cold-trapping talus, 5 miles west of Smyrna. location i s shown on the U.S. Geological Survey Smyrna quadrangle. SOUTH CAVE This i s a rockshelter in the lower Grand Coulee (Gallagher, WEST LENORE CAVES There ore several rockshelters west of Loke Lenore in lower Grand Coulee (Washington, 1958). WILSON CREEK CAVE (See Crab Creek Cave .) G R A Y S HARBOR C O U N T Y N o limestone cave has been reported in Grays Harbor County. near Elephant Rock (Doward, 1958). ISLAND COUNTY There are a number of littoral 1959). Its The mold i s about 8 feet long and i s

caves on the shore of the Quinault Indian Reservation. One extends completely through a small island

N o caves have been reported in Island County. JEFFERSON Little limestone i s p-esent in Jefferson County. Push. The largest, about COUNTY A number of littoral caverns ore south of Lo

100 feet

long, parallels the c l i f f and i s open at both ends. Other small littoral

caves, in basalt of the Crescent Formation, are along the west side of Dabob Boy and at Pulali Point on Hood Canal (W. R. Danner, oral communication).

14

CAVES OF WASHINGTON LAKE LENA CAVES These are talus caves at the end of Lower Lena Lake (Morgan, 1952). Their status as glacieres

i s uncertain.

KING COUNTY King County contains the largest limestone caves known in western Washington. A number of caves of other types are also in this County. ADAIR'S CAVE (See Prospector's Cave.) BLACK RIVER CAVE Sec. 16, T. 23 N., R. 5 E., Renton quadrangle. Elevation about 50 feet.

Although this i s not a limestone area, there i s said to have been a small natural cove in the cutbank o f the Black River in Renton, below Maple Street and the Seattle highway. a cave today. One may have collapsed here about 20 years ago (Douglas, 1957). There i s no trace of such The present residents

report that a sinkhole developed in their backyard about 1955, but i t was filled to prevent accidents.

BREAKDOWN CAVE (See Danger Cave .)

CLARK'S CAVE (7) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11

E.,

Srioqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 4,750 k e t . I t i s at the base of the

This tiny cave was the first discovered of the Snoqualmie Pass group. a small pond.

slopes on the south side of the hanging volley on the south side of Mount Snoqualmie, just upstream from

Ih entire length of about 35 feet consisk of tight crawlways (Steinburn, 1952). This cave

and a small, impenetrable fissure a few feet farther up the gulch serve as resurgences after periods of heavy rainfall and are dry only in late summer. CLIFF CAVE (8) Sec. 28,

T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 5,200 k e t .

This small cavern i s hardly more than a rockshelter i n limestone. I t i s at the south end of the
s m l l ridge that forms the east border of Cave Ridge, and i s south of Red Cave.
DANGER CAVE (9) (Breakdown Cave) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 5,075 feet. with about 250 feet of

Danger Cave (fig. 8) i s treacherous, deep, and moderately sizable, passages and chambers. I t reaches a depth of about 150 feet.

The cave i s on the southeast side of the

KING COUNTY
SMALL ENTRANCE

15

Small room i n breakdown r below &per Room b m r r o w pit 17' deep.

teep rlopc, breokdown and f i l l forming several

Block of fallen rock

F w i r c 8.- Danger Cave, King County. Preltmln~rys i w c y by Warhtnglon S p c l c o I o r j ~ ~ d Survey, I Dcccmber 1960. D ~ s l a n c c r bclow enwance arc c s m a t c d .

16

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

area locolly called Sinkhole Amphitheater, opposite Red and Hellhole Caves, and i s at the south end of a small lapies ravine about 100 yards long.
i s present.

The immediate environs ore not forested, but low alpine growth

Perhaps because of its position on the open ridge, Danger Cave is a l i t t l e warmer than the Its name i s due to the loose rock in the cave, which i s a prohibitive risk to a l l

other coves of the group. but experienced covers.

The bedrock at Danger Cave i s a marble member of the Denny Formation, which i s believed to be of Permian age (Foster, 1960). Ridge. I t i s heavily fractured and appears to dip about 30" S . , as in most o f Cave The beds exposed on the opposite sides of the main passage do not correspond, suggesting that the

cave has been formed along a fault aligned parallel to the dip of the bedrock. Extensive slumping and breakdown are present throughout the cave, and deposits of sand, gravel, and boulders are prominent in its lower areas.

Figure 9.-Breakdown-strewn entrance chamber o f Danger Cave, King County. Photo by Bob and Ira Spring

KING C O U N N The main entrance of the cave i s a narrow opening in a small hillock. leads downward about 20 feet to the low entrance chamber (fig. beneath the main entrance. A steep, narrow passage

17

91, which

can also be reached by a crawl-

way from a tiny second entrance 15 feet north of the main entrance. The crawlway passes approximately The entrance chamber, known os the Upper Room, i s 2 to 6 feet high, i s I t contains irregular in outline, and has a maximum width of 38 feet a t a place where a narrow dry stream channel enters the room from the west. This chamber ends at a 40-foot pit, 55 feet from the entrance. no speleothems. On the ceilin g i s a half-tube that appears to be of phreatic origin. Just inside the moin entrance of the cave, a tortuous narrow pit leads to two small breakdown chambers beneath the entrance room. fissure of the cave. The 40-foot pit (fig. 10) at the end of the Upper Room i s actually a dropoff to a steeply sloping passage about 3 feet wide that extends southward. Its floor i s covered with large accumulations o f breakdown and stream deposits, which form several "levels," pik, and ledges. In widened horizontal joints, miniature ceiling pendants are locally prominent. At a point about 100 feet downslope from the base of the pit, a large block of fallen rock about 12 feet long divides the passage. are prominent. tions. By ascending this block, a small "upper level" can be entered, where vertical waterfall slok One group of slok approaches dome p i t proporExtremely thin blades o f impurities project from the walls, Near the point where the fallen block divides the main passage, a stream enters from the east and flows down the east branch of the passage to a 15-foot p i t beyond the block. Below this p i t i s the breakdown-choked main room o f the cave. Its floor plan i s irregular. The central part of ik From south wall i s about 30 feet southeast of the base of the pit. this point i t i s 55 feet to the farthest point of the east wall. Great masses o f breakdown are present.
F w r e 10.-The 4 0 - f o o t p!! in Danger Cave, King
County.

One contains a fissurelike pit, 17 feet deep, aligned with the main

and a little boxwork i s developed locally.

A t the southeast corner

a sloping, gravel-strewn pit about 15 feet deep leads to a small pool that i s the only visible part of a more extensive water surface beneath the breakdown. Nearby are two short tubular

stalactites and a small white stalagmite, the only maior speleothems in the cave. A t the southwest corner of this chamber a series of portly tubular bedrock pssoges permit the flow of the cave stream to another small pond. chutes near this place. These are the only passageways in the cave that are not heavily modified by breakdown. During the wet weather other, smaller streams enter the cove through waterfall

18

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Danger Cave i s being enlarged and flushed by vadose water. Speleothem deposition i s almost nil. O f particular interest are

Despite the great accumulations of breakdown and stream deposits, there i s evidence of a sub-water-table origin of the cave, but no sign of integration by shallow sub-water-table flow. when that passage was temporarily filled with sediment. DANGER CAVE ANNEX (10) About 50 feet southeast of Danger Cave and 20 feet lower than its entrance i s a small cavern. a single short, tight crawlway to one side. DON'S CAVE (11) (Mount lssaquah Cave) ~ ~ ~ r o x i r & sec. tel~ 36, T. 24 N., R . 6 E., Snohomish quadrangle. It is The the ceiling pendants in widened horizontal ioints along the main passage, which appear to have developed

cavern i s aligned parallel to Danger Cave and consists of a steeply sloping passage about 30 feet long with

This i s a talus cave 111 feet long, roofed almost completely by a single enormous boulder. on the western face of Mount lssaquah. DONL4N'S CAVE Repeated search for this cave, supposedly on Denny Peak, has been fruitless. had discovered the cave 50 yeors earlier. Denny Peak.

The informant,

Joseph P. Donlan, in 1952 was unable to recognize any landmarks in the area where he believed that he There i s an abandoned limestone quarry on a different part of The sound of running water can be heard through a crack near this quarry, and a small

stream issues from tolus farther down the slope. GROTTO CAVE (See Lost Cave, King County. ) HELLHOLE CAVE (12) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 5,180 feet.

Hellhole Cave i s a few dozen yards south of the crest of Cave Ridge, about 200 yards west o f Red Cave. I t i s in a small flat above the northwest end of the so-called Sinkhole Amphitheater, about 100 feet northeast o f a large collapse sink. The small entrance sink of the cave i s about 4 feet in diameter I t i s about 12 On the floor and 8 feet deep, and i s almost concealed by heather and other low alpine plants. The actual entrance of the cave i s a triangular orifice at the bottom o f the sink. inches on each side, and barely admits an agile, slender person. Below i s a free 60-foot drop to the

floor of a large sloping chamber about 100 feet long, 35 feet wide, and 20 to 60 feet high.

are masses of breakdown, much of which i s unstable. Because of the danger involved, the cavern has been only partially explored. There are several narrow, roughly parallel side passages, but none has been found to be more than about 100 feet long. Pits leading t o o total depth of more than 100 feet below the surface have been partially explored.

K I N G COUNTY

19

Most of the breakdown consists of fragments of schist from a bed of that material in the Denny Formation overlying the tilted marble in which the cave was formed. Although irregular vertical vadose grooving (fig. 11) is prominent, the rounded shape of the cavern where not disrupted by breakdown appears to be of sub-water-table origin. One short sinuous rs-entrant passage between two parts of the larger chamber evidently carried a heavy flow o f water at some period before the time of collapse. fluted to a height of several feet. Speleothems are spcrrse in Hellhole Cave. that found in Red Cave, i s present in several areas. Entry into this cave and travel on i t s floor are slow, difficult, and dangerous. Persons planning exploration in i t should consider the fact that an iniured explorer cannot be hoisted through the narrow entrance, a passage There are a few small stalactites. Red terraced flowstone, like Its walls are

that i s difficult even under ideal conditions.

Figure 11.- Drip slots at the bottom of the 60- foot drop i n Hellhole Cave, King County, look as i f they had been incised by pneumatic drills. The helmet, to the left side of the upper part of the slots, shows their size.

LEDGE PIT (13) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11

E.,

Sncqualrnie quadrangle.

Elevation about 4,950 feet. Formed in limestone at the base of a ledge about 200 feet above Clark's Cave, this pit i s about 10 feet deep. bottom to form a room about 5 feet wide.
Figure 12.-Entrance of Ledge Pit, a very small cave near Snoqualmie Pars.

The entrance

(fig. 12) i s approximately 2 feet wide, but the pit widens at the

20

CAVES OF WASHINGTON LOOKOUT CAVE (14) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 5,125 feet.

The 1961 Cave Ridge expedition of the Washington Speleological Survey discovered that a t the bottom o f o prominent sink about 100 yards southeast of Hellhole Cave a large rock had moved or been moved, permitting entry into a major cavern (fig. 13A).

This sink

i s on a smoll flat on the southwestern

edge o f Cave Ridge, affording a magnificent view of Snoqualmie Pass and wide expanses to the south (fig. 13).

A descent of 6 feet through a vertical opening 2 feet in diameter conducts the explorer to the
floor of a low passage obout 3 feet wide, i n which i s some soft, terraced, red-orange flowstone. feet to the northwest i s a p i t with an upper orifice aboui 1 foot wide and 2 feet long.
r

Ten

I t was necessary

-.

to enlarge this opening to permit entry and return of the initial explorer. This p i t i s the uppermost part of a fissurelike passage trending SSW. for obout 30 feet. Its upper part i s about 12 to 18 inches wide, but its lower part i s wider, and contoins some irregular grottos. The floor i s a mass of steeply Some block flowsloping breakdown and mud. groovings.

stone i s p-esent on the walls, as are vadose Noncalcareous impurities are exposed The ceiling i s unstable at in the country rock. its south end. A t the lover (southern) end of this passage

i s a large, fairly stable pile of debris about 10

feet high. Beyond i s a partly overhanging descent of 35 feet into the Big Room. This irregularly shaped Several alcoves chamber i s about 35 feet long and 5 to 15 feet wide. and at least one intermittent watercourse. Its ceiling height i s 30 to 50 feet.

and orifices are present, and breakdown subdivides the chamber. There are some vertical vadose groovings Some curious but minor flowstonelike mud deposits are on In a small upper grotto off the east side of the Big Room the walls, and a little moonmilk has been noted.

are some o b l i q w ceiling pendants and a sloping vadose grooving adjacent to the opening through which a high-velocity seasonal rivulet flows. Some small quartz crystals have been observed in the noncalcareous impurities in the wall o f the Big Room. A smoll orifice leading north from the eostward extension of the Big Room conducts the explorer downward to a small chamber, from which a crawlway continues to a more spacious level passage leading eostward for about 30 feet to a small sloping chamber that appears to be blocked by breakdown and mud, although the passuge can be seen to continue. This passage also may

be reached by way of a p i t about 15

feet deep near the easternmost point o f the Big Room.

K I N G COUNTY The south end of the Big Room i s a steeply sloping grotto. in diameter.

21 A t its lower end a short semivertical

passage opens westward into a pile of breakdown at the northeast side of another chamber, about 10 feet This room slopes to the south and i s the lowest point in the cave, at on estimated depth of From the northwest end of the chamber a long, steep, rock-strewn possoge In breakdown to the east of this passage, some very tight orifices remain The total s l o b length of Smoke bombs released in Biota i s scant except in the entronce zone, where rodent nests are 125 feet below the entrance.

leads upward for about 50 feet. unexplored. present.

There are several tiny white calcareous speleothems in this areo.

known passages i s about 200 feet.

I t i s doubtful that this cave i s connected to nearby Hellhole Cove.

the latter on September 7, 1962, were not detected in Lookout Cove. Because o f loose rock and difficult conditions of exploration, only competent speleologists should enter this cave.

Figure 13A.- Lookout Cave, King County. Compass and tape survey by Washington Speleological Survey, September 2, 1962. Depths estimated.

LOST CAVE (Grotto Cave) Sec. 12, T. 26 N., R. 10 E., This cave, north of U.S. and partially excavated. Sk~komish quadrangle.

Highway 2 between Grotto and bring, has not been found during field

work, although the entrance shown on a photograph (fig. 14) supposedly of the cave has been located The cave may have been filled during construction of the power line tower I t was reported to be a limestone cave slanting steeply downward directly above i t s supposed location. water at the bottom.

and into the hillside, deep enough to require early explorers to place a rude ladder inside, and having

22

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Figure 14.- This site is raid

be the blocked entrance of Lost Cave near Grotto, King Counly. Photo by W .

R.

Danner.

There are a number of sinkholes in other outcrops of limestone nearby, and also in limestone deposits to the south, on Palmer Mountain and Maloney Peok.

MINER'S CAVE (See Prospector's Cave.)

MOUNT ISSAQUAH CAVE (See Don's Cove.) MOUNT SNOQUALMIE CAVES Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoquolmie quadrangle. Elevation about 4,750 to 5,200 feet.

The ri&e immediately south of Mount Snoquolmie, and between that mountain and Guye Peak, i s the leading cove area of western Washington. In i t are located Clark's Cave, Danger Cave, Hellhole
Cove, Lookout Cave, Newton Cave, Prospector's Cave, Red Cave, Second Cave, and a number of other

opnings.

The ridge itself has no official name, but it i s called Cave Ridge by many persons interested

in the area.

Cave Ridge is separated from the main section of Mount S n q w l m i e by a small seasonal stream i n a small glacial hanging valley. A t the lower l i p of this valley is the higher of two waterfalls, below

K I N G COUNTY

23

which the stream joins the South Fork of the Sncqualmie River. A t the upper end of this hanging valley an arm o f Mount Sncqualmie joins the ridge to the Mountain. The summit line of Cave Ridge runs roughly from east to west, but i t swings somewhat toward the south at the west end, where a series of spurs complicate the topography. and the curving ridge form a horseshoe-shaped open basin. of the bedrock. The arm o f Mount Snoqualmie This shollow basin contains many sink, largely

developed along low parallel outcrops, or lapies, which are strike ridges of the dipping limestone members This basin i s locally called Sinkhole Amphitheater. Cave Ridge and Sinkhole Amphitheater Heother and low alpine plants are

contain some of the most pronounced karst topography yet observed in the Pacific Northwest. This i s an alpine area, irregularly covered by alpine forest. thick. Bore limestone appears only on the lapies and immediately adjacent to some of the sinks, except

for a few unmantled areas on the arm of Mount Sncqualmie, where the limestone shows glacial striae. SomeRmes as much as 15 feet of snow remains throughout the summer in the hanging volley, which overlooks a pecipitous 2,000-foot descent to the glacial valley below. The bedrock in which the caves occur i s the Paleozoic, east a t about 30, thodgh there is some local variation. them are difficult and dangerous to explore. The entire area i s a fine example o f glaciated, partly mantled mountain karst. A @-Miocene erosion surface, deeply dissected subsequent to uplift, has been partially demarcated in this area, but its relation to the caves has not been determined (Smith and Calkins, 1906). Some b f the caves appear to show partial correlation with local "flats," but others do not. Initial discovery and exploration o f most of the caves in this area were by Thomas Steinburn, although Robert Clark reported the two small coves at the lower end of the hanging valley (Steinburn, 1952, Halliday, 19600). NEWTON CAVE (15) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Sncqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 5,175 feet.

probably

Permian, Denny Formation, which The dip i s generally north-north-

consists largely of alternating beds of marble and schist (Foster, 1960). dip or strike, with breakdown of overlying schist quite marked.

The caves tend to be formed primarily along the In general, they are narrow, and most of

Although not yet fully explored, Newton Cave (fig. 15) i s the second longest limestone cave discovered i n Washington, with a total slope length of about 500 feet o f explored passages and an estim t e d depth of about 180 feet. characteristic of the cave. Newton Cave i s located in the same lapies trench as Red Cave, and i s about 100 yards north of that cave, close to the rim o f the hanging valley. that seprates Cave Ridge from Mount Sncqualmie. The cave i s formed i n a marble member of the Denny Formation, the strotigrophy of which i s complex. I t is a complex of narrow passageways and small, mostly elongate chambers. Steep slopes, pits, jagged chimneys, short crawlways, and a great quantity of broken rock are

K I N G COUNTY

25 The entrance of Newton Cave (fi g . 16)

i s an asymmetrical sinkhole slanting eastward

beneath a small limestone bluff.

A steep slope

20 feet long terminates with a sheer drop of 10 feet to the floor of the Entrance Room. The Entrance Room i s 55 feet long.

Its height averages 15 feet, and i t i s about 5

feet wide at floor level, although the upper part o f the room i s wider. There are several possible passage openings in broken rock high
Figure 16.- Entrance of Newton Cave, King County.

on its east wall. Features of interest include a complex of drip slots beneoth the entrance, and deposits of orange-red flowstone on the

southern part of the west wall. The seasonal stream that enters the cave entrance disappears in rubble near the northern end of this room.

A short sloping passage leads downward from the southeast side of the Entrance Room to a steep
chimneylike chamber in which red flowstone has been deposited along the steep slope. antechamber from which openings lead south and southeast. Beyond i s a small

A queezeway to the southeast opens into a high-ceilin g ed chamber with marked vertical vadose
grooving. High on the woll of this chamber i s a small hole that leads into a small grotto, from which a narrow slot extends bock down to the floor of the main room. Two muddy crawlwoys at the north end of this high-ceilinged chamber and the opening to the east from the antechamber iust described join at the south end of a straight corridor about 40 feet long. Several large chimneys with extensive vadose grooving are in the wider southern half of this passage. north end is at a iunction. To the east of this junction i s The Slide. that conducts the entrance streom to The Slide. The Slide i s o steep, narrow passage floored by a noncalcareous rnass that i s coated with a slick organic ial. Its To the north i s a steep stream passage

(7) material. The uppsr part o f this passage

i s in marble.

Below The Slide, a gently sloping

passcge a few feet long leads to a vertical 8-foot waterfall that flows over the same noncalcareous materLateral to the d e p i t , differential solution has caused a separation o f about 1 inch between the A t the base o f this 8-foot waterfall i s a small chamber. The stream disappears again, into iti floor. North o f this chamber i s an interesting 42-foot passage (the Horizon Passage) containing a variety O n the walls at its north end are at least three horizons Stream fluting i s present in of fill materials, including sand and gravel. marble and the insoluble rnass.

showing lateral solution a t the water table, at successively lower levels.

this passage, but i t i s indistinct because of superimposed fine vertical fluting.

26

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Extending east from the northern end of t h i s passage i s a short crawlway thot leads to a short com-

plex of small chambers and smaller passages. Immediately above the east end of this crawlway there i s a dangerously unstable chockstone. Beyond this small complex is onother junction. the A broad but steep and breakdown-choked passage Both the Flute Room and the lower part of leads down from the Flute Room, which i s 80 feet to the west.

breakdown passage have well-developed vadose vertical grooving and slots.

East of this iunction a narrow sloping passage continues downward about 30 feet to the Big Pit Room, The cave stream reappears high on i t s recessed

which i s a laterally sloping chamber about 30 feet long. about 40 feet to a lower level visible below. of boxwork.

south wall, cascades to the ledge thot i s the main part of the room, thence cascades 5 feet and plunges This lower area has been explored for about 50 feet. A duck-under at the east end of this ledge leads to a little chamber that contains a small amount Aside from the red-orange flowstone, Newton Cave i s almost locking in speleothem. Tubular

stoloctites as much as half an inch long are present i n some of the lower ports of the cave, as are traces of stalagmitic deposits. Tiny coralloidal nodules proiecting on thin stalks also occur locally, on minute projections of the walls caused by slight differentials of solution. nificance in explaining their origin. The speleogenesis o f Newton Cave i s complex, and i s difficult to decipher because o f breakdown and the occurrences o f noncalcoreous material. this type. Very active vadose solution by drips and films o f water
i s in progress, and mast of the high, narrow passages appear to be ioints widened by vadose solution o f

Their location may prove to be o f sig-

The Horizon Passage shows the leost evidence of these phenomena of any port of the cave, and The horizons indicate that this passage developed in the shallow I t seem likely

even in i t there is faint vertical grooving.

subwater-table zone, and was enlarged by water-table flow a t three successive heights. The biota of Newton Cave appears scanty, but no detailed search has been made. The history of this cave is controversial. ber of the party had noted the cave earlier. as piomising but blocked with debris.

thot the rest of the cave also i s of sub-water-table origin but has much vadose development. The name was applied in 1959 by the leader of the party Actually, another mem-

that first explored the cave, on the belief that Mr. Newton had found the cave.

I t i s believed by some that Thomas Steinburn entered the

Entrance Room i n about 1953. However, the writer visited the entrance in September 1956 and noted i t About 25 feet east of the cave entrance there i s a rounded p i t about 3 feet in diameter and about

20 feet deep. It has several waterfall grooves but i s not regular enough in rection to be considered a
dome pit. This p i t does not connect to the cave system.

K I N G COUNTY

27

Figure 17.- Prospector's Cave, King County. Survey by W. R . Halliday and T. Steinburn, Washington Speleolog~calSurvey, September, 1956.

Figure 18.- Entrance d Prospector's Cave, King County, aclually a narrow slit a t the rear of this alcove.

FROSPECTOR'S CAVE (16) (Miner's Cave, Steinburn's Cave, Adair's Cave) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 4,850 feet.

This small cave (fig. 17) has a total o f about 200 feet o f narrow, linear passages. I t i s a b u t 100 yards northeast o f Clark's Cave and about 50 feet above the hanging valley floor, on the north slope o f Cave Ridge. pit. The hillside i s covered with heather, and no karst i s apparent a t the cave. Its entrance, a narrow slit about 9 inches wide and 3 feet high (fig. 18), i s just above a small but prominent prospect Immediately inside the entrance i s an 8-foot drop, beyond which the cave widens slightly. The bedrock i s a well-fractured, fairly thick-bedded marble member o f the Denny Formation. The The dip

marble alternates with shale, which i s exposed as a hanging wall ceiling a t the rear of the cave.

i s approximately 35" NE.

The cave has been developed primarily on dip and strike joints. Many o f the wall surfaces show the vertical icgged grooving o f descending films o f water, and no clearly phreatic spelecgens were noted by the writer despite the pattern o f the cave that strongly suggests a subwater-table origin. Most o f the pssages are about 2 feet wide and 8 feet high. The only spleothems that have been found are delicate One small clump appears to be intergrading white coralloids in a lower passage not far from the entrance.

with filiform helictites, but the d e p s i t and the individual speleotherm are too smoll for this to be determined with certainty. Breakdown i s fairly extensive near the rear o f the cave but i s slight elsewhere.

28

CAVES OF WASHINGTON RED CAVE (17) Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle. Elevation about 5,175 feet.

This small, single-chambered cave i s in a small karst ravine bounded by lapies, about midway along the section of the arm of Mount Snoqualmie that joins Cave Ridge. Its entrance i s at the south end of the A few dozen feet farther A thin alpine forest i s near third collapse sink in this ravine south of the east end of the hanging valley. east the ridge drops away steeply to a srioll flat above Commonwealth Basin. the cave, and heather and oiher low plants grow thickly. The entrance o f Red Cave i s an irregular opening amid large breakdown blocks at the southern end of the sink. A sloping passage 41 feet long enlarges near its lower end to form a chamber about 15 feet Breakdown chokes a p i t at its lower end. This pit is of considerable depth but In this A 30-foot chimney above the west side of this room almost reaches the surface. wide and 20 feet high.
i s impenetroble.

chimney i s the deposit of bright-red terraced flowstone that i s the source o f the name of the cave. The bedrock i s a markedly fractured marble member of the Denny Formation. The overl y in g schist

i s exposed in the roof and the eastern wall of the cave.

The beds dip about 65' north-northeast, but at The cave is Vertical vadose grooves

the entrance the bedding i s grossly distorted by the presence of a wedgelike intrusive body. formed along the marble-schist contact, and much breakdown has accumulated. noted. Nevertheless, its overall contour appears to be phreotic. SECOND CAVE (18) Sec. 28, T . 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle.

(fig. 19) and related speleogens are very morked in the cave, and no clearly phreatic spleogens were

Elevation about 4,760 feet.

About 100 feet upstream from Clark's Cave i s the tiny entrance of the second cave discovered of the Mount Snoqualmie group. I t i s even smaller than Clark's Cave (Steinburn, 1952). (See Mount Snoqualmie Caves.)

S N O Q U A M I E CAVES

STEINBURN'S CAVE (See Prospector's Cave or Second Cove.)

STEINBURN'S CAVES (See Mount Snoqualmie Coves.)

OTHER CAVES Sec. 28, T. 23 N., R. 11 E., Snoqualmie quadrangle.

The 9-inch-high entrance of an unexplored cave i s at the bose o f the north face of a prominent limestone outcrop just northwest of the crest o f Cave Ridge, approximately on a line between Hellhole and Clark's Caves. The cave slopes steeply downward for several feet, then levels off and continues for an undetermined distance.

KING COUNTY

29

Figure 19.-Irregular vertical vadoregrooving in Red Cave, King County. Pholo by Bob and Ira Spring.

30

CAVES OF WASHINGTCN About 100 feet west of Danger Cove, a descent of approximately 30 feet in breakdown in on open

fissure leads to a small linear solution cavern about 40 feet long, trending east and west. tures of especial interest. KITSAP C O U N T Y N o coves hove been reported in Kitsop County. KITTITAS C O U N T Y Only one deposit of limestone i s known in Kittitos County.

I t has no feo-

I t i s west of Cle Elum Lake, and no In some

caves have been reported there. Most o f the bedrock of the eastern p r t of this county is basalt of M i o cene age. In this basalt are many rockshelters, some o f which hove come to be k n w n as caves. biolo g ical papers, Yakima County's Boulder Creek Cave (Boulder Cave) erroneously has been listed as being in Kittitos County. COX CAVE This i s one of several small rockshelters north o f Vantage (Swanson and Bryan, 1954). TRINIDAD CAVE This i s a rockshelter near the town for which i t wos named (Swonson and Bryan, 1954).

VANTAGE CAVE (See

COX

Cove. )

KLICKITAT COUNTY Klickitat County includes the southeastern part of the Mount Adoms pahoehoe lava flows, which contuin several important lava tubes. There i s no limestone in this county.

BIG LAVA CAVE (See Cheese Cave .)

BRANCHING CAVE (See Red Cave, Klickitat County.) BUTTER CAVE (19) Appoximately center, south edge o f sec. 21, T. 6 N., R. 10 E., Elevation about 2,075 feet. This small fragment of a oncesxtensive lava tube (fig. 20) i s o f note historically and geologically. I t i s at the confluence of two largely collapsed lava tubes that joined about threequarters of a mile southwest o f the Trout Lake sawmill. the cave i s difficult to find. Because o f the numerous logging roods and lack of landmarks in this area, Willard quadrangle.

KLICKITAT COUNTY

31

The main entrance sink of this Y-shapd cave i s on the southeast side of the road. A low passage about 20

feet wide extends about 60 feet westward beneath the road to a smaller sink. At the far end of th'is small sink i s on

additional 30-foot remnant of collapsed tube. The entrance of the main part of the cave has been enlarged, so thot i t is now about 5 feet high and 3 feet wide. There are remnants of a door iamb at the entrance.

Immediately inside i s a broad chamber about 15 feet high, which was used for the storage of butter during pioneer days (Anon. 1909b). place. About 100 feet from the entrance the chamber narrows, and a breakdown-strewn lava tube about 10 feet high and 20 feet wide continues another 250 feet northwestward to a small upper entrance at the lower end of a sinuous lava trench in which several short sections of tube remain. Stairwell Cave i s several hundred feet farther

Old wooden skid rails are still in

up this trench. Because both entrances of this cove are small, protected, and semivertical, the cave traps much cold air, and often i s nearly blocked with ice until midsummer.

CHEESE CAVE (20)

(Big Lava Cave, Lava Cave, Spencer's Cave)

East edge of sec.

21, T. 6 N., R.

10 E.,

Willard quadrangle.

Elevation 2,020 feet.

Aside from Ice Cave, this impressive lava tube (figs. 21 and 22) i s the best known of the Mount Adam lava caves. to Because the temperature ranges from

42'

44' F. (Homer I. Spencer, oral communication), for

many years a small port of the cave was used for the storage of potatoes (Anon. 1909b) and, more recently, for the commercial production of Roquefort cheese.

Figure 2 0 . - B u t t e r - S t a l w e l l

Tube Complex, Klickltat County.

KLlCKlTAT COUNTY

33

Figure 23.- Upper entrance of Cheese Cave, Klickital County. Photo by Bob and Ira Spring.

34

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Near the upper end o f the cave there

i s o particularly fine splash concentric (fig. 24).

A t several places there are lateral "waterfalls" o f cinder-surfaced lava on the walls. Especially, downslope from the Cupola Room there are vertical or oblique scratches where more of such material has slid down the walls. Lateral flow deposits are fairly well developed both high and low on the walls, and longitudinal flow grooves along the course of the tube may be seen on the ceilin g and walls, espein a lava tube

cially on and near the east side o f the large pillar that divides the passage upslope from the artificial entrance.

The Cupola Chamber, downslope from the artificial entrance, is unusually large; its height is about 65 feet, its width more than 80 feet, and its length 100 feet. The tube beyond this chamber has an unusual "boxwork" of potholelike ceiling cavities about 2 feet i n diameter. They appear to have been the result of coagulation or lack o f remelting along fractures, which permitted ingress o f cooler air or gases during the thermal phase o f the cave. A t a pile o f breakdown about 200 feet from the end o f the cave there are two adiacent side passages on the a s t side of the tube. tering the main tube. The somewhat hidden upslope passage i s a long crawlway with its flow enThe downslop side passage is the more prominent, but i t i s blocked within a few

feet by the flow that entered i t from the main tube. Near the lower end o f the cave are well-developed lava stalactites, with corresponding multiglobular, highly vesicular stalagmites as much as 6 inches high. stalagmites i s nonvesicular. A detoiled biologic study of Cheese Cave would be valuable. mals hove been found i n several places. A t least two kinds of salamanders, Bones o f unidentified small ani"Runaway" includin g Ambystomo microdactylum, have been discovered in the cave. Lava flowstone from the base o f these

Toadstools grow on rotting wood deep in the cave.

mold from the cheese process, and also a different mold are present on sections o f the ceiling. ICE CAVE (See Trillium Cave.) LAVA CAVE (See Cheese Cave specifically, and a l l caves o f this county generally .)

KLlCKlTAT COUNTY LAVA BRIDGE CAVES (21) Sec. 31, T. 6 N., R . 10 E., Willard quadrangle.

35

Elevation about 2,575 feet.

Several cavernous remnants o f a mostly collapsed lavo tube ore obout half a mile east of the Skamania County line, north of Cave Creek. One of these, about 50 feet long, served as a natural bridge for the old Trout lake-Peterson Prairie rood. This "bridge" i s near the midpoint of a segment of lava trench obout 1,000 feet long, interrupted at intervals by short lengths o f uncollaped tube. A t each end ore longer segments of tube, the northernmost being obout 275 feet long and terminating with a dirt fill. A few flow grooves are in this breakdown-strewn segment of tube. extensive, with a slope length of obout 365 feet. The cave at the south end i s more There i s

Its entrance section also contains much breakdown,

and i t s lower section possesses o beautifully convoluted lavo flow and other interesting deposits. a small amount of lavo tube slime in the cave. The Lava Bridge ystem i s not a unitary tube, however.

A short confluent passage i s in the short

segment o f tube upslo'pe from the "bridge," ond there i s o complex series of small sinks and short segments of tubes about 100 feet east of the main tube in that general area. MEAT CAVE (See Trillium Cove.) RED CAVE (22) (Branching Cave, Spencer's Red Cave) Approximately sec.28 or 29,

T. 6 N., R . 10 E., Willardquadrangle.

Elevation about 2,150 feet. This little-known lava tube cavern i s in a densely forested area of obscure landmarks and changing logging roads. I t has been explored principally by Homer I. Spencer. Only o small section of the.cave was visited by the Survey, as rediscovery was not effected on a subsequent trip to the area. The moin entrance sink i s the lowermost of a series of collapse sinks along a passage length of several hundred feet. north. sink. I t i s reported that the lowest pussage i s a comparatively straight section of lavo tube.
hvo side passages rejoin, and then ioin the lower passage.

From this sink four passages lead off.

The m i n pussage i s upslope, leading roughly

The openings o f the other three passages are roughly on the eost, southeast, and south sides of the The other

Until filled during logging operations, the

uppermost of these two side passages could be entered through a small collapse sink. In the main tube, upslope, there are two additional small collapse sinks at intervals o f about bet. Farther north i s a long, uninterrupted passage, with a double-level tube still farther u p l o p .

I00
It

i s reported that each of these levels leads to a separate collapse sink.

very instructive when i t i s found again.

Detailedstudy of this cave w i l l be In the

Because o f a great quantity of breakdown, the floor of much of the cave i s very rough. enhance section t h i s rubble has a brick-red color, which gave the cave its name.

36

CAVES OF WASHINGTON SPENCER'S CAVE (See Cheese Cave.) SPENCER'S RED CAVE (See Red Cove, Klickitot County.) STAIRWELL CAVE (23) Sec. 21, T. 6 N., R. 10 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation about 2,100 feet.

Stairwell Cave (fig. 20, on p. 31) i s an interesting but small lava tube complex about 1,000 feet up the sinuous trench from the upper entrance of Butter Cave. and short segments o f uncollapsed tube. The spacious first 170 feet of Stairwell Cave slopes downward over breakdown, even though the trend i s actually up-tube. A t the end of the slope the cavern widens into what i s termed the "Main In this sinuous main corridor, which Room," which has a width of 40 feet and a ceiling height of 35 feet. in this area trends roughly north, ore two other tube openings. Between the two caves are several sinks

That on the east extends about 250 feet to

the domed "Bubble Chamber," one of the few parts of the cave that are free of breokdown. Most o f this side tubs i s spacious. Along its northern wall ore two other branch tubes, the first of which reioins the main passage up-tube from the "Moin Room.
"

I t i s noteworthy for i t s smooth clean pahoehoe floor.

The

second side tube leads to a breakdown crawlwoy containing a lava spring. side tube near the Bubble Chamber by passing through this breakdown.

I t is possible to return to the

On the west wall of the Moin Room, about 25 feet above the floor, there is an opening of another tube. About 10 feet high and 6 feet wide at first, the tube soon narrows in breokdown, then widens again. I t extends About 150 feet from the entrance of this tube a side tube enters at a sharp angle from the right. of an old-fashioned stairwell.

obout 50 feet to a point above the main route, to which i t i s connected by a circular opening reminiscent Beyond the iunction with this upper side passage that leads to the stairwell, the main upper passage continues about 75 feet and rejoins the main route about 125 feet below the upper end o f the cave, but maintains its identity for on additional 30 feet. Beyond the Main Room the main passage of the cave pursues o sinuous course north, then east for about 450 feet to a hole in breakdown through which light i s visible. Most of the intervening passage

i s spacious, but beyond the Stairwell is one crawlway section.

interesting problem.

Total possoge length i s about 1,350 feet.

Because of the complexity o f Stairwell and Butter Caves, the speleogenesis o f this area is a particularly

TRILLIUM CAVE (24) (Ice Cave, Meat Cave) Sec. 21,

T. 6 N., R. 10 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation o b w t 2,050 feet.

Its modern name arises from the cold-trapping action of the sink adiacent

This short length of lava tube served the pioneer immigrants of the Trout Lake area as a refrigerator in which meat was stored. to the entrance of the cave. The cold air trapped in the sink and cave causes retardation of plant growth,

so that the sink contains o profusion o f blooming trilliums i n midsummer.

KLICKITAT

COUNN

37

Trillium Cave is about 300 yards northwest o f the entrance of Cheese Cave, and about 100 yards north of the road from that cave to Butter Cave. about 60 feet long. I t consists of a single grottolike segment of lava tube I t i s about 25 feet wide at the entrance, and the floor plan i s roughly prabolic.

The ceilin g height i s about

15 feet in most o f the cave, although at the rear of the cave i t descends ab-

ruptly to a height of about 6 feet, then rises again to form a small inner grotto, which i s the location o f

Figure 25.-Twidwell's

Cave, Klickitat County. Compass and tape survey by Washington Speleological Survey, July 16, 1961

38

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

well-developed,
/
I

transient ice speleothems. On July

2, 1956, additional ice was noted omid the floor

On that date The cove i s in o dense second-growth forest.

rubble and in the form of melting stalactites and stalagmites in the rear third of the cove. neve was present in the entrance, which faces northwest.

WIDWELL'S CAVE North edge sec. 13, T.

(25)

5 N., R. 10 E., Husum quadrangle. Elevation about 1,430 feet.

Its explored length i s only 300 feet, and neither termi-

This small unitary lava tube (fig. 25), the southernmost known of the Mount Adoms group of lava
tubes, appears to be unusually simple in nature. nation con be viewed. not appear likely. The possibility of l o w r levels cannot be excluded, although their presence does

The overall appearance of the tube is that of the upper port of o larger tube that now

i s filled almost to the ceiling by lava. Consequently, although neither gloze nor flow grooves or ridges
ore present (except for o little elevation of the edges of the floor), the possibility of o more complex speleogenesis than is apparent at first glance cannot be completely excluded. As shown on fi&re 25, the cave has the form of a sinuous, constriction without corresponding increase in height. at which the tube i s i m p s a b l e . down except at the entrance. low, broadly arched tube with a single The ceiling height gradually decreases to the point The

The floor i s a moderately granular rippled flow uninterrupted by break-

The ceilin g i s cracked in many areas, and many roots are pendant.

entrance i s in a shallow sink, in a very small area of s i n k and low domes. At least one other opening appears penetrable, but ingress is blocked by broken glass and other trash. OTHER CAVES Other caves in addition to Red Cave are rumored to be in the area between Butter Cave and the Lava Bridge complex. They have not been found by the Survey. LEWIS C O U N T Y N o caves hove been reported in Lewis County.

LINCOLN COUNTY N o caves have been reported in Lincoln County. MASON COUNTY N o caves have been reported in Mason County. OKANOGAN COUNTY Okanogan County contains a considerable expanse of limestones and dolomites, which crop out over an area several miles long and more than a mile wide, northwest o f Omak and Riverside. Other,

40 smaller deposits also occur.

CAVES OF WASHINGTON The second largest limestone cave known in eastern Washington, Allbright

Cave, i s near the southern end of t h i s "lime belt." ALLBRIGHT CAVE (26) Sec.

18, T.

35 N., R. 26

E.,

Conconully quadrangle. Elevation about 2,880 feet.

Allbright Cave (figs. 26 and 27) is atop a narrow limestone ridge about 1 mile north and 2 miles west of the junction of the Riverside-Conconully and the Okanogan-Conconully roads. O n recent maps this 1,000-foot ridge has been termed "Cave Ridge." sinks in the summit line of the ridge. Allbright Cave i s the second lorgest limestone cave known in eastern Washington. The slope length of its passages totols about 400 feet. Its lowest point i s obout 85 feet below the upper entrance, which i s This cave is near the southern end of the local "lime belt," The limeBennett, 1944). Other shallow sinks A t its foot i s the farm of Thomas Tugaw, from whom The two entrances of the cave are in small

permission to cross the property to the cave must be obtained.

a few feet higher than the main entrance.

in a thick-bedded gray'coarsely crystalline limestone that dips about 50' slightl y east of south. stone i s thought to be of Triassic age (Waters and Krauskopf, 1941; lapies 6 feet high in the saddle southeast of the cave. southern face is typical northwest sagebrush desert.

and impenetrable crocks are visible on the almost unmantled southern slopes of the ridge, and there are A few pine trees grow atop the ridge, but its

UPPER ROOM

Chimney

&EL

c HIGH ROOM MISERY CRAWL Figure 27.- Allbright Cave. Okanogan County. Vertical section along traverse line. C m p a s s and tape survey by Dale J. Green and William Halliday, July 1958. A l l slope lengths correct between points.

0 .

20

me,

7 -

PASSAGE

, , + ,
TERMINAL HAMBER

R.

O K A N O G A N COUNTY

41
Allbright Caveshelters much animal life. In July 1958, the followin g were noted during a single which were collected on a previous visit), toad, cursory visit: woodrat, bats (probably Corynorhinus sp.,

mosquitoes (twilight zone only), small diptera, crickets, small moths, spiders, and possibly a campodeid. Flat-topped mushrooms were growing in the entrance, and two types of mold were growing from rotting wood and from rat droppings. When the cave was visited 18 months later, in winter, a bear was found hibernating in the upper room of the cave. The history of this cave i s imperfectly known. I t i s said locally to have been discovered by memThe name "Allbright," bers of the Samuel Allbright family, who formerly occupied the farm below the cave. with the date March 22, 1903, has been inscribed in the lower level of the cove. The main entrance (figs. 28 and 29) of Allbright Cave i s a hole about 3 feet in diameter at the bottom of a dip-influenced sinkhole. A sloping passage about 20 feet long and 4 feet in diameter extends south-southwest to the Upper Room. The upper part of this large, irregularl y shaped chamber p r a l l e l s the strike of the bedding, but its sloping, funnel-shaped lower end plunges down dip. The longest measurement in this room, from the mouth of the passage below the main entrance to the rim of the p i t leading to the lower level, i s nearly 80 feet. Aside from o single short talus slope downslope from this pit, almost the entire verticol range of the cave occurs in this room and in the entrance passage. Much breokdown

i s present here, and there are no important speleothems.

An 8-foot drop at the funnellike lower end of the Upper Room leads to the lower level of the cave. The passage at its beginning i s locally sinuous and sloping, but i t soon broadens into a long, spacious corridor trending south-southwest, called the Rimstone Passage. Some shallow gours and a little flowstone The chamber are present. A t the downslope end is a short crawlwoy that separates this corridor from the next chamber. The ceiling height of this next chamber, the High Room, i s the greatest in the cave. contains a large chimney about 30 feet high. Along the wall of this chimney i s the opening of a short

Figure 28.-Enbance of Allbright Cave, in a hilltop rink.

Figure 29.-Enbance of Allbrighl Cave, Okanogan County.

42

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

upper level, which i s entered more conveniently by another chimney at the end o f the next passoge. The floor o f the High Room i s level, and appears to hove been deposited in quiet water. A water-level stain

i s visible on the wall about a yard above the floor.

A cloy bonk about 3 feet high partially obstructs the entrance o f the next passoge, which i s about 27 feet long. I t i s aligned with the Rimstone Passage, but i s offset the breadth of the High Room. This passoge contains some smoll gours in which there are some small, rough pisoliths. and some short tubular stalactites are also present. A t the downslope end o f this passage a steep, bedding-plane side passage enters from the northwest. Atop a 20-foot ascent, o short upper level passoge extends bock to the large chimney mentioned p.eviously. A narrow opening from this bedding-plane passoge also bypasses the entrance of the crowlway at the downslope end o f the section o f the moin passoge just described. This crawlway, Misery Crawl, about 18 inches i n diameter and 20 feet long, i s basically a continuation o f the moin passage. I t opens into o small bedding-plane-determined chamber thot i s the end o f the cave. A smoll hole at the chamber's south end serves as a swallet of a smoll seasonal stream, which has left a channel in the dirt floor. A second entronce to Allbright Cove consists o f a narrow slotlike pit east o f the main entronce. I t i s most readily found from within the Upper Room. trance. A low eastward extension of this room continues for A little weathered flowstone i s on its walls. There i s a suggestion o f a about 20 feet to the end of a narrow passoge about 50 feet long, which slants down from the second enThis passage contains a large quantity o f rubble. The speleogens o f Allbright Cave ore almost exclusively phreotic.

A few tiny helictites

steeply inclined, incised ceiling channel a t the p i t separating the two levels. Just below this p i t there ore o few perched remnontsof ared cloy fill similar to that i n certain Missouri caves described by Bretz

(1956). I t i s the only Woshington cave in which such a red cloy has been found. The vadose streams thot flushed this and other fills hove not significantly modified the bedrock.
The cove developed mostly on vertical joints parallel to the strike, at successively lower levels down dip. Development along the bedding plane and on d i p and oblique joints i s of lesser impartonce. Such circulation in this ridge-top cave, however, would indicate a relaSuch o situation conceivably might hove arisen during Pleistocene glociHowever, no traces o f Breakdown has been great only in the Upper Room. Development of such o cave would seem to require a deep phreatic circulation. ridge were filled temporarily. tionship o f the cave either to a ~ e v i o u s erosion cycle or to o time when the valleys on both sides o f the ation, when there were ice- filled valleys within a few miles of Allbright Cave.

glacial action were noted on the ridgetop, and the cave does not show the massive fill typical of the subglacial caverns o f Woshington, although if a cave were in proximity to the upper part o f a thick glacier instead of the lower, this fill would not necessarily be present. A t this time, no conclusions can be drawn The cove appears wholly unrelated about the relationship of A l lbright Cave to Pleistocene glaciation.

to the stream (or possibly lacustrine) terraces o f the surrounding volleys, which are hundreds o f feet lower than the cave.

O K A N O G A N COUNTY BOY SCOUT CAVE (27) Sec. 8,

43

T. 34 N., R. 27 E.,

O m k Lnke quadrangle.

Elevation about 1,400 feet.

This fissure cave in the gneissic and mylonitic facies of the Colville batholith (Waters and Krauskopf, 1941) was not examined by the Survey other than through field glosses. I t i s visible from U.S. Highway 97 at a point about 4 miles north o f Omak, and appears to be about 100 yards long. The cave i s often visited by local Boy Scouts, and local informants report that i t consists o f a deep, narrow passage with revera1 successive vertical pitches and at least one larger chamber, entry into which requires a rope ladder. The cave i s probably the result of block slumping and (or) creep. MclAUGHLlN C A N Y O N CAVES (28) Approximately sec. 33, T. 36 N., R. 27 E., Tonasket quadrangle. Elevation about 1,800 feet.

A numberof portly ioofed fissures of unusual extent are in the ridge just north of the mouth o f McLaughlin Canyon. west. The bedrock i s a schistose facies o f the Colville batholith, and the fissures appeor

to have formed parallel to the dip and strike of the indistinct bedding, which appears to dip gently to the Some of the fissures are offset several feet along oblique fracture lines. Slickenslides are exposed on several faces, and possible fault gouge was observed at one place. to be primarily of fracture origin rather than due to faulting. explanations of the origin of these fissures ore varied (Anon., than 8 feet wide have lost their roofing. feet. Nevertheless, the passages appear Local

Block creep and frost wedging may have 1957). Generally, those more

been important in their origin, which basically i s a geological rather than speleological problem. The fissures and their caves vary in width from a few inches to many feet. In at least one area the fissures have formed a rectangular maze.

Vertical pitches of 20 feet are common, and some exceed 40

Small deposits of ice were noted in some of the fissures in July 1957. Most of the ice was in talus. A few small coralloids were the only calcareous speleothems noted. Several of the fissures have small

streamcourses, and one that was not visited by the Survey i s locally said to contain a small lake. MOUNT OLIVE CAVE (29) (Riverside Cave) Sec. 36,

5 . 35 N., R. 26 E., Okanoganquadrangle. Elevation about 1,450 feet.

I t i s in a Triassic dolomite (Bennett, 1944).

This tiny solution cavern i s at the base of the low summit cliffs on the east side of Mount Olive, just west of Riverside. rough stalactite.

I t s double-barreled crawlway entrance

This chomber contains a single

leads to a narrow chomber 15 feet high, 3 feet wide, and 15 feet long.

The cove has been formed on a dip joint, and has the contour of a phreatic ioint passage. RIVERSIDE CAVE (See Mount Olive Cave.)

44

CAVES OF WASHINGTON OTHER CAVES There ore local reports of a small cave in Shale Rock Point, near Omok. I t was not found during

field work. PACIFIC C O U N T Y A littoral cove about 40 feet long and 15 feet in diameter at its entrance is near the Cape Disappointment lighthouse. The Washington State Division of Mines and Geology reports that i t i s in agglomerate (written communication, 1959).

PEN D O R E I L L E C O U N T Y
The limestone deposits of Pend Oreille County are extensive, but contain relatively few known caves. However, among limestone coves of the Pacific Northwest only the extensive Nakimu Caves of In this county other caves have been intersected in mines near Metaline Falls. CRAWFORD CAVE (See Gardner Cave .) GARDNER CAVE (30) (Crawford Cave, Lost Cove) Sec. 4, T. 40 N., R. 43 E., Metaline quadrangle. Elevation about 2,900 feet. British Columbia, 120 miles to the north, and Oregon Cave, near the Oregon-California border, exceed the size of Gardner Cave.

With a total slope length of about 1,050 feet, Gardner Cave (pl. 1) i s the largest limestone cave in Washington. I f the extreme southwest and southeast, respectively, of Oregon and Idaho are excluded, this cave i s the largest in the entire area of these three states. Since i t is about half a mile from the Canadian border, i t i s probably the northernmost limestone cave in the contiguous part of the United Stotes. The cave i s the feoture of Crawford State Pork, and was partially developed as a tourist attraction in 1959. I t i s easily accessible, and has undergone considerable vandalism. Gardner Cave i s entered through a collapse sink atop a small h i l l in a densely forested area northwest of Z Canyon. limits of Metaline. The cave i s reached by a dirt road that leaves State Highway 6 at the northern town About 10 miles to the north, a side rood leods north for 0.4 mile to a parking area. Geologic

A good trail continues north up the h i l l for about 200 yards to the main entrance of the cove.
The cave i s in the Metaline Limestone, a thick-bedded formation of Cambrian age. entrance passage the dip appears to be slightly greater. a hanging wall ceiling. dense forest. maps of the area indicate that the bedding dips about 21a SW. (Park and Cannon, 19431, but in the The entrance passage parallels the strike, and has Argillaceous impurities are exposed in several places in this section of the cave.

N o other karstic phenomena have been observed in the cave area, perhaps in part because of the The cave i s at a relatively low altitude, and the climate i s generally mild despite rather

E N D OREILLE COUNTY severe winters. 48. The history of Gardner Cove i s not known satisfactorily. cave (Steele, 1904; Anon., 19180, 1918b).

45

I t i s in foothills that have been subjected to much glacial activity, as discussed on page

Contemporary accounts

indicate that the

cave was discovered in the summer of 1903 by Ed Gardner, who homesteaded a quarter section near the About 200 feet from the entrance, however, are two nearly The quarter section around the cave was later acquired

illegible inscriptions with dotes 1883 and 1888.

by W. H. Crowford, a Metaline merchant. In October 1921, he deeded the 40 acres surrounding the cave to the State for a State Park (Dingee, 1930). Gardner Cave i s of geological rather than

biological importance. In contrast with the teeming

Aside from the

life of warmer Allbright Cave, in Okanogan County, Gordner Cove seems almost sterile.

entrance zone, where moss, small-leafed plants, and a porcupine were observed, the only features o f biological interest noted in the cave were some tiny diptera, mold on rotting wooden steps, and a different type o f mold on rat droppings in the first 300 feet of the cove. The main entrance of Gardner Cave i s a vertical collapse sink about 10 feet wide and 12 feet deep. A wooden ladder extends to the floor of the broad passage below. About 50 feet to the north i s a smaller, partiall y blocked second entrance, also in a collapse sink. less evident i n the cave than on the mop. The high, broad section of the cove immediately downslope from the main entrance terminates at o flowstone-splashed c l i f f about 50 feetsouth of the entrance. The rock cover over this part o f the cave The entire 820-foot length of the main passage slopes downward at a surprisingly uniform angle o f about 25O, although small local variations make this

i s very thin, and a section o f trail crossing i t i s resonant underfoot.

The next 120 feet o f cavern consists of a high, fairly brood passage that i s aligned from north to south. milk. Its walls ore richly decorated with flowstone, which appars to consist of both calcite and moonThe latter i s particularly prominent a t the upper end of this section. Several small stream channels open into this passage. at the lower end o f this section. have been truncated at an old water level. The largest enters from the east at the bend Near this junction, several wide-based stalactites on o low overhang Prominent on the ceiling i s an incised channel, which can be A t The Narrows, this ceiling in several places i t is inclined

traced to The Narrows, 200 feet beyond the end o f this section of the cave. and is not limited to horizontal and near-horizontal sections o f the ceiling; quite steeply. cave.

channel forms the entire upper half of the passage. I t i s one o f the most prominent features of the cave, The channel was carved by the flow o f a stream atop fill that almost completely filled the

The stream must have completely filled the tube that i t occupied and enlarged. Beyond the bend mentioned i n the previous paragraph, the next 120 feet of the cave extends I t i s featured by the presence of enor-

southwest, and i s similar in dimensions to the passage just described.

mous gours (rimstone pools), and large dripstone and flowstone accumulations (fig. 30) that narrow the passage in several places. A large column (fig. 31) i n the center of the passage near the lower end of this section is the most spectacular single speleothem in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, i t has

. ~ a s e = u e i 11!a i g OP& .~1uno3 all!aro puad lane3 m p r e 3 '?l!uuooe ql!m parano3 aualsMalj pue ' s m 6 a 6 l e 3 - ' 0 ~ a r n 6 y

END OREILLE COUNTY

47

small helictites, and some small gours. Finally, 180 k e t o f broad muddy passage leads to the impassable exit of a seasonal stream at the termination of the main passage of the cave, about 790 feet along the slope from the entrance. floors. This stream appears about 150 feet from the lower end of this passage, and i s visible i n many places as i t courses i n and out of breakdown, impenetrable fissures, slumped mud, and false I t has modified the bedrock with which i t has come in contact, but the chonges are very small. About 70 feet from the lower end of the main passage, a low opening i s present on the southeast side o f the passage. Beyond i s the s m a l l Junction Chamber, from which may be entered the two principal Beyond i s a narrow passage that descends side passages of the cave. A t the southeast end of this chamber i s a small opening. sharply from the northeast. This narrow passage contains phreatic speleogens; however, i t also contains Its total

considerable accumulations of stream cobbles and gravels, and i t shows the iagged residuals of vadose solution much more prominently than does the main passage. I t is almost free of speleothem. length, including both forks of its terminal chamber, i s about 115 feet. Leading dowtiword and southwest from the Junction Chamber i s o tapering passage about 50 feet long. A flowstone folse floor (fig. 32) i s a prominent feature. The false floor i s continued through the small aperture at the lower end of this passage. Beneath are moderately coarse stream deposits. Beyond this aperture, this part of the cave i s subiect to seasonal flooding. This lowermost p r t of the cave i s also the most complex. Four feet up the south wall of the small chamber beyond the aperture just mentioned, a small tube leads to a ledge 4 feet above the floor o f the Mud Room, which i s the part of the cave farthest from the entrance. The Mud On the southwest side of the small chamber just mentioned, a Room can also bs reached by a tighter, muddy, angled crawlway at floor level. sloping pit, which i s nearly choked with breakdown, extends downward for about 20 feet. This i s the deepest point i n the cave, about 275 feet below the entrance. The Mud Room has few katures visible through its coating. When not flooded completely, the room usually contains a seasonal lake. On July 26, 1958, t h i s lake was noted to consist mostly of mud, Two small stream in which slumping, presumably into a deeper part of the a v e system, was evident. passages enter this chamber, but neither is passable.
Figure 32.- False floor with gravel and cobbles cemented l o its under surface. Terminal section, Gardner Cave, Pend Oreille County. Photo by Bill Lancarter.

48

CAVES OF WASHINGTON h r e a t i c speleogens are common throughout Gardner Cave. Specific vodose modifications have

been mentioned.

No stream fluting has been recognized.

There i s evidence that both phreatic and vadose

phases of speleogenesis have been complex.

The main passage i s developed mostly on dip joints, and i t Small

trends southwest, parallel to the dip, beyond the initial series of passages. Near the entrance there has been considerable development on oblique joints as well as parallel to the strike of the bedrock. the cave, indicate that a primitive cavernous network originally existed here. side passages along the main pussage, and also the complex of larger side passages near the lower end of The main passage was selectively enlarged along the route affording the least resistance to phreatic flow under hydrostatic pressure, but, in order to maintain its constant slope of about 20, selection of the route must have been influenced by some factor not yet understood. not be determined within the cave. This may represent bedding control, but i f so, i t could The route does not appear to be related to present or past topography

After this period of phreatic integration the cave was drained, p.esumobly by downcutting subsequent to regional uplift, and the flowstone on the floor at The Narrows was deposited. Thencam a period during which the entire moin passage wos filled with sediments. a channel upward into the ceilin g . Probably due to compaction, a small spoce developed atop this fill, permitting entry of water that completely filled the s p c e and dissolved This event could have occurred either above or below the general Locally, water table of the area, but within the incised channel the effects were phreatic. Subsequently, flow in this ceiling channel ceased, and the channel was drained.. flowstone was deposited i n i t and atop the underlying f i l l . The same stream, now under vadose conditions, or a new cave stream began to remove the fill, and in turn left some coarser deposits. The waterlevel stain and the strotified clay in the chamber iust downslope from the great column suggest that this was an intermittent process. The sequential position of a coarse stream deposit overlain by flowstone in Flushing of the fill, and speleothe tapering side pussage near the lower end of the cave i s not clear. them deposition are still in progress in the cave. The geomorphic history of the region around Gardner Cave is complex, and i s not yet fully known. N o mature upland surfaces have been recognized in this area. The cave i s i n a small foothill knoll in a broad, rolling valley surface o f moderate geomorphic age, below which the Pend Oreille River has re-excavated a youthful gorge (Park and Cannon, 1943). The cave has been covered deeply by the ice of at least two glacial advances (Park and Cannon,

1943). There are many stream terraces on the flonks of tributaries of the Pend Oreille River, and a prominent terrace at an altitude of about 2,500 feet appears to be of lacustrine origin (Park and Cannon, 1943). Because the Pend Oreille River flows northward in a deep gorge, one's natural initial reaction would be to explain this deposit of silt and fine sand as the residual of
0

lake dammd against retreating ice.

How-

ever, there i s satisfactory evidence that the preglacial flow of the river was southward, not northward as at present (Park and Cannon, 1943), and a presumed lake cannot be explained so easily. Although the advancing glacial ice seems to have had a thickness of about 4,000 feet at Gardner Cave, i t was in the waning stage of each advance, and seems to have deposited much more than i t

E N D OREILLE COUNTY

49

removed (Park and Cannon, 1943).

The local drainage of the cave area flows southeast, followin g the There are no permanent surface

preglacial drainage pattern, and also following the dip o f the bedding. streams adjacent to the knoll in which the cave i s located.

Probably, not a l l o f the spleogenetic sequence o f the cave has been recognized during this short survey. Because o f this, and also because o f the complexity of the geomorphic history o f the area, i t appears premature to attempt to correlate the details of the history of the cave with those o f the surface history. The massive spleothems are postflushing in age, and hence postglacial. The latest flushing of It is a the cave i s a feature o f local runoff accompanying and following retreat o f the last glaciation. advance, but thisis supported only by indirect evidence. As the ori g inal gorge of the Pend Oreille River probably resulted from downcutting subsequent to Pleistocene or late Tertiary uplift, the cave was probably drained at that time, and the major part of its phreatic phase may have occurred just prior to that episode. Gardner Cave merits detailed study. I N D I A N ROCK CAVES (31) (Indian Caves) Sec. 32, T. 34 N., R. 44 E., Newport quadrangle. Elevation about 2,100 feet. Two o f these three caves north o f the mouth of Seseah Creek on the east side o f the Pend Oreille River are merely overhangs i n the sandy Tiger Formation of Tertiary (?) age (Schroeder, 1952). The third i s a larger I t consists cavern (fig. 33) i n the same rock. As yet, however, one can only say that

reasonable working hypothesis that the massive cave f i l l was the result of the deposits o f the last glacial

of a single chamber 67 feet wide and 46 feet long, w i h o maximum ceiling height o f 20 feet. high. I t has two smallentrances facing west. That to the north i s 12 feet high, and Linear p.olongations The south entrance i s 4 feet wide and 5 feet
i s more irregular in shape, averaging perhaps

6 feet in width (fig. 34).

of the cavern follow a prominent joint that crosses the long axis of the cave rather obliquely.
1 6 8

They have the appearance of phre-

16

32 Feat

atic joint pockets, and the north entrance has the cross section of a phreatic joint possage intersected by a horizon. I t is difficult

Figure 33.-lndtan

Rock Cave, Pend Orellle County. Survey by WashcnQm Speleolog8cal Survey.

to

explain the contour of this as being a

50

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

result of vadose processes, and if the cave were in limestone, its phreatic origin would be accepted unequivocally. I t i s said locally that in 1844 Father DeSmet held services in this cave for the Indians. LOST CAVE (See Gardner Cave.) OTHER CAVES The caves in the Metoline mines were not examined during the survey. The following
Figure 34.-Main entrance of largest Indian Rock Cave, Pend Oreille County. Photo by Charles I. Barker.

have been reported to date 0960): Small caves have been discovered i n operating the Pend Oreille Mines and Metals mine, i n sec. 16, T. 39 N., R. 43 E. Many o f these caves contained sphalerite and galena in fragments on the One cave above the 500-foot level was said to be 8 feet wide, Others were said to have been larger. The mine i s in brecfloors and as crystals lining the walls.

4 feet high, and more than 20 feet long. slickensided walls.

ciated Metaline Limestone of Cambrian age. A l l the caves were reported to show faulting, with smooth, They were said to be most common above the 500-foot level (altitude 2,124 feet), A l l those on the 700-foot level (altitude 1,900 feet) were and to decrease in size and number at depth.

less than3 feet in greatest dimension. Many of the caves i n this mine contained paligorskite, which has not been discovered in other Washington coves (Park and Cannon, 1943). Several caves filled with clay, silt, and sand were intersected by the long odit of the Bella Moy mine, in sec. 32, T. 39 N., R. 43 E. (Park and Cannon, 1943). Caves similar to those in the Bella May mine are in Woshington Rock, west of Metaline Falls, in sec. 21, T. 39 N., R. 4 3 E. One such cave, filled with brown clayey iron oxide, was mined by the One

Lehigh Portland Cement Company (Park and Cannon, 1943). Caves have been discovered also in the Grandview mine, in sec. 15, T. 39 N., R. 43 E. cave contained fragments of galena-bearing rock (Jenkins, 1924).

PIERCE C O U N T Y Little limestone i s found in Pierce County. The county's only known caves are related to the The Paradise

glaciers of MountRainier. Some o f these glacier cover are extensive, but most are small.

Ice Cave (fig. 35) i n the Stevens Glacier i s the best known and most extensive, but others underlie h e Kautz, Carbon, Nisqually, and other glaciers (Matthes, 1938; Potts, 1950; Halliday, 1954). A t the altitude of 14,200 to 14,400 feet in the crater of Mount Rainier there are several openings between the bedrock and accumulated snow and ice. They have been formed as a result of melting by

PIERCE C O U N N

51

Figure 35.- Paradise Ice Cave, Stevens Glacier, Mount Rainier.

Photo by Bob and Ira Spring.

the steam and volcanic gases that escape through small vents in the crater.

They are variously referred They ore the highest

to as Summit Caves, Steam Caves, or Thermal Caves, and are described as "passageways for several hundred feet from one large dome-shaped chamber to another" (Mclellan, 1953). sizable caves in the United States, possibly excluding Alaska.

58

CAVES O F W A S H I N G T O N Son -

J uan --

lslond

O n San Juan lslond there are a t least three small solution coves in lenses of limestone o f the Orcas Group o f the Son Juan Series (McLellan, 1927), fihich here moy be o f Permian age oral communication).

(W. R. Donner, One o f these, English Camp Cave, because o f its potential correlation w i t h l ittoral
Littoral caves are present i n various

features, i s o f unusual speleogenetic interest despite its small size. parts o f the island.

CROOK PROPERTY CAVE (See English Camp Cave.) ENGLISH CAMP CAVE (36) (Crook Property Cave) Sec. 2 5 ;

T. 36

N., R.

4 W.,

Roche Harbor quadrangle.

Elevation about 170 feet.

The entrance o f this smoll cave (fig. 40) i s i n an abandoned limestone quarry eost o f English Camp,

2 feet below o gently sloping terrace thot i s presumably o f marine origin. Several phreotic tubes

about 6 inches i n diameter ond one long phreotic i o i n t cavity on a main speleogenetic joint extend upwaj to the flat surface o f the limestone deposit (fig. 41), so thot much of the cave's length o f obout 70 feet i s w i t h i n the i w i l i g h t zone. There ore several other small vertical phreatic tubes neor the cave, indicatin g

thot a more extensive system i s present. The entrance o f the cave (fi g . 42) i s about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide. w a l l o f the small abandoned quarry.

It i s i n the low south

Although the main part of the cave extends southward as an inte-

grated horizontal passage, the entrance section consists o f o typical phreatic joint pocket about 12 feet long and 9 feet high as measured from a point about 5 feet lower than the main passoge level. Its orien-

tation is along a joint thot i s o t an angle o f about 40' to that along which the main passage i s aligned. A t its bottom i s a pool about

foot deep.

At the south end o f this small cavity-chamber is the first o f

the vertical phreatic tubes that connect w i t h the surface. Beyond the southern l i p of the i o i n t pocket chamber i s another, less f u l l y developed joint cavity. Beyond this cavity the passage extends about 15 feet as o tube about

4 feet high and 2 feet wide. O n

O n the west

the east side o f the ceiling is another vertical phreatic tube connecting w i t h the surface.

i s a similar vertical opening,, which does n o t permit the entry o f light, but, unlike the other vertical
tubes, i t s surface i s pitted and jagged. where i n the cave. About 28 feet from the entrance the passage bends slightly to the east t o follow a joint that parallels the i o i n t cavities a t the entrance. sinuous tubular course The next 25 feet o f the cave i s characterized b y a slightly

This hackling i s also present i n one tiny ceiling joint cavity else-

3 t o 4 feet in diameter with one elongated and several small openings to the surface;
and broad, low extensions o f the upper section o f the passage. A t another point are traces o f a small

irregularly rounded phreatic joint packets;

Part o f the ceiling i s horizontal, as i f water-table controlled. c e i l i n g meander.

SAN JUAN COUNTY

59

-F
Tube with
vadose hackling

hrecrtic tube to rurftlce

Phreatic tube to surface

Figure 41.- Joint c a v ~ t yextending to surface, English Camp Cave, San Juan Island.

SECTION A-A'

Figure 40.- English Camp Cave, San Juan County. Survey by Warhlngton Speleolog8cai Survey, December 1960.

. .._ Figure 42.- Entrance a f English Camp Cave, San Juan Island. Photo by W. R . Danner.
A -

-._ . -

60

CAVES OF WASHINGTON A t the end o f this part o f the cave, a low side chamber 16 feet long, 3 feet high, and about

5 feet in maximum width extends northwest. On ik south wall i s an offset continuation o f the main route
about 9 inches wide and o f undetermined length. reveal beach sands. A few coralloids and two stubby stalactites are i n English Camp Cave. The beauty of the cove Excavation o f earthy f i l l a t the rear o f the cave may

i s ik display o f speleogens. A t the time o f its examination a plentiful biota was present, including several types of moths, snails, a large pole green slug with a large black spot, spiders and mosquitoes, and a small green frog. Reportedly, bats are i n the cave i n summer.

FERN CAVE
This botanical site (Wylie, 1949) i s o sandstone rockshelter just north o f the Oceonogrophic Loboratories o f the Universiiy of Washington at Friday Harbor (Peter Mclellan, oral communicotion). HAFFNER'S QUARRY CAVE (37) Sec. 29, T. 36 N., R. 3 W., Friday Harbor quadrangle. Elevation about 220 feet. This surprisingly complex little solution cave (fig. 43) i s i n a small limestone ock about 15 a small abandoned limestone quarry.

hill-

feet high, at the south end o f Quarry

operations opened the cave's main entrance, which i s about 4 feet high and

2 feet wide,

but the other two enhances are natural. Total length o f a l l the cave's passages i s about

125 feet, but the entire cave i s within an

area 30 by 40 feet. Most o f the cave consists of narrow crawlways on phreatically dissolved joint passages averaging 2 feet in height, with some lower areas, but the entrance passage maintains its 4-foot height throughout REAR ENTRANCE f i l l - blocked lower level

ik length o f 24 feet. A t its southeast end i s

the partiall y slab-blocked rear entrance. Beneath the west margin of the main entrance

i s the small oval entrance to a separote section

10

C-C-C---------I

of the cave that i s at a lower level than the 0 10 Feet main part.

In this small chamber the ceiling

Figure 43.-Haffner's Quarry Cave, San Juan County. Survey by Washington Speleolwical Survey, December 1960.

i s mostly horizontal. Along the chamber's

eastern wall, three earth-blocked p i k extend

SAN JUAN C O U N N

61

downward into an impenetrable, still lower level, which may connect with similar small pits in the main section. With the exception of these small pits, the separate western section, and the slope downward from the side entrance, the cave i s remarkably horizontal. In part, at least, this i s due to accumulation of fill, but there appears to have been some shallow sub-water-table integration o f joint cavities in the development of the present form of this cave, which today i s only a few feet above the local water toble. When the cave was examined, a plentiful biota was present, including mosquitoes, gnats, spiders, and a rabbit carcass probably dragged into the side entrance by a predator. LAWSON PROPERTY CAVE (See Roadside Cave,) MOONSHINER'S CAVE There are vaguebut persistent local reports that o cave in approximately the location o f Hoffner's Quarry Cove sheltered a still during prohibition days. Its identity i s not known at this time (1962). ROADSIDE CAVE (38) (Lowson Property Cave) Sec. 14, T. 35 N., R. 4 W., Roche Harbor quadrangle. Elevation about 300 feet.

This small, joint-controlled solution cave (fig. 44) in limestone i s about 10 feet southwest of the West Side Road about o mile southeast of Smallpox Boy. and i s separated from a swamp only by the road f i l l . I t is at the foot o f a slope about 25 feet high This swamp apparently i s on the local water toble,

ond most of the cave i s within the zone of fluctuation of the water table. During periods of high water, only the small eastern section of the cave can be entered, and even thot part has at least 1 foot o f standing water. There are some expanses o f flat ceiling in the western section that apparently correlate with thot water leyel. The entrance of the cave (fig. 45) i s about 4 feet wide and 2 feet high. A steep To descent of 4 feet post a grottolike westward extension leads to the main cavern level. the south is a low passage about 8 feet long, which ends in a small complex of breakdown at each end of a small phreatic passage. The western section of the cave i s
SECTION A-A'
10

entered through a crawlway that is filled with water seasonally. Beyond i s a broad, low
10 Feet P

passage leading north, with a curious narrow

F w r e 44.-Roadvde Cave, San Juan County. Compass and tape survey by Wash~nglonSpeleolcqcal Survey.

in ih wntml part but not at either

end. On September 30, 1961, there was about

62

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

1 foot of woter in this meander, above tenacious mud more than 2 feet deep (the total depth was not
plumbed). At the north end of this chamber i s o sloping "fissure" passoge of very different nature, and farther to the west is a small complex of passages with sub-water-table characteristics and with moderate breakdown at the for end. There are no spleothems, but veinlets and larger masses of noncalcoreous material ore exposed i n several locations. A maderote biota was observed. Like other Son Juan lslond caves, Roadside Cave appears to have-been formed by shallow sub-water-table integration o f o pre-existing network of solution along various ioints, ond to be undergoing modification at the present time in the zone of fluctuation of the water table. OTHER CAVES A large littoral cove i s on Turk Point, north of Merrifield Cove, and a small, very narrow one has been found just south of the first beach north of Lime Kiln Light. one in thot area. of thot cove, ot Delocombe Point, and neor Bellevue Point. at Roche Harbor. There i s locally rumored to bea larger Others have been reported on the north shore of Smuggler's Cove, and north and south The Survey has not confirmed local reports Total length of passages i s obout 100 feet.

5..

of limestone caves on or near Cady Mountain, eost and south of Sportsman's Lake, and neor Quarry 5 In o road cut on the Roche Harbor rood, north of Sportsman's Lake, there are two small solution pockets on the contact between shale and very small deposits of limestone. Shaw Island YANSEN'S CAVE (39) Sec. 29,

1. 36 N.,

R.2 W., Orcas lslond quadrangle.

Elevation about 225 feet.

With a total of about 200 feet o f passages, this small solution cavern in limestone (fig. 46) i s the largest known in the San Juan Islands. I t i s in o spur of limestone, about 10 feet high and 100 feet in diameter, extending eastward from the northeast side o f a low that i s a few acres in size. table,

hill ond on the south end of a small flat

The cave i s almost entirely within the zone of fluctuation of the local water

seasonally filling almost completely. Horizontal ceilings in several parts of the cave appeor to
Yansen's Cave hos hvo entrances and extends completely through the low limestone spur. Almost

correspond with the maximum woter level. every part of the cave i s a crawlway, and i t is developed on two (prhops three) levels, about 3 feet apart.

SAN JUAN COUNTY

63

SECTION A- A'

WEST ENTRA

fs

noncalcareous material
Figure 46.-Yansen's

Cave, San Juan County.

Compass and tape survey by Washington Speleological Survey. 1961

The main (eastern) entrance i s near the northeastern tip of the limestone spur. joint-controlled side passages, in which of etting from one joint to another i s displayed. toward the main passage. crawlway that leads to the Mud Room.

Inside i s a low A l l slope down

but roomy crawlway leading south for about 20 feet. Along its west side are two large ond some small A t the end o f this area i s a sloping p i t about 3 feet deep; at its base i s a

The western entronce and the passage beyond are somewhat lower thon the eastern entrance, but are mare spacious. Also i n this area are side passages on prominent joinh. About 20 feet from the enh.once there i s a very large mass of noncalcareous material, in which there has been much breakdown. The next 20 feet of the cave has formed along the edge of this noncalcareous rock. Smaller masses of such rock are present elsewhere in the cave. passage that leads to the Mud Room. The Mud Room i s a curious cavity. pockets and joint cavities. I t i s irregular in shape and contour, and contains many wall On its northeost wall i s an area of breakdown in which daylight i s visible. Beyond this large mass i s a more spacious, &foot sinuous

Both crawlway entrances to the chamber are at o level about 3 feet below the main section of the room, which has a flat floor, obout 2 feet above which i s a flat ceiling. Near the center of the room is a

64

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

potholelike cavity about 3 feet in diameter, and roughly sphericol, moderate biota was observed. T k r e are no speleothems.

although a narrow fissure leads

A

southwest to the entering passoge. Many roots project into this room, and elsewhere in the cave.

Although the speleogenesis of Yansen's Cave may have been slightly more complex thon that of other Son Juan County coves, this cove appears to hove developed largely through shallow sub-wotertable integrotion of a pre-existing solution network, and to be presently undergoing modification by solution in the zone of fluctuation o f the local water table.

'
Figure 47.-Yansen's
L i t t l e Cave,

I
San Juan
County.

10 Feet
Compass and tape survey by Washington Speleological Survey.

YANSEN'S LITTLE CAVE (40) Sec. 29, T. 36 N.,

R. 2 W.,

Orcas Island quadrangle.

Elevation about 230 feet.

This cave (fig. 47) i s about 30 feet south and 80 feet west of the west entrance of Yonsen's Cave, and a few feet up the slope of the main part of the low h i l l mentioned p.eviously. p i t about 3 feet in diameter ond 6 feet deep. the entire cave is crawlway. I t i s entered through a Totol length of passages i s less than 100 feet, and almost Veins ond masses of noncalcareous material are The rear sections of

Breakdown in noncalcareous material on the south side of the terminal

chamber permits an explorer to stand erect precariously.

prominent i n other sections, and, in general, the appearance and speleogenesis of this cave are much like those o f Yansen's Cave, even to the development on two levels about 3 feet apart. Yonsen's Little Cave, however, slope gently downward toward the entrance, and the horizontal ceiling

i s found only in part o f the entrance area.

noted.

Three incipient tubular stalactites were the only speleothems

SAN JUAN COUNTY OTHER CAVES

65

A pit 8 feet deep, about 25 feet southwest of the west entrance of Yansen's Cove, leads to o breakdown passage in shale (7) about 15 feet long, terminating close to the main passcge of Yansen's Cave. There are other small sinks in this same area. Stewart Island There are local reports of a cave on Stewart Island, but authentic information about i t has not been obtained. Sucia Island -Rockshelters,

locally termed "wind caves" are on Sucia Island near the isthmus near Fossil

b y , and also, reportedly, on the Finger Islands. Woody Island

There are local reports of a littoral cave on the north side of a narrow inlet on the west side o f Woody Island. SKAGIT COUNTY Skagit County has scattered deposits of limestone. solution caves known, and these ore very smoll. Only in the Concrete orea, however, are in the alpine

Other places where solution caves may be found even-

tuall y are the limestone cliffs along the east and south sides of Washington Monument Peak; noted

madowz along the trails to Dock Butte Lookout; and northeast o f Blue Lake, where some sinks have been

(W. R. Danner, oral communication). The county also has littoral caverns, both Recent and ancient. The Recent ones, between Deception Pass and Bizz Point, have been explored in the past 5 years by the
San Juan Reef Raiders, under the leadership of Jan Utterstrom and Dale Wood. BAT CAVE Sec. 22 (?), T.

36 N., R. 3 E., Bow quadrangle.

There i s locally reparted to be a small talus cave northeast o f Edison in which bats often congregate. About 1940, a boy was fatally injured by a rockfall in this cave. BECKLEY'S CAVE (41) (Old Miller Place Cave, Pleosant Ridge Cave) Sec. 9, T.

33 N., R. 3 E., Mount Vernon quadrangle.

This cavern, which was formed by collapse o f part of the roof of a shallow littoral rockshelter about 150 feet long, i s at the foot o f a sea c l i f f about a quarter o f a mile northwest o f the Beckley farm

66

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

on the north side of the delta of the North Fork o f the Skagit River. The cove i s separated from the river mouth by a marine terrace now in agricultural use, and i s about 50 feet south of Beckley's Shelter Cave. The inconspicuous entronce of the cave i s in a little recess below some small fractures in the conglomerate cliff. in its central area. sandy beach level. coatings. A straight pascage of 40 feet through small talus chambers and crawlways extends to The chamber is irregular in width and height. The height averages about 5 feet, but the main room of the cave, which i s about 95 feet long, paralleling the cliff, and about 30 feet wide

i s somewhat more in places. On the east wall, reaching almost to the ceiling, i s a remnant of an old
Some small stalactitic and coralloidol deposits ore in the cave, and also flowstone There are signs that the cave is the home of at least one porcupine, and other indications o f

an extensive biota ore present. BECKLEY 'S SHELTER CAVE (42) About 50 feet north of Beckley's Cave i s a prominent rockshelter of littoral origin at the base of the sea cliff. I t i s about 45 feet wide, 4 to 7 feet high, and about 20 feet deep. It i s the remnant of the pre-collapse shelter mentioned above. DECEPTION CAVE Deception Cave was the first of the Deception Pass littoral caves to be discovered and explored by the San Juan Reef Raiders. I t i s south of Sares Head. The main section of the cove is about 15 feet About two-thirds high, 1.5 feet wide, and 50 feet long. The entronce i s about twice as high and wide.

of the entrance and of the main port of the cave are under water. At the end o f the main section there

i s a short, narrow, above-water passage that leads upward at a steep angle for about 15 feet.
Near the end of the cave a submerged fissure leads at two levels to an irregular side passage about 25 feet long. A t a point where the two levels converge, a submerged room about 5 feet wide and The remainder o f the side passage area is broader but low. JACKMAN CREEK CAVE Sec. 4, T. 35 N., R. 9 E., Lake Shannon quadrangle. Its location and a photograph of its entrance

10 feet high has been formed.

This cave could not be found during field work.

are given in a 1913 reference (Shedd, 1913), but the cave i s not known locally. entrances, and contains bats.

A very old, unauthen-

ticated verbal report indicates that it i s in limestone on the east side of Jackman Creek, has several

JENSEN CAVE (43)

Sec. 1 , T. 35 N., R.

8 E.,

Lake Shannon quadrangle.

Elevation about 1,600 feet.

This small limestone cave (fig. 48) i s on the south edge of an abandoned railway grade, in a sink h a t war certainly first viewed many years ego. Not until the autumn of 1951, however, when State

SKAGIT COUNTY

67

EXTENDED PROFILE

ENTRANCE R O O M WATERFALL R O O M

PLAN Waterfall

@&

-g I
I

Dry streamcourse

Streamcourses Prominent rock 4 C

10

ER O O M

?
Figure 48.-Jensen

20 Feet
Halliday, Washington

Cave, Skagit County. Survey by William R. Speleological Survey, June 1956.

Forester Fred Jensen peered into the hole at its bottom, did anyone realize that i t led into a cavern. Jensen Cove is on a gently sloping bench on a heavily mantled and forested karstic

hillside,

1,400 feet above the Skagit River and more than 3,000 feet below the summit o f the ridge in which i t i s
located. Seasonal surface torrents occur a few hundred feet east o f the cave, but ta the west, the nearest I t i s possible that the small streom that enters the cave flows surface stream i s mare than a mile away.

into a fairly extensive karst drainage that wholly or partially resurges a t the spring about three-eighths of a mile east of the cave, forming the small streom that parallels Franklin logging road far a few dozen yards. Between the cave and theresurgenw i s a vertical hillside panor sink,

15 feet in diameter, which

may also conhibute to the resurgence.

68

CAVES OF WASHINGTON The limestone bedrock at Jensen Cave i s intensely fractured and partially metamorphosed, s o

that only a few fossils can be distinguished.

I t i s believed to be of Permian age. A t the cave, the dip

and strike are difficult to measure, but the dip appears to be southwest at about 25'. much of the ceiling of the Entrance Room i s bedding-plane-determined. pendants that appear to be of phreatic origin. Jensen Cave can be entered through a hole

If this i s true,

This room contains smooth ceili ng

4 feet in diameter, at the bottom of a brush-grown

The cave consists o f two small chambers

conical sink 15 feet deep and 20 feet in diameter a t the surface. connected by a crawlway. The Entrance Room i s a low, sloping chamber high. Along its walls are stratified clays and gravels. the crawlway.

17 feet long, 3 to 10 feet wide, and 3 to 6 feet

A proiecting meander spur i s near the entrance of During two visits by spele-

A debris level that appears very recent i s about 4 feet above the floor at the lower end

of this room, indicating that most of the cave sometimes i s filled with water.

ologish to this cave, only a small trickling stream was flowing into the Entrance Room. From the lower end o f this room, a very tight crawlway 10 feet long psses north beneath meander niches thot must have been formed atop a f i l l thot i s no longer present. The crawlway i s now floored chiefl y with sand, which has a tendency to reaccumulate and must be re-excavated at each visit to the cave. A t the end of this crawlway, a hole less than 1 foot in diameter opens into a short, norrow passage 8 feet high that leads southwest to the northeast corner of the Waterfall Room. The Waterfall Room is about 17 feet long and 8 to 10 feet high.

It is named for the seasonal

Elsewhere i n

waterfall in the northwest corner of the room, which falls from a high, narrow chimney.

this small room are other, irregular chimneys and iagged limestone remnants showing the vertical groovings of waterfalls. Small stream flutes are present on several minor overhangs. A t the lower end of this room

i s a small, choked p i t into which the waterfall stream disappears. A flashbulb placed in this p i t in 1951
was found on a ledge a foot above the f l q r i n 1956. N o biota and no speleothem have been observed in Jensen Cave. I t appears to be a cave of phreatic ori g in with very marked vadose modification, and to be a functioning part o f a small karstic drainage system on an otherwise typical lowland Northwest hillside. McQUEEN'S CAVE (See Three M i l e Creek Cave.) OLD MILLER PLACE CAVE (See Beckley's Cave.)

OTTER CAVE (44)

This littoral cave north o f Rock and Surge Caves was discovered and explored by members o f the Son Juon Reef Raiders in 1960. the cave. The name resulted from a close-range encounter with a sea otter within At low tide the floor of the 75-foot enhance section i s above water.

This part o f the cave i s

SKAGIT COUNTY

69

about 10 feet high and 10 feet wide. Beyond this section, excavation of beach gravels in o low part i s necessary in order to crawl about 20 feet into a low terminal chamber about 10 feet long. PLEASANT RIDGE CAVE (See Beckley's Cave.) RAIDER CAVE (45) A t high tide the entrance o f this littoral cave i s almost completely submerged. The cave i s on the south side of a promontory south of Bizz Point, and was named by members o f the San Juan Reef Raiders for their organizotion. The cave is entered through a narrow passage about 2 feet high and 15 A t the end of the narrow entrance section i s

feet long, at the lower end of a fissure about 20 feet high.

a chamber about 15 feet in diameter, with two narrow terminal branches about 15 feet long. ROCK CAVE (46) This littoral cave just north o f Sares Head has not been completely explored and i s extremely dangerous because of heavy surge. About 40 feet from its half-submerged entrance, which i s obout 4 feet wide and 20 feet high, the narrow passage i s almost blocked by a rock with a clearance of about 2 feet. The cove continues, but the only scuba diver to pass t h i s point to date had a very difficult time with surge and spay. SURGE CAVE (47) This dangerous littoral cave i s between Rock and Otter Caves, north of Deception Pass. about 60 feet long. Two feet of the 7-foot high entrance is above water. I t has

been explored briefly on three occasions by members o f the San Juan Reef Raiders, and i s estimated to be The cave gradually tapers. About 35 feet from the entrance, i t i s about

1 : feet wide, and the ceiling descends to the water a t t h i s

Wove surge in this cave i s very strong, so that explorers

place, although there i s an air space beyond,

are usually swept in with one wave and out with the next

- an extremely dangerous situation.

Elevation about 3,000 feet. feet

THREE MILE CREEK CAVE (48) (Weaver's Cave, McQueen's Cave) Sec. 30, T. 36 N., R. 9 E., Lake Shannon quadrangle.

Three M i l e Creek Cave (fig. 49) i s on the steep slope east o f Lake Shannon, about 2,%0 above the lake and about 500 feet lower than the Thunder Lakes flat to the northeast. secondary logging road.

I t i s reached by

way of the Thunder Creek and Section 19 logging roads, and i s 0.7 mile from the latter on an abandoned The entrance of the cove i s at the edge of a smoll marble quarry, which extends walk-in entrance i s about 100 feet into the sloping hillside in what was once typical heavil y timbered upland country. Even though partiall y blocked by dirt and rubble, the solution-sculptured, 6 feet high and 10 feet wide. The cave i s not extensive, however. The single, roomy passage measures

about 70 feet in maximum length, although local rumor indicates that originally i t was much longer.

70

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

These reports claim that the cave was partially choked with mud and reduced to its present size
MLLAPSE SINK ENTRANCE

within the memory of oldtimers still living. A t the rear of the cave, a small chimney entrance p r m i t s entry of a seasonal stream, which

i s responsible for deposition o f a considerable

amount of recent fill. sink i s about The corresponding collapse

20 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 9

feet deep. I t has enlarged perceptibly during the

5 years that the cave has been under observation.

Figure 49.-Three M i l e Creek Cave, Skagit Cwnty. Sutvey by Cascade Crollo, National Speleological S ~ ~ i e l yAdditions . by William R. Halliday, Washington Speleological Survey, 1956.

Three M i l e Creek Cave has been formed horizontall y and parallel to the strike of a Paleozoic (possibly Early Pennsylvanian) limestone that dip: about

20" SSE.

The limestone i s partially

metamorphosed, moderately veined, and fractured.

A little boxwork i s present. Bedrock

The ceiling of Three Mile Creek C w e is horizontal throughout most o f the main chamber of the cave except at the southeast end a f the room, where it oswmes the inclination of the bedding. dirt has not quite covered the floor. abrupt.

i s exposed on the floor only in one small area at thenorthern margin o f the entrance, where the cone of
The bedrock exposed here i s flat, but incised into it is a narrow, Its upslop beginning i s quite Adjacent to twisting slot about 1 foot wide and rapidly reoching a depth of 4 feet.

The slot i s joined by a narrower tributary slot developed along a prominent joint.

the slot ism incised flat meander niche about 18 inches high. About 18 inches below the flat ceiling of the entrance area there i s a prominent horizon on
the southern wall. o f the cave. On the north wall there i s a smaller horizon, closer to the ceiling. Below these levels the passage section widens irregularly. Vodose channels incised in f i l l are present in several parts

They are particularly prominent at the east side at the rear, where such chonnels e n k r h e

cave through two fill-blocked passages, unite, and leave through a third such passoge. Distinct variation in the fill has occurred in this section of the cave during a 5-year p r i o d o f observation. This cave contains almost no spleothem, although there are a few traoes o f flowstone and coralbids. About 90 percent of the cave i s within the twilight zone, and animal life i s fairly profuse. O n May Insects and centipedes are particularly camman. The cave traps some cold air.

31, 1956,

following an unusually severe winter, a small patch of nkve' wos present 30 feet inside the entrance.

large quantity of surface debris and soil has entered the cave through the collapse sink en-

trance, and a lesser amount through the main entrance. are evident.

As a result, only o few speleogenetic features

From those already described, i t appears that h e pesent Three M i l e Creek Cave is only

a fragment of a larger cave that was partially destroyed by development o f the canyon o f the Baker River.

SKAGIT COUNTY and partially blocked by recent f i l l .

71

The small stream channels atop this f i l l do not appear to hove had The vadose slot a t

any significant role in speleagenesis except, perhaps, to distribute part of the fill.

the entrance i s the only evidence o f vadose stream e x i t from the cove subsequent to the development of the steep slope adjacent to the cove, and its shortness indicates that the resurgence was not of long duration. An earlier vadose stage with a gentle gradient in this part o f the cave system i s suggested by The flat ceiling suggests a still the entrance cross section, which is progressively wider near the floor. earlier stage of water-table control of phreatic solution. cave.

As sheom flutes are not present, the flow of

kcavotion

this phreatic water was probably not due to the sudden entry of flood waters into the water table a t the
The known part of the cave clearly developed through shallow sub-water-table flow. of the f i l l at the rear of this cave might prove o f unusual speleolagenetic interest. WEAVER'S CAVE (See Three M i l e Creek Cave.) OTHER CAVES Other small littoral caves are known north o f Deception Pass, on the south side of Cypress Island, and on the southwest side of the southeast branch of Fidolgo Island (W. R. Danner, oral communication). Neor the spectacular north c l i f f of the island that bisects Deception Pass i s an unusually accessible example o f a small block creep cavern, a few yards east of the highway. slightly more than 1 foot. about 12 feet. SKAMANIA COUNTY Skamania County contains both a maior Mount St. Helens pahwhoe lava flow and the western part of the Mount Adams pahwhoe flows. in thestate of Woshington. a misnomer (Verhoagen, 1937). APE CAVE (49) Secs. 5 and 8, T. 7 N., R . 5 E., Mount St. Helens quadrangle. These flows contain the largest and most important lava tubes N o limestone is known in this county, and the name of Marble Mountain i s The offset of the cliffward part i s The cavernous fissure i s about 15 feet long, and can be entered to a depth o f

Elevation o f upper entrance 2,450 feet. Ape Cave

(pl. 2) i s the largest cave in Washington and i s the longest unitary lava tube cave
Its slope length, measured by plastic tube, i s about 11,215 feet, and it has

known in the United States.

a descent of approximately 700 feet, as measured hydrostatically. Theodd name of the cave was chosen by its first explorers, a local group of young outdoorsmen who call themselves the St. Helens Apes in memory of a widely publicized incident in which two

72

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

prospectors claimed to have had rocks thrown at them by an ape-man, which has never been seen again. The cave was named for the organization rather than for the ape. Ape Cave was discovered in 1951 by a "cat skinner" named Johnson, from Amboy, Washington. Mr. Johnson, it i s reported, almost drove his tractor into the lower entrance of the cave while clearing brush. In the spring of 1952, the Apes built ladders in the cave and explored it. A p Cave has two entrances, bath collapse sinks. levels, below which other drops lead to the main tube level. most often entered. They connect with short, separate upper The south, or lower entrance i s the one

I t i s iust across a prominent abandoned logging rwd, about 100 yards sli g htl y east of

north from a parking area.

It i s about 15 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep.

Several large breakdown domes apprwch the surface, and light i s visible On this

The cave extends about 500 feet upslope from the upperentrance and more than 3,900 feet downslope from the main entrance. through one of them. breakdown domes. entrance. A considerable m o u n t of dripping water enters the cave through some of these

A t one place the drip amounted to a heavy downpour on December 27, 1958.

date o small stream was visible in several sections o f the cove, particularly downslope from the main

It i s said to be seasonal. In the lower section, and to a lesser degree in some other sections of the cave, there are stream deposits as much as 2 feet thick, consisting of sand and gravel o f pumice.
The deposits appear to have been reworked frequently by the stream, but in protected areas, gravel overlies sand. Small rivulet channels on the surface of the depasik are not uncommon, but no channels were Coalescence of drip and splash holes in the stream deposits has formed unApe Cave i s a unitary lava tube cave, but, like several o f those in its area, i t has some vertical complexity. There are found incised in the bedrock.

usual "badlands," (fig. 50) mimicking Cathedral Gorge, Nevada, in miniature.

long sections with an hour-glass cross section, and the upper section often separates into short segments of a distinct level. This At upper channel i s often offset a few feet, swinging mwe widely than the lower. one

lace

i t forms an offset upper loop a b u t

50 feet long before rejoining the main tube.

A number of cupolas ore present, but they

are not as prominent as ceiling channels. As mentioned, both entrances lead to sepFigure 50 .-Drip-eroded rand deposits in Ape Cave, Skamania County.

arate lengths o f upper level.

There are

several small "lava falls" that probably represent a point of cwlescence of still

SKAMANIA COUNTY

73

Figure 51.-One type of ribbon stalactite occurring behind the crust of lava tubes.

Figure 52.-Another type of ribbon stalactite occurring behind the crust of lava tuber.

Figure 53.-Small "lava spring" in Ape Cave, Skamania County. Note "lava dripstone."

Figure 5 4 .-Broken specimens of "tapered" lava stalactites. Their origin appears to be entirely different from t h ~ s e of the tubular type.

74
lower levels. the Apes.

CAVES OF WASHINGTON The lower end o f the cave is blocked by stream deposits, which are being excavated by Near the upper end, the surface

This cave contains a number o f interesting geological features.

o f much of the lova is spotted with tiny brown egglike protuberances that have not yet been identified. In this section and also near the middle of the cave there are a few calcareous speleothem -ribbons and stalactites as much as 3 inches long, and some tiny gours. They are white to red brown in color. Along the walls in this ore0 i s a row of unusual "porthole"4ike round splotches in the lava. upper entrance the ceiling shows unusually prominent signs of remelting. of [avo are revealed in the spoce behind the crust. About 400 feet downslope from the upper entrance there are two lova falls. breakdown increases but i s intermittent. upper level i s large and well marked. Beyond this point,

Downslope from the

Where the lateral crust has

collapsed (a common occurrence throughout the cave), ribbon stalactites (figs. 51 and 52) and stalagmites

Wall flowlines and ridges are fairly well developed, and the

On the east side o f the pssage i s a lava spring (fig. 53). The next 600 feet of the cave i s not of special note except for Lorge

About 1,100 feet downslope from the upper entrance i s a collapse dome that is open to the surfoce. I t i s not a feasible route for human entry. The "Waterfall, high ledger and a smaller amount of rockfall.
"

a zone of heavy drip from the ceiling, is about 200 feet farther south.

accumulations of rockfall follow, and the passage then narrows appreciably. and upper level segments are prominent in this region.

The sheam from the waterShelves

fall terminates at a small pond behind a lava darn, which i s followed by a steep short slope.

Additional lavo spings and a lavafall p i t 10 feet deep are interspersed amid rather dangerous breakdown dome chambers. Autobrecciated lova is exposed behind the walls of the tube. Locally, the cave narrows again and becomes more tortuous in its course. prominent, and there are lateral flow marks. Downslope from the main entrance, stream deposits are mare prominent. down beyond the first 1,000 feet. occasional splash ring may be seen. upward for several inches. There i s little breakA t one place Some reddish rippled lava (fig. 55) i s visible on the floor, and an Lateral flow marks are prominent close to the floor. Tapered lava stalactites (fig. 54) are l a w l l y

the most recent flow mark i s horizontal, although an older mark, which i t obscures elsewhere, was rippled In another area there i s a remelting film over a lava tongue. An upper level Lateral ridges are better developed than are flow marks.

i s p.esent in several sections. A t one area of transition from one to two levels, large rounded chockstones
(fig. 56) are supported by the boundary ledges. In the lowest section, almost no breakdown has occurred other than from the walls, where additional autobrecciated lova and flat speleothem are exposed. Short tubular lavo stalactites (fig. 57) and helictites are present. Some of the latter show the influence of wind currents. N o multiglobular stologmites were observed, but a few examples o f unique form that may represent imbedding o f stalactites

in molten l w a have been found, and one pipestem stalactite (fig. 58).
the walls.

Slump ripples are prominent on

SKAMANIA COUNTY

75

Figure 57.- Tubular lava stalactite and globular lava stalagmite.

Figure 55.- Rippled lava floor rhowing differential flow in a lava tube.

Fisure 58.-"Ptpertem"

variations of a tubular lava stalactite.

76

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Figure 59.- Hole in "upper floor" of Ape Cave. Penetrating the horizontal division shown in figure 60 are several openings such as this.

Figure 60.- Horizontally divided passage a t the lower end of Ape Cave.

Figure 61.- An unusual form of lava stalactite in Ape Cave. T h e lower end was i n contact with the upper surface of a flow.

78

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

UPPER ENTRANC

U P P E R PASSAGE
Impassable breakdown

L O W E R PASSAG

F~gure 6 2 . - B a t Cave, Skamanla County. Survey by Washington Speleologlcai Survey, November 1960.

tube i s about 5 feet high and 18 feet wide where not obstructed by breakdown. Features of t h i s section o f the main tube include unusually complex wall grooves to a height of

3 feet, a lava falls, w e l l - d e v e l v d ceiling

glaze with some flaking-off, and a group of small lava stalactites that are a l l deviated in the same direction as though affected by strong currents of hot gases while still molten.

This

deviation has not been noted in other Washington lava tube caves. Figure 63.Upper entrance of B a t Cave, Skamania County, i s in a thin-shelled lava dme.

A small amount of

lava tube slime i s present. The main entrance of Bclt Cave i s a collapse sink about 12 feet i n diameter, with

a larger cavernous space below.

In contrast with the upper entrance, which i s on the edge of the lava From the small entrance chamber, a

flow area, the main entrance i s about 50 yards from the margin.

crawlway leads northeastward through breakdown to the upper level tube just described, and the main passage extends to the south and west down a breakdown slope to a junction about 60 feet from the

A M N I A COUNTY entrance, where the tube bifurcates. of the passage, at a level about at a lesser slope. The main passage extends south and downward.

79
On the west wall

4 feet higher on a prominent shelf, another passageextends southwestward

I t i s o f interest thot the two passages ore also connected by o smaller tube, obout 3

feet in diameter, which leaves the more western passage just below the iunction, to ioint the lower passage, on the roof of which i t can

be traced for some distance.

The passage then alternates between areas o f extensive breakdown I t ends at a room about 25 feet wide and 7 feet high, beyond Where the cavern floor i s exposed, clinkery and moder-

In the lower, more southerly tube, there i s a short lava falls downslope from the junction, followed by a steep, wide section. and unaltered sections o f lava tube averaging about 10 feet in width and 6 feet in height, for a total distance of about 400 feet past the iunction. ately granular surfoces are visible. which the bats are plentiful. The more western branch of the cove, gradually than the other. usually referred to as the Upper Passoge, slopes more Its mouth i s broad and Only a few bats have been observed in this area. which further passage i s blocked by breakdown.

A few lava dripstone spleotherm ore present. This i s the section in

spacious, but o few yards downslope, the floor and the lower half o f the tube narrows to a width of obout

6 feet, whereas the upper part i s more than twice as wide.

and ledges and gutters are pominent in its initial section.

Well-developed wall grooves are present, About 250 feet from the start o f the Upper

Passage, and again about 75 feet farther downslope, openings on the north side of the passage lead to a branch that roughly parallels the Upper Passoge for obout 250 feet, ending in a lava-sealed room about 30 feet in diameter. Feotures of this side pssage are a large lava spring and some lava speleothems. The main Upper Passage continues past great piles of breakdown and Very little breakdown i s present. length o f tube that can desmid millipedes.

longitudinal mounds of lava to a point about 700 feet from the iunction, where breakdown blocks a small

be reached only by crawling through about 40 feet o f dangerously loose rock.

In addition to the bats, other creotures have been observed, including grylloblattids and polyLava tube slime i s scant and patchy.

BIG CAVE (51) (Nielsen's Big Cave)

Sec. 8, T. 5 N., R. 9 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation about 3,200 feet.

The entrance of this 2,700-foot lavo-tube cave (fig. 64) i s about 100 yards west of the WillardPeterson Prairie road at a point about half a mile south of the iunction o f that road with the Goose LokePekrson Prairie road. deep, and & m i l e long.

It i s at the north end o f a large lava trench, which i s about 100 feet wide, 40 feet
The cave trends north and east, upslope from the entrance, with the eastern trend The cave entrance is a crawlway through breokdown, and extensive its original floor i s exposed only in one short section about

predominating in its final half. 400 feet from its upper end.

breakdown i s characteristic of the entire cave; study as do some other caves o f the area.

Consequently, Big Cave does not offer as much opportunity for spleogenetic However, the ceiling and lateral breakdown have exposed

Woll groovlngs mostly mclmed

Contorted layering

/Ag

floe-off

olygonol surfaces Lorge lava trench

F w r e 64.-6,s Cave, Skamanfa County. Survey by Waslullqlon Speleoloqcal Survey, November 1959.

SKAMANIA COUNTY

81
In some

features of unusual interest, which demonstrate some o f the internal mechanisms of lava flows. parts of the cave the exposed bedding i s regular; in others, markedly distorted. feet from the entrance i s a phenomenon that may prove to be a s i l l of reddish lava. Big Cave i s believed to have been discovered by loggers about 1957. 30 to 50 feet are characteristic. In one chamber the width reaches 90 feet.

A t a point about 600 Other unexplained

features o f the cave include what may prove to be spatter vents and a large lava bubble. I t owes its name to thd Beyond this section the cave impressive size of the entrance section of the tube, where ceiling heights o f 25 to 40 feet and widths of maintains a characteristically high ceiling, but becomes considerably narrower, although not less than 25 feet i n width, until the terminal breakdown area i s reached. The course o f the cave i s moderately sinuous, and no branches have been found. Steep rubble piles are present throughout Big Cave. Various lava speleothems, includin g clusters The single visible section of the origA t a point obout 1,000

of tubular stalactites, have been found on fragments o f breakdown. inal floor shows a ropy pahoehoe flow.

A short length o f tube-in-tube is nearby. groovings.

feet from the entronce are vertical wall Many show some deflection Lateral toward the upper end o f the cave, but some ore deflected toward the entrance. flow grooves are prominent i n short sections where lateral breakdown has not been excessive. A sequence of at least two flow One small travertine levels can be traced. served. Big Cave supports a moderate biota.
Figure 65.-Molhs on a breakdown block in Big Cave, Skarnania County.

drapery about 6 inches long has been ob-

b t s were observed in flight in November 1959, and many moths (fig. 65) were noted on the wall of sections that ore in total darkness. Lava tube slime i s present in moderate quantity.

BIG TRENCH CAVE SYSTEM (52)

Sec. 34, T. 6 N., R. 9 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation about 3,000 feet.

North o f Mann Butte is the largely collapsed remnant o f a complex lava tube system (pl. 3), the passages o f whichoriginally had a slope length o f at least 4,000 feet. of its varied features. Although the 6 small caves and 2 natural bridges still uncollapsed total less than 1,000 feet, the system i s one of unusual interest because

82

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Except for the re-entrant side passage originally about 400 feet long (the Cougar Den area),

the be

Big Trench Cave System displays in its trench areas features of multilevel tube development elsewhere found only underground. With one exception, a l l the cavernous remnants of the system that now can entered are very shallow, with overburdens o f 10 to 20 feet. In one cave near the center of the system, The small

an underground sink extends downward to a short lower level, largely choked with breakdown. which appear to be the remnants of collapse of tubes of these proportions. siderably greater depths. feet.

volume and thin overburden of the remaining caves are conformable to certain sections of the trench, In other sections of the trench, relatively shallow segments descendrather abruptly to depths of 40 to 50 feet and, in a few areas, conA t the western end of the second cavernous section from the east end of the system, the uncollapsed tube i s about 15 feet high and 25 feet wide, and has an overburden of about 10 In contrast, the sink iust west of this entrance i s more than 50 feet wide and vobably more thon The Big Trench Cave System, therefore, oppears to be a largely collapsed system ofsuperimpased tubes with a single shallow re-entrant. except a t the downslope end. layers. Because o f extensive breakdown, few tube features are visible In the Cougar Den Cave, breakdown has revealed glaze on several wall The lower end o f the terminal cave i s blocked by billowy 75 feet deep.

The terminal cave and the one iust upslope from i t have granular walls, with local thin coatings

of lava along the lower parts of the walls. In this area, thick s l i m i s present. at least one cougar.

lava that prevents access into another small chamber visible through a little opening above the lava seal. The remaining caves appear to harbor a rich biota, possibly including

BLASTED CAVE (See Dynamited Cave.) BOYLES CREEK CAVE (See Fish Hatchery Cave.) CAMPGROUND ICE CAVE (See Ice Cave, Skamania County.) CURLY CREEK CAVE (53) (Lava Cave) Sec.

2, T. 6 N., R. 7 E.,

Steamboat Mountain qwdrangle.

Elevotion about 3,050

feet.

Discovered in 1958, this little-known lava-tube cave (fig. 66) near the new (1961) Curly Creek road may be only one o f a number of lava tubes in this area. Breakdown i s present throughout nearly a l l Including the single 100-

of the cave and almost blocks the passage about 200 feet from the entrance. foot ride passage, the slope length of the save i s 1,225 feet.

The entrance of the cave i s a spacious but sloping opening at the lower end o f a large sink. Daylight i s visible almost to the breakdown chokes 200 feet inside. novices. averaging about 25 feet in width and 20 feet in height. This area i s quite dangerous to The cave has a somewhat sinuous course toward the northwest, and p-imarily i s a single tube The downslope end of the cave i s blocked

by

SKAMANIA COUNTY

83

Figure 66.- Curly Creek Cave, Skamania County. Compass and tape survey by Washington Speleological Survey, August 27, 1 9 6 1 .

breakdown, and elsewhere most o f the floor consists of great piles of rubble of reddish granular lava or dark gray massive bosalt. About 1,000 feet from the entrance, a pit leads to a short side passage terminating in a lava seal, pssibly with flow from west to east. A lava floor, flow grooves, and some glazed areas are near the downslopz end of the main passage, as well as some pasty, granular lava coatings.

Some small gowed calcoreovs ribbon deposits ore present. The entrance area appears to support a rich
biota. Downslope, there are moderate quantities of an unusually compact form of lava tube s l i m . DRY CREEK CAVE (54) Sec. 27,

T. 6 N., R. 9 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation about 3,400 feet.

The main entrance of Dry Creek Cave (fig. 67) i s a small collapse sink west of the Forest Service road leading north from Peterson Prairie Guardstation at a paint 1 ; miles north o f the road junction near that station. A smaller, upper entrance about 400 feet west-northwest o f the main entrance can also be used for entry. Dry Creek Cave

4) i s the most complex lava cavern known in Washington, and is potentially

I t consists of a complex o f small tubes and broad, low chambers, partially

of exceptional scientific value.

filled with multiple tongues of aa and pahoehoe lava. There i s very little breakdown, and the cave contains unusually fine lava speleogens, which demonstrate many features of the dynamics of subsurface lava flows. Pillars o f various sizes are numerous, and the tubes repeatedly branch and reioin. Longitudinal

ceiling tubes are well developed locally, and at least one small tube-in-tube i s present. Tubes are developed on at least two levels, hardly more than 3 feet apart. to enter that i s known to the miter. has been incised into such a deposit. One small upper-level tube, circular and obout 3 feet in diameter, shows the least modification by flow through i t of any lava tube large enough Most of its rather short length i s free of flow groovings and ridges. In the main passage, lateral shelves proiect as much or one foot Stream invasion o f Dry Creek Cave has left small local deposits, m d at least one rivulet channel

84

CAVES OF WASHINGTON from the wall, and there are as many as five successive lateral flow ridges on some walls. present. Dry Creek Cave i s not yet fully explored. A total o f about 1,400 feet o f passages have been mapped, and about 5W feet i n addition have been explored systematically.
-

A t least two floor concentrics o f

depositional rather than splash origin are

Besides the main portion of the cave A t its upper end

Fqure 67.-Mam entrance of Dry Creek Cave, Skamania County.

there i s a long collapse sink about 100 feet west o f the main entrance.
i s a low lava tube crawlway over aa lava,

which has filled the tube to about 18 inches from its arched roof. system. The biota o f the cave system i s plentiful. (probably Plusiocampa sp.),

This 100-foot cavern, known as Dry

Creek Cave Annex, together with the adioining sink, appear to be integral parts o f the Dry Creek Cave

It varies from springtails (collembola), bristle-tails

mosquitoes, spiders, harvestmen, moths (Scoliopteryx sp.),

larvae (perhaps fungivorids), and other insects to pika (Ochotona flight throughout the cave. valuable.

e), and perhaps hibernatin

wormlike fly
g

bears i n the smelly, denlike grotto just north o f the entrance o f the Annex.

Bats have been observed in

Detailed biological and geological studies of this cave would be exceptionally

DYNAMITED CAVE (55) (Blasted Cave, Lemei Road Cave) Sec. 35, T. 6 N., R. 9 E., Willardquadrangle. Elevation about 3,360 feet.

This extensive lava tube cave (pl. 5), containing dangerously deep pits, was discovered i n 1958 (Nielsen, 1958), but had been explored only partly when i t was dynamited by vandals (Anon., other great rocks loosely poised a t the edge of the sink. 1958). The dynamiting effectively closed the entrance (fig. 68) with many tons of tightly packed rock, and left However, the exceptional scientific interest regarding this vertically complex cavern i s sufficient grounds for h o p o f future studies of the cave. The blasted entrance o f the cave i s at the base o f a 30-foot cliff, which i s a t the south end o f
a shallow, greatly eroded lava trench.

The known part o f the cave i s a vertical complex o f superimposed Slightly more than 4,000 feet o f passages have been mapped, The lava tube trends sli g htl y east o f south from the Initially, there i s a rockpile

tubes of greatly varying size and nature. entrance, i n a slightly sinuous course.

and the total depth o f the cave may exceed 300 feet.

The entrance section o f the cave has a slope length of 680 feet.

descent o f about 40 feet i n a warm, broad, vaulted chamber containing many insects in summer. Above

SKAMANIA COUNTY

85

Figure 68.- Entrance of Dynamited Cave, Skamania County, i s beneath this rubble.
entrance section.

its lower end (fig. 69) i s an upper-level tube about 200 feet long and 6 feet in diameter, ending i n breakdown. down. Beyond this tube, the main route continues as a roomy corridor containing large amounts o f breakSand and silt deposits are present locally, and little, if any, of the original cavern floor i s visible. Several segments o f flat ceilings represent flow-crust

Overhead, unusual lava speleogens are prominent. that are roughly triangular in cross section.

remnants, and there are two delicate natural bridges, and several short segments o f small ceiling tubes In other areas, vertical alignment o f what oppear to be These flows Then the crusts collapsed when their remnants o f crusts o f 12 or more successive flows ore visible on the ceiling and upper walls. o p p a r to have progressively occluded the upper port of the tube. underlying support was removed. and higher.

Farther from the entrance the passage becomes progressively narrower

Itends a t a 15-foot ledge, below which i s the intermediate sectionof the cave.

This intermediate section has two parts, one lying lorgely.beneath the entrance section and extending much farther north, and the main route extending south from the iunction. The sub-entrance part i s 1,670 feet long. In its southern half, breakdown i s locally minimal, Constant-drip and deposits of fine sediments have accumulated to a maximum thickness o f about 2 feet. pools and rivulet channels.

points have resulted in formation o f miniature "badlands" in these deposits, and there are a few small In another port o f this southern half, an unusual blocky rectangular ridge about 10 feet in hei g ht and in width occupies the center of the tube. Elsewhere i n this section, breakdown

86

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Downslope from the area o f sedimen. ceiling channels;

i s marked, and a t one point the tube i s almost occluded by rockfall.

tar/ deposits are some interesting speleogenetic features, including small upper levels; a large horizontal lava spring overhead with concentric layering;

multiple wall layers, each with a

glazed surface; and a small pear-shaped upper-level tube i n which breakdown has exposed a multilayerec floor. White (colcoreous?) coralloids and black dripstone are present, and at the northern end of this Surface

section are some stubby calcareous speleothems as much as 5 cm. long and 3 cm. i n diameter. some slump ptterns.

glaze, including locally some red-brown gloze, is prominent on the walls and ceiling, and there are Locally, flow groovesare marked, including some on the underside o f a "hanging wall" ceiling i n on area where the passage cross section i s pear shaped. Near the junction with the entrance section are the disintegrating remnants of the skeleton of o large mammal (bear?). The main route of the intermediate section o f the cave extends about 950 feet south from the 15-foot ledge to a lava-wolled pit 40 feet deep. Breakdown i s moderote throughout this section, and Small sand deposits hove accumulated. One there is little tube flow visible except at the lower end. feet are present. the area.

natural bridge, multiple loteral coatings, large loteral gutters, and flow grooves up to a height o f 15 Glaze i s moderate, andthere oresomeslump patterns. A ceiling channel i s visible in Also present are a few stubby calcareous stalactites. A t the lower end of this intermediate section, just before the 40-foot pit, is a small chamber with a rippled floor. I t i s entered by descending a 10-foot lovafall, which has o central clinker tongue The upper level arises as a lava spring about I t is and smooth, glazed margins (fig. 70). The 40-foot pit i s a junction o f three major levels.

75 feet north of the pit, and a t the l i p o f the p i t i s about 15 feet above the intermediate section.

roughly keyhole shaped i n the section just north o f the pit, and i s about 10 feet high and 6 to 8 feet wide except a t floor level, where i t i s narrower. Beyond the pit, the upper and intermdiate levels ore united for a distance o f about 200 feet, a t which point the continuation cannot be reached without the use o f climbin g poles. This combined section, about 30 feet high and 10 to 15 feet wide, contains some unusual features, but crossing the p i t to reach

it requires special gear and skill, and has been

accomplished only once. The southern l i p of the pit actually i s a large glazed chockstone.
Figure 70.- Lavafall into chamber above 40- fool pit, Dynamited Cave.

Beyond is a continuotion o f the pit, which can be skirted on a highly glazed ledge. On this ledge and on the glazed wall are many small

SKAMAN IA COUNTY
spatter accretions.

87

There i s very little breakdown in the immediate area of the pit, but beyond it, inA few yards farther downslope

creasing omounts are present as far as the end of the combined section.

in the intermediote level i s another glazed chockstone, beneath which i s a descent of obout 5 feet to a sublevel about 5 feet high and 3 feet wide, which becomes smaller over a course of a b u t 100 feet, interrupted by s t i l l another 5-foot drop to another sublevel. ward toward the lowest sublevel. The 40-foot p i t i s o curious structure worthy of detailed spelecgenetic study. part contains a typical lavafall. the demarcation i s sharp. drained. A t the base of t h i s p i t i s an impressive arched chamber-"The Grand Bollroom"-which i s the upper end of the l o w r sectian of the cave. breakdown has occurred here. are prominent. extruded. Over a course of about 650 feet, the lower-level tube leading from The Grond Ballroom gradually narrows en route to a 55-foot pit. There are well-developed flow patterns and relatively little breakdown. A possible tumulus, a cupola, and additional outobrecciated lavo have been noted. The 55-foot p i t in some ways resembles the 40-foot pit, but a lovofall, preceded by a horseshoeshaped "pulled" pattern in the pahoehoe floor, i s present. way i n The p i t i s said to leod to a short basal crawlThe room i s about 50 feet in diometer, and a l l its ropy floor Relatively little ceiling or lateral Lorge lateral ridges and gutters
is level except perhaps o small areo of subsidence beneath the pit.

These sublevels contain red lavo tongues.

A t the downslope end are numerous gray-black lava speleothems. Both of these sublevels slope downOnly its upper

The overhanging lower 12 feet is part of the underlying passage, and

Innumerable small lava stalactites hang from projecting surfaces of its midsection.

Its appearance suggests that i t wos either a gas vent or an abandoned upward conduit that was suddenly

The lateral breakdown has exposed a vorieiy of lavas, including some red

autobreccioted lava in which sever01 rivulet channels hove developed.

From their recesses, extensive irregularly contoured masses of reddish lava have been

breakdown. On the far side of its 10-foot mouth, the p i t i s separated by a narrow span from a
To date, this section of the cave has received no speleogenetic study.

large chamber, beyond which i s o partially explored areo that i s several hundred feet long and is developed on at least three flaw levels. A small waterfall and stream ore known to be present. Crossing the 55-foot p i t and descending the 50foot c l i f f into this section of the cave should be attempted only by highly skilled speleologists. The speleogenesis of Dynamited Cove i s complex. The interrelationship o f the various flow levels o f the different p r t s o f the cave, a l l seemingly following the same alignment, is the most difficult speleogenetic problem o f lava tubes that the writer can recall. Aside from the profuse biota o f the entrance chamber, where insects are abundant and a number of bats have been seen, insects have been found only at the upper end o f the subentrance section and no biota noted elsewhere in the cave. here. Howver, to dote no extensive biological survey has been attempted

88

CAVES OF WASHINGTON FALLS CREEK CAVE (56) (Panther Creek Cave, Lava Coves) Secs. 1 and 12, T. 5 N., R.

8 E.,

Wind River quadrangle.

Elevation about 2,875 feet.

The entrances of this extensive and moderately complex lava-tube cove (pl. 6) are about half a mile north of the end of the Falls Creek road, in a forested area in which exploring parties have repeatedly lost their way, particularly upon attempting to return to the road. Totol slope length of the passoges of the cave i s about 6,000 feet, about 4,300 feet of which i s along the main passoge, which follows a sinuous course, roughly north to south from the Big Entrance to the terminal complex, although the unmapped lowermost section of the cave seem to trend more to the west.

Actually, there are three separate parts to the cave system, separated by coliapse sinks. The
two upper sections are very short, however. The upper, northern end of the system consists of a grottolike chomber adjacent to, but not aligned with, an additional sink with raised margins. floor was found on July 23, 1960. At the lowest part of this spacious chamber, a thick ice The nearby additional sink just mentioned i s much more eroded and Along the

filled with vegetation than the two sinks of the cave system proper, and appears much older. This northernmost chamber is a t the north end of o collapse sink about 60 feet long. east wall of this sink i s a smaller chomber, which i s olso a remnant of the original tube. ural bridge, i s about 150 feet long. A t the south

end o f the sink i s the entrance of the second section of the system. This section, which resembles o natA t both ends, the floor is extremely steep and rough, due to breokdown. A small amount of melting ice was found at its lowest point on July 23, 1960. A t the southwest end of this second section of the cove i s the larger o f the two sinks of the system. A t its southern end, about 450 feet from the northern end of the system, i s the steep entrance o f the main passage. On the southwest wall of this larger sink i s the entrance of another smoll passoge, which extends Because of logistic poblem, the side passages off the main passage, roughly southwest for about 500 feet.

and the final 1,2M)-odd feet of the main passage itself have not been surveyed, but a l l penetrable openings of the cave system are believed to have been explored. Falls Creek Cove i s o f

considerable geologic interest. Despite the occurrence of considerable

Both Except at the points of reentry, a l l are efflwnt. Within the The terminol complex of the cave partic-

breakdown in the cave, there are many speleogenetic features indicative of a complex history. re-entront and non-re-entrant side tubes are present. Their entrances occur both at floor level and at high ledge levels, the lotter tube are natural bridges and several superposed levels (fig. 71). ularly merits detailed study. tomed level. seal.

In this area i t appears that the main tube originally continued at its accus-

Subsequently, a flow broke through from t h i s level to a lower chamber that now has o lava

From the main level, two chimneys lead upward to o third level of smoll, irregular chombers and The cross section of the cave, where not disrupted by breakdown, varies considerably. In the

passageways that was almost occluded in twa locations by a flow o f reddish lava. section south o f the large sink the passoge section i s roughly rectangular and has a copping flat arch. The

SKAMANIA COUNTY

89

Figure 71.- Lava cascade from an upper level to the main passage in Falls Creek Cave. Photo by Peter Alburar.

walls here are vertical for a distance o f more than 30 feet, and show particularl y fine lateral flow grooves. An area farther downslope has a cross section resembling a moorish dome pattern, but a brood, flat arch
is more common. Except i n the stoopwoy just upslope from the terminal complex and i n areas with mossive

breakdorm, the ceiling height o f the main passage is rarely less than 15 feet, usually more than 25 feet, and i n places 50 feet or more. to 25 feet. Similarly, this passage i s rarely less than 15 feet in width, and usually 20 The side passages are l o w r and narrower, but i n general contain less breakdown. i n other sections i t i s rippled, and

A dark, brick-red lava flow can be seen on much o f the original floor of the cave. In some
areas its surface i s almost smooth; to crusting.

locally shows buckling subsequent

A few splash concentrics ore present. In some places, large lateral ridges have been formed

of the same lava, and i n a few areas there i s a red gloze on the walls and ceiling instead o f the commoner

90

CAVES OF WASHINGTON blackish type. Lovo stalactites are few and Lovo stologmites ore

small, and are tubular.

larger, and a few are atop lateral ridges, indicating thot they were o late development during the thermol period of the cave. A small rivulet enters the cave obout midviuy along the main possoge, and has formed a deposit of sand and mud. Its channel

i s not penetrable.

Similar material has also Lova Slime

washed in through the main entrance.

Figure 72.- Group of lava stalagmites in a Washington cave.

tube slime i s patchy in distribution.

flomtone i s present in one section, and a few small colcoreous dripstone deposits seemingly independent o f the slime have been observed. Falls Creek Cave i s of some biological importance. entrance, and obout a dozen salamanders (Ambystoma after o prolonged period o f warm, dry weother. down the cove at a l l constricted parts of the passoge. Nothing i s known of the history o f Falls Creek Cave. Due to i t s proximity to a maintained but little-used trail, i t has pobobly been known to a few persons for many years. FISH HATCHERY C A M (57) (Boy les Creek Cave) Mosses and ferns grow profusely in the r a i n 1960,

gracile) were found in that area on July 23,

O n thot date, a distinct air current could be felt flowing

W. edge sec. 14, T. 2 N.,

R. 5 E.,

Bridal Veil quadrangle.

Elevation obout 750 feet.

This small cavern (fig. 73) in the Eagle Creek Formation of Miocene age (Hodge, 1938), i s a
hydrological curiosity, and its origin i s a perplexing problem.

ENTWN

tREGISTER ROOM

20 2

d O

20 Fee1

GRO

Figure 73.- Fish Hatchery Cave (Boyles Creek' Cave), Shamanla County. Survey by Washington Speleological Survey and Oregon Speleological Survey, August 1960.

SKAMANIA COUNTY

91

The entrance of this cave (fig. 74) i s about 2 feet high and 4 feet wide. emerges a sizable perennial stream. From i t The en-

trance passage appears to be incised in saft pyroclastic rocks underlying a horizontal basalt flow. Nowhere in the cave have any features The slightly sinuous entrance passage maintains approximately these dimensions over a southeastward course o f about 40 feet. At
Figure 74 .-Sparkling stream merging from !he entrance of F i s h Hatchery Cave, Skamania County.

of lava tubes been observed.

its end there i s a small, low chamber in which ore some vadose speleogens. The cave stream cascades into this chamber from the more spacious part o f the cave to the north and east. rocks in which this cave occurs i s evident.

In t h i s complex area the varied nature of the volconic

Above a short, steep pitch i s the west end of the Waterfall Chamber. O n its north wall i s a hole about 1 foot in diameter, through which most o f the perennial cave stream emerges. not been explored, although additional cavern can The Waterfall Chamber i s slightly curved. and i s 30 feet long. pool 't ber. its base. A t its eastern end i s a 5-foot

This hole has

be seen beyond it.

I t averages 7 feet in height and 10 feet i n width,

waterfall (almost dry in August), with a deep plunge

A small rivulet emerges

B y ascending this waterfall one can enter an upper continuation of the Waterfall Cham-

This passage narrowr rapidly, and terminates 24 feet from the waterfall.

fromgranular pyroclastic rocks at this point, and considerable dripping water enters this chomber in' several other places. Two openings extend upward and northward between this extension of the Waterfall Chamber and the largest chamber of the cave. on August 20, 1960. posed in this chomber. determined largely by breakdown. Aside from a small pool at its lowest point, this large chamber was dry Its present margins appear to be The bedding of several members of the Eagle Creek Formation i s exOn the floor o f the main I t i s about 20 feet in diameter and 8 feet high.

A feature of especial interest i s the spaghettilike mass o f rootlets in a small grotto

connecting this chamber with the east end of the Waterfall Chamber Extension.

part of the room are fragments of basalt with small tortuous channels.that resemble tiny bedding-plane anastomoses. On the northern edge of this chamber, at ceiling level, there i s an opening about 2 feet in diameter. Entry into this opening i s dangerous, because o f the fractured and poorly consolidated rock adjacent to it. I t leads to the floor level of a brood dry corridor, 40 feet long and 8 feet high, with a This chimney, which is the part of the cave farthest from the entrance, serves as a terminal chimney.

seasonal ingress of water.

A feature o f interest in this passage i s a rodent nest of mbss and other organic

92

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

material, which i s the locus o f springtails (collembola), beetles (Quedius s e s ) , Polydesmidae), and other inverte'brates.

millipedes (fom.

The main passages o f Fish Hatchery Cave are developed along the strike of the pyroclastic rocks and lavas o f the Eagle Creek Formation, and serve as dendritic stream courses perhaps abandoned.

- perennial,

seasonal, and

Breakdown and bedding variations have influenced part of the pattern o f the cave,

but its overall form resembles that o f certain types of limestone solution caverns. I f this cove was initiated by headward sapping by a spring located between two resistant beds, and modified, without significant solution, by the factors mentioned above, the pattern and occurrence of the cave i s merely curious. ion o f these pyroclastic rocks was significant in the cave's speleogenesis, the situation i s very

I, although a somewhat similar occurrence has been noted in tuff in California (Halliday, 1960b),
development of karst through solution o f diorite, which also i s a poorly soluble rock (Legrand, 1952). GULER ICE CAVE (See Ice Cave.) ICE CAVE (58) (Campground Ice Cave, Guler Ice Cove,

Mount Adorns Ice Cave, Trout Lake Ice Cave) Sec. 35, T. 6 N., R. 9 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation 2,820 feet.

This well-known cave (fig. 75) has 4 sections, separated by 3 collapse sinks in addition to the main entrance of the cave, which i s another collapse sink about 15 feet in diameter and 14 feet deep. This entrance i s within Ice Cave Forest Campground of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. has been known for almost 100 years (Raymond, River and The Dalles in pioneer years (Raymond, 1869; Condon, 1896). The Forest Service has constructed a ladder leading to a nLv6 cone beneath the main entrance o f this lava tube glaciere. Most visitors are aware only of the 120-foot glaciere section that slopes southeastward from the ladder, but some penetrate the more constricted, sinuous 200-foot passage leading west to another collapse sink. are generally overlooked. feet long. the tube. The next section, to the east, i s about 100 feet long and 15 feet wide. floor. Between the sink at the lower end o f this section and thot at the upper end of the "main" section, the tube divides into two smaller tubes about 60 feet long and I t i s the only section o f the cave in which one may stroll from one sink to the next, despite the irregular breakdom, on the The other three sections of the tube, sloping downward from the west, Total length o f the cavern passages i s about 650 feet. On the The cave 1869), and sewed as the ice supply for the towns of Hood

The western, uppermost section o f the cave i s a low, rather unremarkable passage about 150 I t i s the widest part o f the cave system (fig. 75), and is floored with smooth lava. north side of the sink at its lower end i s a short, broad, low passage from which another flow entered

5 feet high. The straight southem

SKAMANIA COUNTY

93

branch i s floored with debris and rockfall, but the curved northern branch i s on almost perfect tube. After becoming lower

in interior height, the tubes rejoin beneath the debris-blocked upper, western entrance sink of the "main" section. Near the base o f the ladder, at the east end o f the "main" section, a small opening in lava talus leads to the low, arched, oval Crack Room. Its floor i s a flat lova surface interIn a tapering recess rupted only by small contraction fissures. bridge.

farther up this main section of tube is a fine lava span or notural

As described elsewhere (Halliday, 1954), the l o w r ,

eostern end of this cove acts as o trap, retaining heavy cold air that settles into the cove in winter. There i s no active Much seasonal The circulation of air in this part of the cave.

melting occurs, but on ice floor, a few stalagmites, and large drip masses of ice apparently persist throughout the year. cave i s usually snowed in until at least mid-June o f each year, and refreezing begins in October or November.

ME CAVE (59)
Sec. 17, T. 7 N., R. 5 E., Mount St. Helens quadrangle. Elevation obout 1,900 feet. lnke Cove (fig. 76) i s pimorily a unitory lava tube cavern of moderate length and vertical complexity. St. Helens cave area. I t i s south of Ape Cave in one of the older appearing flows of the Mount Its main tube i s apvoximately 3,775 feet i n slope length, and descends about 225 feet. o f unusual scientific importance. The part of the cave immediately adjacent to the entrance is complex.
Figure 75.- Ice Cave, Skamania County. Survey by Hailiday, McLellan, Sargent, and Tyler; September 1950.

It i s a cave

Fiom the collapse sink entrance, the main Upslope, north of the entrance, The western branch i s terminated The

passage trends roughly from north to south, following the sinuous course typical of unitary tubes. the passage has two branches.

by an intrusive lava seal about 50 feet from the enhance.

east fork i s almost blocked in a similar manner, but in a small space above the flow an agile person can crawl for a t least 50

94

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Figure 7 6 .- L a k e Cave, Skamania County. Survey by William R . Halliday, Washington Speleological Survey, December 1958. Additions by Washington Speleological Survey, June 1959.

SKAMANIA COUNTY feet farther. The f l o w entering through the two passages were not simultoneous. Thot from the west

95

was the more recent, as i t overlies and hos partially remelted the margin of the flow from the east fork. Another short side passoge, the Red Passage, enters the cave from the west iust south of the entrance sink. A t the iunction i t is at right angles to the main passage, but a l i t t l e farther uplope A t the i t turns to the north, paralleling the main passoge for a short distonce before ang ling northwest. seals, making the total penetrable length of this side passage about 100 feet.

upper end o f this side passage, local explorers have succeeded in forcing the first o f two intrusive lava The most interesting feature Some o f this passoge i s the rather smooth, brilliantly brick-red lava flow that emerged from and lines it. flow of this areo. the main tube. Other interesting features of this side passage include a small pit ot the first bend. tube descends about 10 feet, then turnsupword,ascending almost to the passage level. drips through the roof in this area, carrying gravel. Its channel disappears in the main tube. on the ceiling on December 28, 1958. About 100 feet south from the entrance of the cave, the broad but fairly low main passage descends from the entrance level to a lower tube level. entrance passage for some distoncedifficult. This lower tube extends bock north beneath the i t i s almost occluded by a flow of rough lava that makes crawling Its narrow Smoll roots This flow appears to be the most recent in the cave.

o f this coloring i s only a surface c w t i n g over gray-black lava, but much of i t i s inherent in the main The coloring i s identical with thot of the red crystalline autobrecciated lava exposed by lateral breakdown in the downslope parts of

A seosonal stream

emerge from part o f the roof o f the passage, and a reddish mold and on unidentified fungus were observed

A seasonal stream emerges from this low opening, carrying more water and sediments than that
o f the Red Passage. This stream i s visible intermittently as far as The Waterfall, about 2,500 feet from The combined Sand and the entrance, where it ioins the larger seasonal stream thot enters the cave a t that paint.

stream then continues to a sediment- and grovel-impounded lake at the lower end o f the cave. of nearby Ape Cave. sparse below The

gravel deposits occur olong much o f the length o f the cove, but ore not as common as in the lower section keakdown i s widespread i n the upper 2,000 feet of the cave, but is relatively

Waterfall.
About 500 feet from the Its

The updope port of the second level of the cove consists of an impressive passage about 25 feet high and 20 feet wide near the ceiling, although quite narrow ot floor level. entrance, beyond o massive overhang on the east, there i s a descent o f 8 feet to a third tube level.

upslop part is almost blocked by breakdown. In this area, several small chambers hove formed where h e lotera1 crust o f the tube has partly broken away. A t least three layers o f this crust can be distinguished in some places. About 250 feet from the beginning o f this third level, an upper-level tube can be seen over the main possage. third dam. Beyond an areo o f dangerous breakdown are three lava dam; between the first and second, a p i t leads down to a crawlway on the fourth level, but there i s an easier descent on the far side of the

96

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Beyond this descent, red autobreccioted lava is locally exposed by lateral breakdown. transversely to the axis of the passage.

An

interesting feature o f this section is a miniature flow containing a tube about 8 inches in diamter, aligned There are many small lava springs along the lower wall of this part of the cave, and ribbon stalactites occur behind the crust. multiglobular stalagmites. in the cave. About 2,100 feet from the entrance, a lava dam and a 6-foot lava falls lead down to the fifth tube level. The cave stream i s augmented by dripping water at this paint. Two small cupolas are present. These are vadose About 400 feet beyond the lava falls, a large opening in the east woll o f the cave permits entry o f a seasonal 6-foot waterfall, which emerges from two confluent dendritic stream passages. basalt flow. ways. Tubular stalactites are common, but puddles are present rather than In t h i s area the ceilin g height i s approximately 30 feet - the greatest height

stream passages, which have cut into partially weathered autobrecciated lava thot underlies a compact The undersurface of this flow i s exposed along much o f the 200-foot length o f these crawlHorizontal and vertical tree casts are visible on this undersurface. In the walls o f the vadose The root stump o f a large tree, exposed by the stream chonnel, show a Samples

passages i s considerable charcoal in the shape o f roots of plants thot were growing an the surface at the

tim the basalt flowed over it.

gradation from uncharred wood to very hard, dense charcoal resembling bituminous coal. preliminary studies to be about 2,250*150 and little breakdown has occurred. in the floor.

submitted to Dr. Arthur Fairhall of the University o f Washington for radiocarbon study were found i n years old (Arthur Fairhall, oral communication). Wall ridges are prominent, Beyond The Waterfall, the sinuous passage i s rather regular in outline.

Despite the seasonally sizable stream, no channel has been incised The lake i s about 50 feet long and The end o f the cave

Under ordinary conditions the lake at the end of the cave has a maximum depth o f 4 feet,

but a high-water mark 10 feet higher than the surface i s present.

averages about 9 feet in width, filling the entire width of the tube at t h i s paint:

i s not a siphon, being blocked with stream deposits.

Lake Cave was discovered and first explored in April 1958, by a scouting party o f the St. Helens Apes (see Ape Cave). (Ambystoma I t i s in a densely forested region in which there are many vertical tree casts as The cave contains a considerable biota, including salamanders larvae o f fungus gnats (fam. Fungivoridae), and much as 5 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep. Gryllablatta chirurgico (Gurney, 1961). LAVA C A M (See Ole's Cave and Curly Creek Cave.) LAVA CAVES (See Fal Is Creek Cave.) LEMEl ROAD CAVE ( L e m i Cave) (See Dynamited Cave.)

&and Enrotina escholtzii oregonensis),

SKAMANIA COUNTY LITTLE RED RIVER CAVE (60) Sec. 32, T. 8 N., R. 5 E., Mount St. Helensquadrangle.

97

Elevation of entronce about 2,800 feet. This northernmost of the Mount St. Helens group of lavc-tube caves (pl. 7) was discovered September 15, 1960, by B i l l Reese, Bob Kitch, and Gene McCune, while cave-hunting. shallower, i s larger than that of Lake Cave. Its total slope length i s about 3,865 feet, most of which i s a unitary lava tube, and i t terminates in a lake thot, although The unusual name of this cave i s due to a reddish discoloration on the floor o f the channel o f the rivulet that form the lake. The entrance of the cave is a collapse sink about 10 feet in diameter and 8 feet deep, at the foot of o Douglas fir about 44 inches in diameter. the small sink. below the north wall of the sink. levels and several tubes. A 15-foot snag projects upward from the bottom of The actual opening o f the cave is a triangular space about 3 feet high and 10 feet wide, Beyond i s an irregular, spacious chamber, which i s a junction of three To the north is the orifice of a larger tube, To the northeast, in the most spacious Just below and to the east o f the triangular opening are remnants of a tube

about 4 feet in diameter leading south, including a fine span.

from which flowed a lava that left o red glaze on walls and floor.

part of the chamber, i s a drop o f about 20 feet to another tube level, which i s the main route. feet northeast of the entronce.

It is

reached most conveniently by way of the tube with the red glaze mentioned above, at a point about 190 Almost exactl y beneath the l i p o f the 20-foot dropaff at the lower, southern end of the main passage level i s a short crack about

1 foot wide, through which an overhanging

The transition

descent of 10 feet conducts the explorer downword into a stream-eroded section of short passages and a steeply sloping large breakdown chamber i n what appears to be autobrecciated lava. from the short lava tube complex at the entrance i s dramatic. One feature of interest i s the exposure of vertically lominoted lovo i n the ceiling. A t the lower end of t h i s breakdown area, a lower-level tube i s encountered. For several h~mdred feet i t averages about 15 feet in width and 12 feet in height, following o sinuous course roughly southward. The floor o f its upslope part i s covered with a thin coating of stream deposits, and little breakdown has occurred. floor. Slumping o f its lateral glaze i s apparent about 200 feet from the beginning of t h i s section. Farther along its course, lateral flow grooves are present to a height o f 6, 7, and finally 9 feet above the Two large lava springs open into the passage at prominent shelves, and a short segment of an upper Near the lower end o f this section, the lava floor has been tube opens in the ceiling along its course.

markedly rippled, as if the flow had been partially obstructed by the narrowing of the passage that prece&s the &scent to the lower level beyond. A t the end of this brood, pleasant passage, the character of the cave changes abruptly. The overall &scent i s about 50 feet.

TWO

steep descents, separated by a short horizontal landing, extend downward at an angle of about 45' in a narrow tube. The lower "slide" i s the longer, measuring more than A small upper level complex, 75 feet in length. A number of features o f interest are i n the slide area.

98

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

I
A t its base i s o There are some small lava

largely overlying the main tube but floored with a smooth, glazed flow, i s present. The granulor flow of the floor of the main tube norrows to form a thin central tongue on the upper slide. surprisingly small "clinker pile" of the same material. ropy. Locally, large patches o f this glaze peeled off while still molten. stalactites. The lateral glaze of the main tube i s smooth and

Beyond this descent i s massive breakdown over a length of about 400 feet of brood, spacious, but dangerous passage. Then the general trend of the cave turns from southeast to southwest, and only local breakdown i s present in the cave's final 1,200 feet. This rection i s morked by the presence o f fine deposition01 features, including prominent lateral gutters, local glazed ribbon flow deposits i n the gutters, pronounced loterol glaze that locally has been flaked off by subsequent floor flows, wall grooves to heights of 3 to 5 feet, and a prominent lava tongue near the lower end of the cave. coalescing rivulets. About 100 feet beyond the turn to a southwest trend, small cracks in the east wall o f the passage p m n i t entry of Along their channels, over a course of about 600 feet, these rivulets appear to have The width of this section overages about The height is more variable, and there are deposited the red coloring matter that gave the cave its name. 15 feet, although the cave narrows toward its lower end. occasional duck-unders.

The end of the cave i s occupied by a shallow permanent lake, above which the

ceiling height descends from 10 to 2 feet, then rises to about 8 feet at the downslope end. Little Red River Cove is of especial geologic interest because of its features of flow phenomena. I t i s o f minor biological importance; a few bats (Corynorhinus sp.) and millipedes hove been noted. tube slime i s fairly well developed locally. Lava

MOUNT A D A M ICE CAVE (See Ice Cave, Skamania County.)

MOUNT ST. HELENS CAVE (See Ole's Cave.)
NEW CAVE (61) See. 36, T. 6 N., R. 9 E., Willard quodrangle. Elevation about 2,775 feet.

Thisinteresting lava-tube cave (pl. structing the East Peterson Ridge road. road, about

8) was discovered in 1954 by a logging crew that was con-

The main entrance of the cave (fig. 77) i s a collapre sink about the Trout Lake-Peterson Prairie road.

15 feet wide, 20 feet long, and 8 feet deep. The sink is about 30 feet east of the East Peterson Ridge

4 mile north of its iunction with

If the writer's interpretation of the billowy mounds o f aa lava at the upper end of the tube i s
correct, New Cove is o sinuous, spacious, 6,000-foot unitary lava-tube cavern trending roughly from west to east, partially interrupted by four collapse sinks, and characterized by much breakdown elsewhere, but traversable from initial tumulus to terminal lava seal. However, a few small side passages, chambers, and ledges at a level well above the cavern floor are indications o f complexity in speleogenesis. The slope length of the newly discovered (1961), western section of New Cave i s about 2,140 feet. Much breakdown i s present, and only a little pahoehoe floor i s visible. A considerable variety of

SKAMANIA COUNTY

99

lavas ore exposed in the walls, includin g some red autobrecciated lava. Travel in this section requires clambering over piles of breakdown and over great billowy mounds o f aa lava, which b l o c k the upper end of the cave and has the semblance of a modified tumulus. In many

areas, flow lines and shelves are well developed, and short side passages and level-floored chambers are present in three areas. Six to eight bats were observed flying in its entrance
Figure 77.-Enbance of New Cave, Skamania County.

area on June 18, 1961. A t approximately midpoint of the passage, there i s a steep ascent of 30 feet at a sharp bend i n the passage, but rockfall is so heavy in this area that the reason for this rise i s not clear.

A t the eastern end of this extensive upper section i s a compound lava sink about 100 feet long. An uncollapsed section of tube about 40 feet long separates this sink from another, smaller sink, from which a 175-foot segment of tube extends to a point beneath breakdown in the largest sink in the system, about 150 feet long and 50 feet wide. of the cave. The "main," or lower, part of New Cave consists of a single sinuous tube about 3,850 feet long, leading roughly from east to west, although about 750 feet of i t trends mare nearly from south to north. The western section of this "main" part crosses beneath the road and continues for about 1,100 feet to the large collapse sink just mentioned. breakdown are almost continuous. This part of the cave is very rough, and barriers o f aa lava and of Near its western end, a relatively undisturbed section o f tube has an The basalt bedrock reveoled Along the walls and In contrast to A t the east end of this sink i s the upper end o f the "main" section

arched roof, and on each shoulder of the passage are very brwd, flat ledges.

by breakdown along much of this passage

i s unusually nonvesicular and uniform.

ceiling of t h i ~ passage are extensive deposih of lava tube slime. The eastern part of the "main" rection of N e w Cave is about 2,725 feet long. the western part, i t i s almost free from breakdown, and its varying cross section and its speleogens are of considerable p t e n t i a l importance in speleagenetic studies. Although i t i s basically a unitary tube with a gentle slope throughout, rudimentary sections o f an upper level are present in several areas. of upper passage, and one or two small chambers above the main tube. The floor o f most of this part o f the cave consish of p a h w h w lava with a sli g htly clinkery surface, which i s gently rippled in some areas (fig. 78). Longitudinal ceiling grooves are locally prominent. These vary from small ledges to ceiling channels, figure-8 passage cross rections, natural bridges, short lengths

100

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Contraction fissures, lateral ridges, and small cupolas are present. are tubulor lava stalactites. In several areas One 5-inch

lava stalagmite has been observed, and there i s a single 3-inch tubular travertine stalactite, with o thin film o f the same material deposited beneath it. The cave ends at a lava seal in a narrowing crawlway. New Cave is o f some biological importance. Bats have been observed Unidentified moths,
Figure 78.- Crawlway floored with granular lava, New Cave, Skamania County.

flying in the cave.

fly larvae, and cocoons have been found near its eastern end. The main entrance suppork an extensive growth of mosses. I t

is probable that the cave is undergoing or w i l l undergo ecological changes due to the presence o f the
nearby road in whot previously was densely forested country. NIELSEN'S C A M (62) Sec. 8 , T. 5 N.,

R.

9 E.,

Willard quadrangle. Elevation about 3,200 feet.

As now known, this cave consists of Iova talus at the end of a shallow branch lava trench that
i s a tributary of the southern end o f the Big Cave trench. Its small entrance was discovered

by Carl

Nielsen while scouting neor Big Cave, ond was forced by the Survey in November 1959. not been possible to reach an identifiable segment o f lava tube beyond the talus. The cave supports an extensive biota, and is recorded for that reason. NIELSEN'S BIG CAVE (See Big Cave.)

However, i t has

Crawlways through

the talus can be followed i n several directions for about 50 feet, and there are several small chambers.

OLE'S CAVE (63) (Mount St. He tens Cave, Lava Cave) Secs. 19 and 20, T. 7 N., R. 5 E., Mount St. Helens quadrangle. Elevation of main entrance about 1,350 feet.
Ole's Cove (pl. 9) i s the second longest cave i n the Mount St. Helens group, with a s l o p length o f about 5,800 feet o f mapped passages, and a 5,400-foot main passage. With the exception o f the b i f i d 400 feet immediately south o f the lowest, or main, entrance (fig. 79) and of a k w short lava springs and segments of additional upper levels, the cave has the form o f a unitary, locally sinuous lava tube. A t first, the cave trends south from ik upper end, only a few miles from the lower slopes o f Mount

St. Helens, but its passage graduall y trends more and more towcrrd the west. As in most known lava tubes
o f the Northwest, the slope is gentle, with a perceptible grade only i n one short segment about 500 k e t

SKAMANIA COUNTY

101

south of the second entrance. the reg ion of the cave.

The overall

slope o f the flow i s about 300 feet per mile in

The interior of the cave varies considerably in size and cross section. Below

the lowest, or main, entrance, i t tends to be broader than onywhere else in the cave except perhaps below the northernmost entrance, near the pillar. Much o f the cave i s about 10 feet high and 15 feet wide, but there are long sections that are high and narrow, and near
Figure 79.- Main entrance of Ole's Cave, near Mount St. Helens. Note the bulge over Ule course of the tube. Photo copyright 1 9 5 9 ; used courtesy of Harper and Bror.

the second entrance the passage i s only about 3 feet in diameter. This cave i s in what may be the
most recent pohoehoe lava flow i n the conti-

nental United States, perhaps originating concomitantl y with the 1842 or 1854 eruptions o f Mount St. Helens (Vcrhoogen, 1937). Despite the heavy rainfall o f this area, casts of delicate tree parts are visible in tree molds on the surface of the flaw, and the trees growing on the surface of the flow are strikingly younger than those bordering it. Rockfall is prominent i n many sections of the cave, and has caused the formation o f five entrances. The rockfall appears to be segmental In rather than general, however, and the floor o f much o f the cave has the appearance o f fresh lava. many places, fragments fallen from the ceiling into still-molten lava have left congealed splash rings in the floor. Some o f these rings are several feet The cave was discovered i n 1895 by O l e Peterson (fig. 80), who o w e d a farm near the Lewis River below the cave (Forsyth, 1910). Far several
Figure 80.-Ole Peterson, discoverer and poplietor of Ole's Cave, Washingtonorfirst cmmercial cave. Photo by Harry Reese.

i n diameter.

years, Peterson conducted parties through the cave, w Ole's Cave (Mount St. Helens Cave) was Washington's first commercial cave.

102

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Ole's Cave i s o f biologic interest. The Oregon salamander, Ensatina escholhii oregonensis,

has

been found in the cave beneath the second entrance. tropic response consisting o f vertical,

Ferns growing in the upper entrances show a photo-

rather than horizontal leaf alignment. About 50 feet from the end o f the cave, a large The section northwest of this opening i s of especial This appears to A fine pillar

The cave i s divided into five sectionsby collapse sinks that serve as entrances. The northwesternmost section i s the shortest-about 200 feet in length. collapse sink opens into the north wall of this passage.

interest, because its floor shorn a slope that i s the reverse of that elsewhere in the cave. be due to subsidence of lava into a vent. entrances. Glazing of the walls i s very marked in this area.

about 10 feet in diameter divides the passage at a point obout midway between the t w northernmost

As the usual approach to the cave i s from the south, the entrances are numbered i n reverseorder
to the slope. The area uplope from the fourth entrance has been described. A short upper level at

this

entronce partly masks the main passage below, which must be entered through a small hale in breakdown. Aside from the plant growth mentioned above, the short section of cave between the fourth and third entrances i s not remarkable. There i s a distance o f about 1,500 feet between the third and second entrances. Neither is a safe or practicol point o f entry into the cave, and the second entrance i s little more than a skylight. In this section, the cave i s locally mare sinuous than in the upper sections. The lava floor i s largely a granularly surfaced p a h w h w with well-marked flow ripples and splash rings. present floor o f the cave. About 200 feet north o f the second entrance, a short length o f secondary lova tube i s formed in the pahoehoe flow that i s the Just north of this entrance i s the only part of the cave where crawling is necessary in the main passage. The section downslope and southwest o f the second entrance i s the longest unbroken length of tube in the cave, measuring about 3,700 feet in length. of
I t s upper end i s particularly interesting,

includin g another length of tube-in-tube, the cave's finest flaw ledges and contraction fissures, and one

its best lova springs. There are several short lengths of upper level, which are not a l l aligned parallel
One of them is domed, and contains several tiny white calcareous tubular stalactites

to the main passage.

as well as two similar red speleothems of an unidentified nature. Several o f the moderately developed cupolas o f the cave are found in this section, as i s the unique and unexplained speleogen projecting from the'bedrock and resembling, i n profile, the face of George Washington (fig. 83). o f this section, rockfall i s heavier than elsewhere in the cave. about 400 feet farther sauthwest in the cave. The lowest section of the cave i s about Near the lower end In the rockfall along

the nwthwest side

o f the tube, near the main entrance, i s the enhance of the parallel passage that rejoins the main pasage

800 feet

long.

I t contains many small spatter deposits

(fig. 84) and same drip stalactites as much as 6 inches in length.

A few have the form of pipestem lava

stalactites with segmental flattenings, giving the stalactite the shape o f a sequence of pipe stems.

F i g u r e 81.- Typical lava tube (Ole's Cave) without breakdown. Note l a t w a i grmvingr on lower portion of walls, the granular floor, and the slumped bubble area on wall. Photo copyright 1959; used courtesy of Harper and Bror.

Figure 83.- George Washington's Face - a curious feature of Ole's Cave. Photo copyright 1959; used courtesy of Haroer and Bros.

different sizes.

104

CAVES OF WASHINGTON About 400 feet southwest o f the main entrance is the junction of the main passage with the

parallel passage that enters from the northwest. It i s smaller than the main passage, but contains one chamber into which a lava spring entered from above and southeast. The cave ends at a cupola, beyond which a 30-foot crawlway can be entered through a small hole that has been opened by blasting, apparently because someone felt a strong breeze entering a small crevice. The crawlway beyond the cupola is i n dangerously unstable rack. The only feature in it of interest i s an old flow mark that slants upward a few feet beyond the cupola. Ole's Cave has features o f particular interest to persons interested in the unexplained details of lava-tube speleagenesis. In few other caves can a tube be traced from an upper vent to a terminal cuwla, There are many other openings i n the surface of the flows near Ole's Cave. Although none o f the openings has been found to lead to a tube mare than a few feet long, other tubes may be found here in the future. PANTHER CREEK CAVE (See Falls Creek Cave.) PETERSON PRAIRIE C A M SYSTEM Sec. 27, T. 6 N . , R. 9 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation &out 3,000 feet.

This extensive but largely collaped lava tube system (fig. 85) i s betveen Petenon Rairie and
Dry Creek. S l o p length o f the main route is 3,915 feet, but re-entranh and confluent and efflflvent With the exception o f a canBreakdown passages and trenches bring the s l o ~ e length to a total of 6,900 to 7,000 feet, and i t i s probable that considerable additional lengths of the tube system have not been traced. complex segments s t i l l persist. fluent passage 1,336 feet long, no sizable cavernous section remains, although a number o f short, locally "Skylights" o f collapse origin are pesent i n several places. i s massive in most areas, and the original tube floor i s rarely seen. W e r e visible, i t is usually a rather

smooth but granular pahoehoe. Glaze i s prominent where not obscured by breakdown, and i n a few areas, complex dripstone agglomeratiom occur, as well as small lava stalactites and stalagmites o f more typical form. Multilevel development has taken place in a t least two short sections. One cavernous p r t contained ice deposits in August 1962. A rather extensive biota i s sheltered i n the cave. tropism. The complexity o f t h i s system and its possible relationship to schollendom i n two areas m k e s i t o f especial interest despite the degree of collapse. of the lower end of the system as presently known. An additional shallow sink i s about 500 feet southeast bcally, small plants display a marked photo-

PETERSON RIDGE ROAD CAVE

Sec. 35, T. 6 N., R. 9 E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation about 2,900 feet.

This small segment of lava tube (fig. 86) was discovered i n August 1962 by a Washington Speleological Survey party.

Ik slope length along traverse lines i s 241 feet; the entrance sink i s only 194

SKAMANIA COUNTY

105

Figure 85.-Peterson Prairie Cave System, Skamania County. Compass and tape survey (uncorrected) by Cascade Grotto, Nallonal Speleological Society, &gust 18, 1962.

106

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

beakdown

End of m v e ENTRANCE

100
Blowing hole
Figure 86.- Petwson Ridse Road Cave, Skamania County.

0
w

1qa

200

Feet

Compass and tape survey by Cascade Grotto, National Speleological Society, August 19, 1962.

feet from an impenetrable sink alongside Peterson Ridge road thot corresponds to the farthest penetrable part of the cave. glaze i s pfesent. Much breakdown and inwash lie in most of the cave, but a rippled floor o f granular The cave tends to be wide but low, and much crawling i s required. Some insects inhabit the cave. Another sink i s 88 Considerable Terraced mud "flowstone" occurs locally. lava i s visible locally.

The entrance sink i s 24 feet long and has the cave entrance ot its east end.

feet farther west, with a crowlway leading about 30 feet eastward. At the west end o f still another sink,

110 feet farther southwest, is an impenetrable opening that wos emitting large quantities of cold air on
August 19, 1962. Possibly addition01 study may show that this small system i s port of the Peterson Prairie Cave System or of New Cave, or even a connection between the two systems. the Peterson Prairie system. SLIME CAVE (64) SW. cor. sec. 3, Preliminary data suggest that i t i s only about 500 feet from the upper end of New Cave, and about 3,000 feet from the lower end of

T. 6 N., R.

9 E.,

Steamboat Mountain quadrangle.

Elevation about 3,600 feet. Slime Cave (fig. 87) i s a unitary lava-tube cavern about 775 feet long, with a slightly sinuous course trending almost exactly from south to north.

Its entrance is in a collapre sink about 100 yards east

the upper part of

of the main Forest Service road leading north from Peterson Prairie Guard Station, at a point about half a mile south of Smoky Creek Campground. An abandoned side road closely cave and runs alongside the entrance sink.

he

S K A h 4 A N IA COUNTY

107

Survey, 1960.

108

CAVES OF WASHINGTON Also alongside this rood, between Slime Cave and the highwoy, i s another collopse sink, which

i s connected to the entrance sink by a short length o f lava tube.

This small cove i s 3 to 6 feet high, This small cave A

25 feet wide, and 54 feet long as measured to a point where breakdown occludes most o f the passage. A
crawlway about 10 feet long continues to the south end of the Slime Cave entrance sink. trends N. 40' W. from its entrance. plentiful biota was noted August 8, 1959. Slime Cave i s named for an unidentified algoelike material that i s present on the ceiling and walls i n many of the moist parts o f the cove. Thinner deposits o f similar material have been found i n many lava tubes o f the Northwest, but in Slime Cave i t reaches a thickness o f more than 1 cm. Other features o f the cave include small amounts o f white calcareow dripstone and flowstone, together with local patches o f red and black flowstone. Terraced flowstone or flowstone-coated melt There isasmall Biota i s scanty except i n the twilight The cave has little total darkness and i s rather warm and dry.

cups (fig. 88)are present i n a fewareas. amount o f reddish lava.

zone, which contains a considerable amount o f rodent debris. The entrance o f the cave i s about 25 feet wide and 6 feet high. Flow marks ore prominent i n the first part o f the cave, A t a point 66 feet from the enhance, which gradually increases in height and narrows somewhat as it slopes gently northward. the cave descends 6 feet rather abruptly to a second flow level (fig. 89), a t an offret to the east.
Figure 88.-Unexplained lava wall gourr or melt cups, Slime Cave, Skamania County.

Below this lavafall, da y li g ht i s no longer visible, and the cave i s cooler, moister, and wider. I t maintains a width of

15 to 25 feet for about 400 feet. Breakdown i s present, and the

cave i s low, wet, and somewhat muddy beyond it. the ceiling. A t a paint about 400 feet from the entrance o f the cave, a second steep descent, about 10 feet i n height, leads to a third flow level. old termination of a tube. flow level. However, the ceiling does not follow the same slope as the floor. In fact, the general apparance is that o f a hole punched downward diagonally from the lower part of the A small grotto i s present, recessed behind (north of) the opening to the lower A flow line i n this grotto is at the same level as that in the main portion of the cave. A lava tongue occupies In several areas, long rootlets hang from cracks i n

Below the rqcond lavafall the passageway i s lofty and contains particularly well developed flow patterns. Lateral grooves are evident as high as 6 feet above the present floor. the center o f the passage but does not extend quite to the walls. A short distance onward, the center of The ceiling glaze

the flow consists o f beautifully roped pahwhw, and the flow i s bounded with aa.

SKAMANIA COUNTY

109

Figure 89.- Second level, Slime Cave. Photo by Ed Wyman.

is prominent, and there are same small tubular stalactites.

while s t i l l molten.

Locally, the glaze peeled off in small patches

About 100 feet from the northern end of the cave, large semirectangular ceiling pockets are present. A thin clay layer obscures some floor details. Beyond this point the smooth, ropy pahoehoe flow i s jumbled, and at a p i n t 30 feet from the end o f the cave, a darker aa flow billows dorm from the end o f the cave to the pahoehoe jumble. Whether this mass of aa was intruded from the north through a separate vent or w s forced southward along the tube into its present position by a later flow of pahoehoe

i s not clear.

A t first glimpse, the former appears to

be the case.
The sharpl)

Slime Cave presents no unusual problem of spleoeenesis except for the aa lava at the north end. I t i s a unitary lava-tube cave with three flow levels and with relatively minor subsequent flow. demarcated flow levelsmay represent descents o f the tube-forming flow over the lover ends of earlier flow units,

or o f invasion of underlying tubes.

110

CAVES OF WASHINGTON SPEAR POINT CAVE Sec. 33,

T. 6 N., R. 9E., Willard quadrangle. Elevation about 3,200 feet.

This small, somewhat complex lava-tube cavern (fig. 90) i s the only lava-tube cave in Washingtar in which Indian artifacts are known to have been found. A flint spear point wos found half embedded in mud during the mapping o f the lower section of this cave in August 1962. The cave consists o f 568 feet of low crawlways on granular lava, breakdown, or inwash, although locally the cave contains areas with
widths as much as 40 feet. The upslope section i s 145 feet long, with one 35-foot confluent; the downslope section i s 353 feet long, with one 35-foot effluent passage. Flow ridges are well developd i n the

section upslope from the entrance; floor ripples, i n the downslope section. Lava tube slime i s present in moderate quantities, and indications o f a moderate biota were observed.

Figure 90.- Spear Point Cave, Skamania County. Compass and tape survey by Cascade Grotto, National Speleological Society. August 19. 1962.

TROUT

LAKE

ICE CAVE (See Ice Cave, Skamania County.) OTHER CAVES

Homer Spencer (oral communication) reports that old-timers spoke o f a large glaciere south or southwest o f Steamboat Mountain. west o f Peterson Rairie. I t apparently i s not known today. There are said to be at least two lava-tube caves i n the northwestern corner of sec. 16, T. 6

N., R. 9 E . , and in the forested area soutfi-

A large compound sink, show on some Forest Service maps, was found in the

latter area by the Survey, but none of these reported caves could be located.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY SNOHOMISH COUNTY Although there are a number of limestone outcrops in Snohomish County that possess karstic characteristics, no limestone cave has been confirmed there.

111

A small cave i s m i d to have been encounA photograph illus-

tered i n qwrrying a limestone lens near Arlington, but i t was soon qwrried away. limestone quarry east o f Granite Falls.

trating a University o f Washington thesis (Norum, 1910) shows the apporent entrance of a cave in anothe~ When the quarry was found, two small grottos there were found to have phreatic characteristics, but neither was large enough to qualify as a cavern (Gibson, 1953). Also, there i s rumored to be a cave in one of the small limestone pods along the west side of Proctor Creek southeast of Gold Bar, but none was found in the field study for this report. have been one of the mines in that area. The origin o f the report may There are also some smoll karstic features in a creek bed on

the hillside high above Wallace River, and on the ridge crest east o f Crystal Creek northeast o f Walloce

C ~ l l (W. s R. Danner, oral communication).

BEAR CAVE Sec. 13, T. 28 N., R. 9 E., Index quadrangle. It is of

Bear Cave i s a rockshelter in quartz diorite, extending into the c l i f f about 30 feet.

some geologic interest, and may have been enlarged by prospectors (Carithers and Guard, 1945).

BIG FOUR ICE CAVE

Although this name apparently i s also applied locolly to a mine containing ice, i n the same general area, Big Four Ice Cave i s a large glacier cave or snow cave southeast of the site of the former Big Four Inn between Silverton and M o n k Cristo. Its entrance is visible from the Barlow Pass r w d . ICY WIND CAVE I t i s said locally that formerly a sign on the road to the Boy Scout Camp near Silverton indicated the entrance of a cave by this name. Field work and local inquiry in 1951 strongly suggested that the cave,

i f one existed, was filled during logging operations. This i s not a limestone area.
SPOKANE COUNTY N o limestone or phoehoe lava i s h o r n , within Spokane County, and only a few rockhelters and talus caves have been reported.

112

CAVES OF WASHINGTON ICE CAVE (Spokane Ice Cave) Sec. 12, T. 26 N., R. 42 E., Deer Park quadrangle. Elevation about 1,900 feet.

This small rockshelter i s only about 8 feet long but i s of some note because of the artifacts found in i t (Bischoff, 1942). The Washington Division of Mines and Geology (written communication, 1959) reports that the name i s due to confusion with a nearby shaft in cold-trapping talus. SPOKANE ICE CAVE (See Ice Cave.) OTHER

CAVES

There was a small rockshelter in granite an the south side of Minnehoha H i l l in Spokane until blasted shut by local authorities (Washington Division of Mines and Geology, written communication, 1962). Also, there i s said to be a cave of undetermined type about a mile west o f Dartford. I t was not found during field work for this report. STEVENS C O U N T Y Extensive but scattered deposits o f limestone, marble, and dolomite occur in Stevens County, but no caves have been reported there, with the exception of a block-creep cavern in basalt at the top of a c l i f f in sec. 12, T. 28 N., R. 39 E., nication, 1959). (Washington Division o f Mines and Geology, written commuon the On the saddle o f Rabbit Mountain, shown i n sec. 23, T. 37 N., R. 40 E.,

Aladdin quadrangle map, there are said to be several sinks, one being about 30 feet deep. THURSTON COUNTY

N o caves have been reported in Thurston County. WAHKIAKUM COUNTY N o caves have been reported in Wahkiakum County. WALLA WALLA COUNTY

No true
about

caves are known in Walla Walla County.

Ash Cave i s a large rockshelter in basalt,

17 miles north o f Eureka (Butler, 1958).

WHATCOM COUNTY WHATCOM COUNTY

113

Karst topography i s a feature of several limestone deposits in Whatcom County, and some s m l l caverns have been found in the Red Mountain deposits. Collapse sinks and p n o r s also occur in two limestone outcrops on the north side of Black Mountain, northeast of Mople Falls. Sumas. Other types of caves are also present in Whatcom County, including sandstone rockshelters r e p r t e d near North Pass, southeast o f

BIG SINKHOLE GROTTO

Sec. 14, T. 40 N., R.

5 E., Van Zandt quadrangle. Elevation about 1,900 feet.

From the hillside, the grotto has the appearance of an overhung A t the bottom i s an impenetrable Aside

This impressive karstic feature i s some 50 to 100 yards east of the 1960 rim road o f the Permanente quarry, fairly close to its south end.

collapse sink about 40 feet in diameter and 70 feet deep at the uphill side and 50 feet deep at the southern, downhill side. I t i s half filled (largely on the uphill side) by debris. p n o r in an impure limestone of Early Pennsylvanian age (W. R. Danner, oral communication). Looking outward from this point, the viewer obtains a thoroughly cavernous impression. from a single small chimney, significant speleothems and speleogens are absent. LARRABEE STATE PARK CAVE On the north shore of the small cove immediately north of the main beach at Larrabee State Park
i s a tunnel about 25 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet high.

As the tunnel i s aligned along a small vein

of verticall y bedded coal, i t i s unclear whether this opening i s an abandoned excavation or a littoral cavern. This may or may not be the rum-runners' cave rumored in this vicinity. SINKHOLE CAVE (65) Sec. 14, T. 40 N., R. 5 E., Van Zandt quadrangle. Elevation about 1,900 feet.

This small cave (fig. 91) i s about 200 yards south-southeast of the parking area at the p i n t where the quarry rim road o f the Permanente Red Mountain limestone quarry reaches the level of the rim. (1960) logging road. vertical openings. The cave entrance i s at the south end of an irregularly shaped sink between the quarry rim road and a recent Also at the southern end of this sink are reveral other, impenetrable horizontal and In July 1960, The cave entrance i s several k e t above the low point o f the sink.

after a rainless month, a small rivulet from a pond in the northeastern part o f the sink was observed entering rubble a few feet below and northeast of the cave entrance. There i s evidence that at high water a small rivulet flaws into the entrance of the cave and runs most of its length before vanishing into a small ponor. However, flood debris at ceiling level indicates that the cave occasionally floods completely

114

CAVES OF WASHINGTON The low entrance to the cave i s about 3 feet high and 8 feet wide. Immediately inside i s a low antechamber with irregular enlargements along dip joint planes. The distance

to the rear wall i s 17 feet. To the northwest, a narrow passage averaging 7 feet in height and a dip joint.

14 to 2 feet

in width extends 37 feet along A small amount of flowstone and some small, muddyappearing draperies are present. Also, there are coralloids near the entrance. Eleven feet from the end o f the cove, an impenetrable p n o r on the southwest

10

10 Feet
Survey by Wm. R . Halliday and Fleming

side of the passage"swallows" the cave stream, the course of which i s evident in the alluvium on the cave floor.

Figure 91.-Sinkhole Cave, Whatcom County.

Sinkhole Cave i s in typical cutover Northwest lowland hillside forest.

I t appears to be the only

penetrable part of a largely filled n e t w r k o f small phreatic passages of considerable extent, which probably developed in relation to the erosion surface o f which the gentle slopes o f the mountaintop are a remnant. Besides the other openings in the same sink, there are at least t w other sinkholes between t h i s cave and Big Sinkhole Grotto, and another iust east o f the parking area mentioned above. Quarry employees report that a small cave about 20 feet long was recently encountered, then destroyed during quarry operations.

As the quarry is extended eastward, additional caves may well be encountered.

SUMAS MOUNTAIN C A M (66) Sec. 21,

T.

40 N., R.

5 E., Van Zondt quadrangle. Elevation about 1,500 feet.

This complex little cuve (fig. 92) has about 250 feet o f narrow passages and small chambers. and

i s the only known sizable limestone cave o f western Washington outside of the Snoqualmie Passgroup.
Its low entrance i s at the base of a low limestone face that forms the west wall o f a shallow sink, which

i s on a small flat section of the steep eastern slope o f Sumas Mountain.

About 100 yards southeast of the

WHATCOM

COUNN

115

cave i s a large sink about 60 feet long and 25 feet wide, and the presence of numerous small sinks in the deeply mantled and densely vegetated slopes and flats of this part of the mountain indicates the existence of more extensive local karst development. The bedrock i s limestone o f varying purity and interbedding. The dip and strike vary considerably However, several highly fossiliferous horizons are expsed in the cave, in which Late Devonian plagioporan corals (W. R. Danner, oral communication) have been found. within the cave, but the dip averages about 4.5' SW. Sumas Mountain Cave shows phreatic development along dip and strike joints, oblique joints, and bedding planes.
7-,e bedding has greatly influenced the speleagenesis of the western part o f the cave,

where the limestone i s more markedly interbedded and less pure.

Although some small stream channels In two locations

have been incised atop fills, little or no vadose modificationof the bedrock is apparent. certainty as water-table horizons.

t h u e are small flat areas on the ceiling, but they are not well enough defined to be classified with In the narrow entrance passage are some indistinct transversely elongated flutings that might indicate solution by turbulent water. The rest of the speleogens of the cove, which include many rounded ioint pockets, natural bridges, spans, and the like, appear to be typical of quiet phreatic solution. Some spongework i s present, particularly i n the fossiliferous horizons. A l - . though the vertical extent o f the cave is less than 20 feet, the multilevel development of the small passages and the massive fills of the cave suggest that the cove extends to greater depth as a small three-dimensional network o f deep phreatic origin, rather than one developed i n the shallow phreatic zone. Because of the complexity o f the cave, its pattern i s better described by the accompanying map than by text. desirable. Detailed study o f bedrock features exposed in the cave i s The fauna o f the cave is Mosquitolike insects and maderakly large.

harvestmen were noted in total darkness i n the survey for t h i s report, and rodent (cony ?) droppings were present. A large white slug was collected in total darkness, and i n the dim twilight zone of the entrance passoge, spiders and t w large white slugs with irregular large black spots were noted.
20
10

20 ~e.1

Figure 92.- Sumas Mountain Cave, Whatcorn County. Survey by Washington Speleolosical Survey. October 1 9 6 0 .

116

CAVES OF WASHINGTON OTHER CAVES

There i s rumored to be a large cave entrance near the mouth of Sulfide Creek, in the cliffs east o f the Baker River about 3 miles north o f the Baker Lake Bridge. Although there i s a little limestone in this general area, only rock overhangs were observed by the Survey. WHITMAN COUNTY The only caves reported i n Whitmon County are small rockshelters near Ewan, in the cliffs north and west o f Rock Lake (United States

W. P. A. Federal Writers' Proiect, 1941).

YAKIMA COUNTY

The northeastern part of the Mount Adams lava tube area extends into Yakimo County, and there are local r e p r t s of one or two small lava tubes south of Bird Creek near Smith Butte. has not been confirmed. BOULDER CAVE (See Boulder Creek Cave.) BOULDER CREEK CAVE (67) (Boulder Cave) Sec. 21, T. 17 N., R. 14 E., Mount A i x quadrangle. Elevation about Their existence

2,800

feet. The

This impressive 400-foot cavern was cut by Boulder Creek after a slide dammed i t s canyon. imposing upper entrance i s almost 200 feet wide and about 50 feet high. opening between the compacted slide and the canyon wall. actually a huge closed stream meander niche. of the entrance. The cave follows a curved p t h , and i s

The lower entrance i s a narrow

Much of i t s length i s in total darkness despite the immensity

I t has been known since 1901 (Anonymous, 1901), and i s much visited by campers at the

nearby Forest Campground across and a short distance up the Naches River from Cliffdell. CRYSTAL CAVES

It is locally said that there are rockshelters near Priest Rapids on the Columbia River that have
been given this name. I N D I A N OCHER There i s said to ocher.

C A M

be a small rockshelter near Satus Creek from which local Indians formerly obtained

I t s existence has not been verified.

OTHER C A M S

A legendary Dead Man's Cave (Lynch, 1961) i s locally believed by some to be an Hell Roaring
Ridge on the lower slopes of Mount Adams (Anonymous, 1961).

REFERENCES

CITED

Anonymous, 1901, Big Cave in the Cascades: Spokane Spokesman-Review, p. 1, col. 7, Aug. 3, 1901. 1909a, Lost Cave [photograph] : Spokane Spokesman-Review, sec. 3, p. 1 , col. 5, June 27, 1909. 1909b, Store produce in caves: Shkane Spokesman-Review, p. 5, col. 2, Oct. 28, 1909. 191&, N o t a whiff o f nature faking in wonder cave near Spokane: Spokane Doily Chronicle, p. 5, col. 3, Aug. 14, 1918. 1918b, Wonder cave sets research men wondering how i t was all done: Spokane Doily Chronicle, p. 2, col. 4, Aug. 16, 1918. 1941, Where could i t hove gone?: Wenatchee Doily World, p. 6, col. 4-5, Nov. 17, 1941. 1957, Labyrinth o f stone draws young cavemen: Omak Chronicle, p. 1, col. 2, Sept. 5, 1957. 1958, Blast ruins cave entry: Portland Oregonian, [title, contents, and paging vary with edition], Dec. 11, 1958. 1960, The unmarked shore: Sunset, v. 125, no. 2 , p. 52. 1961, Speleologists explore cave at scout camp: Mt. Adam Sun (Bingen), p. 3, col. 6, July 27, 1961. Barr, T. C., Jr., 1961, Coves of Tennessee: Tennessee Div. Geology Bull. 64, 567 p. 1944, Dolomite resources of Washington. Part 1 , Preliminary report on Okanogan,

Bennett, W. A. G.,

Lincoln, and Stevens Counties: Woshington Div. Geology Rept. Inv. 13, pt. 1 , 35 p. Bischoff, Erwin, 1942, Newsletter no. 1 of the Committee on Exploration and Locations: Natl. Speleol. Soc. Bull. 4, p. 37. Bretz, J Harlen, 1956, Caves o f Missouri: Missouri Div. Geol. Survey and Water Resources [Rept.], v. 39, 2d ser., Butler, B. R., 490 p. 1958, Ash Cave, a preliminary report: Washington Archeologist, v. 2, no. 12, p. 3.

Carithers, Ward, and Guard, A. K., 1945, Geology and ore deposits o f the Sultan Basin, Snohorniih County, Woshington: Washington Div. Mines and Geology Bull. 36, p. 78.

118

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Chappell, W. M., Durham, J. W., and Savage, D. E., 1951, Mold o f o rhinoceros in basalt, lover Grand Coulee, Washington: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 62, no. 8, p. 907-918. Condon, Thorns, 1896, Ice caves o f Mount Adorns: Mazamo, v. 1 , no. 1 , p. 102. Davies, W. E., 1952, The caves of Maryland: Maryland Dept. Geology, Mines, and Water Resources 1953, Geology o f Pennsylvania caves: Natl. Speleol. Soc. Bull. 15, p. 3-9. 1955, Caves and related features o f Michigan: Natl. Speleol. Soc. Bull. 17, p. 23-31. 1958, Caverns of West Virginia: West Virginia Geol. and Econ. Survey Rept., v. 19(A), 330 p. Dingee, R. L., 1930, Historical sketches o f Pend Oreille County, Washington: [reprint from] Newport Miner, p. 6-8. Douglas, J. S., Doward, J. S., 1958. Folsom, Franklin, 1956, Exploring American caves-their history, geology, lore, and location - a spelunker's guide. New York, Crown Publishers, 280 p. Forsyth, C. E., 1910, Mount St. Helens Cave: Mountaineer Annual, v. 3, p. 58. 1957, Coves o f mystery. New York, Dodd, Mead, p. 11. 1958, The beoch at Elephant Rock: Seattle Times Pictorial Sec., p. 44-45, Sept. 14,

Bull. 7, 75 p.

Foster, R. J., 1960, Tertiary geology of o portion of the central Cascade Mountains, Washington: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 71, no. 2, p. 99-125. Gallagher, Patrick, 1959, South Cave; a site in the lover Grand Coulee of central Washington: Washington Archeologist, v. 3, no. 5, p. 3. Gibson, Warren, 1953, Thesis Cave: Natl. Speleol. Soc., Cascade Grotto, Cascade Cave Report 6, p. 1 , July 24, 1953. Gurney, A. B., 1961, Further advances in the taxonomy and distribution o f the Grylloblattidae: Biol. Soc. Washington Proceedings, v. 74, p. 67. Hackman, R. S., Halliday, W. R., 1949, Speleology in southeastern Alaska: Natl. Speleol. Soc. bll. 11, p. 11. 1954, Ice caves of the United States: Natl. Speleol. Soc. h11. 16, p. 3. 1955, A proposed classification o f physical features found in caves: Natl. Speleol. Sot. Bull. 17, p. 32-33. 1958, An initial survey o f the caves of the Hawaiian Islands: Natl. Speleol. Soc. Bull. 20, p. 58.

REFERENCES CITED Halliday, W. R., 1959, Adventure i s underground. New York, Horpr and Bros., 206 p. 1960cl, Inside the mountains: Mountaineer Annual, v. 53, no. 4, p. 11.

119

1960b, Pseudokarst in the western United States: Natl. Spleol. Soc. Bull. 22, pt. 2, p. 109. Halliday, W. R., 1962, Caves o f California: Western Speleological Survey, Seattle, 194 p.

Hendersan, Junius, 1932, Caverns, ice caves, sink holes, and natural bridges; Colorado Univ. Studies, v. 19, no. 4, p. 375. Hodge, E. T., Jackson, G. F., 1938, Geology of the lower Columbia River: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 49, no. 6, 1953, Wyandotte Cave. Narberth, Pa., Livingston Pub. Co., 66 p. p. 831.

Jenkins, 0. P., 1924, Lead deposits of Rend Oreille and Stevens Counties, Woshington: Woshington Div. Geology Bull. 31, p. 60. LeGrond, H. E., 1952, Solution depessions in diorite in North Carolina: Am. Jour. Science, v. 250, no. 8, p. 566. Lynch, Frank, 1961, The tale o f the dead man in the cave: Seattle Post-lntelligencer, 2d sec., p. 1 , col. 1, March 29, 1961. McGill, W. H., 1933, Caverns o f Virginia: Virginia Geol. Survey Bull. 35, 187 p. McLellan, P . M., 1953, The Summit Caves of Mount Rainier: Notl. Spleol. Soc. Nem, v. 11, no. 6, p. 1. McLellan, R. D., Matthes, 1927, The geology o f the Son Juan Islands: Washington Univ. [Seattle] Pubs. in 1928, b u n t Rainier and itsglociers. Washington, D.C., U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Geology, v. 2, 185 p.

F. E., 48 p.

Mohr, C. E., Moore, G. W.,

and Sloane, H. N., (editors), 1955, Celebrated American wves. New Bwnswick, N.J.,

Rutgers Univ. Press, 339 p. (editor), 1960, Origin of limestone caves; a symposium with discussion: Natl. S p l o l . Soc. Bull. 22, pt. 1 , 84 p.

Morgan, Neil, 1952, Miscellaneous: Natl. Speleol. Soc., Cascade Grotto, Cascade Cave Report 4, p. 3, Feb. 11, 1952. National Speleological Society, 1948, The caves o f Texas: Notl. Speleol. Soc. Bull. 10, 136 p. Nielsen, Carl, 1958, Nielsen discusses St. Helens eruption, explores new cave: Skomania County Pioneer, p. 4, col. 1, Nov. 14, 1958.

120

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Norum, Birger, 1910, Geology o f the southwestern portion of the Stilaguamish quadrangle, Washingbn. Washington Univ. [Seattle] B. S. thesis. Osborne, Douglos, n.d. a., Owl Cove: Unpublished manuscript.

n.d. b., Pictograph Cave: Unpublished manuscript.

Park, C.

F., Jr., and Cannon, R. S.,

Washington: U.S.

Jr.,

1943, Geology and ore depositr of the Metaline quadrangle,

Geol. Survey Prof. P a p r 202, p. 38.

Perry, Clay [Clair Willard],

1946, New England's buried treasure. New York, Stephen Day Press, 348

1948, Underground empire -wonders and tales of New York caves. New York, Stephen Daye Ress, 221 p.
Potts, M. K.,

1950, Mount Rainier's greatest ice cavern: Pacific Discovery, v. 111, no. 3, p. 5. 1869, The ice caves of Washington Territory: Overland Monthly, v. 3, no. 5 , p. 421. 1952, Geology of the Bead Lake district, Pend Oreille County, Washington:

Raymond, R. W., Schroeder, M. C.,

Washington Div. Mines and Geology Bull.

40, 57 p.

Shedd, Solon, 1913, Cement materials and industry in Washinaton: Washington Geol. Survey Bull. 4, p. 224. Smith, G.

O., and Calkins,

(editor),

F. C.,

1906, Snoquolmie fol.io:

U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Folio 139,

Natl.

14 p.
Spangle, P. F.,

1960, Aguidebook to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Vienna, Va.,

Speleol. Soc., 43 p. Spring, Bob, and Spring, Iro, 1953, Lava cave cures cheese: Seattle Times Pictoriol Sec., June 21, 1953. Steele, R. F., p. 3-4,

1904, An illustrated history o f Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan, and Chelan Counties, Washingk [History of North Woshington] Spokane, Wash., Western Historical Publ. to., 867 p.

Steinburn, Thomas, 1952, Mount Snqualmie Caves: Natl. Speleol. Soc., Cave Report 5, p. 2-3, Dec. 29, 1952. Stone, R. W.,

Cascade Grotto, Cascade

1953a, Commercial caves of f'ennsylvania: Natl. Speleal. Sac. Bull. 15, p. 39-50. 1953b, Descriptions o f knnsylvanio's undeveloped caves: Natl. Spleol. Soc. Bull. 15,

p. 51-137. Swanson, Earl, and Bryan, Alan, 1954, An archeological survey o f caves in Woshington: Am. Antiquity, v. 19, no. 4, p. 387.

REFERENCES CITED United States Work Proiects Administration. Evergreen State. Portland, Oreg.,

121

Federal Writers' Program, 1941, Washington, a guide to the Binfords and Mort, 687 p.

Verhoogen, Jean, 1937, Mount St. Helens, a recent Cascade volcano: California Univ. Dept. Geol. Sciences Bull., v. 24, no. 9, p. 263. Washington, N. W., p. 12. Waters, A. C., and Krauskopf, Konrad, 1941, Protoclastic border o f the Colville Batholith: Geol. Soc. v. 52, no. 9 , p. 1355.

1958, Caves o f the lower Grand Coulee: Washington Archeologist, v. 3, no. 1 ,

America Bull., Wentworth, C. K.,

and Mclcdonald, G. A.,

1953, Structures and forms of basaltic r o c k i n Hawaii:

U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 994, 98 p.

Wylie, W. B.,

1949, Variations in leaf structure among Adiatum Fedaturn growing in a rock cavern: Am. Jour. Botany, v. 36, p. 282.

122

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

GLOSSARY

Ao,

the rough, clinkery type of basalt flow in which lava tubes do not form. formed by a fracture parallel to the face of a c l i f f

Block creep cavern, - a specific type o f fissure cove,

with subsequent "creep" of the smaller fragment away from the main block. Blowout, an opening from a lova tube to the surface, resulting from an explosion o f the gases within the tube during its thermal phase.

Boxwork, a petromorph o f intersecting mineral blades proiecting from the walls or ceiling of a limestone cavern. A voguely similar speleogen has been recorded in a Washington lava tube.

Breakdown, occumulotion of rock, resulting from flaking off from or collapse of the walls or ceiling of
a cave. Breakdown dome, a high, arched chamber or passage section in either o limestone cavern or a lova tube, resulting from partial, usually intermittent, collapse of the ceiling. Cave, a natural subterranean opening large enough to enter, with some part i n tohd darkness. The term

i s applied loosely to a variety o f other natural underground cavities.

Covern, essentially the same or cave. Ceiling chonnel, a distinct chonnel dissolved upward into the ceiling of o pre-existing limestone cave, or gouged into the ceiling o f a lava tube. Ceiling grooves, longitudinal scratch marks in the ceiling of a lava tube. Ceiling pendant, a downwardprojection of limestone, various modifications o f which are indicative of speleogenetic factors.

Ceiling tube, -

a a i l i n g channel with a particularly tubular appearance.

Chockstone, a fragment of breakdown that has become wedged i n a narrow passage insteod o f falling to its floor. Column, o grovitomorphic speleothem attached at both ends, usually as the result of fusion o f a and a stalagmite. Concentric, in lavo tubes, a "bull's-eye" pattern on the floor, usually resulting from rockfall into a partially crusted flow ("splash concentric" or "splash ring"), but rarely by deposition o f successive lateral ridges oround a small obstruction. Contraction fissures, cracks found in the f l o w on the floors o f lavo tubes, presumably as a result o f contraction during cooling.

stalactite

GLOSSARY Coralloid, a speleothem resembling branched globular corals or massed ppcorn.

123
Co-alloids vary widely

in size, and both the calcareous and lava types probably originate in several ways.

a smooth, domed upword expansion in a lova tube, resembling the inside of a huge gas bubble. At times, t h i s term has been applied to the openin3 of an upper-level tube into a lower-level tvbe as seen from below, but t h i s usage probably shollld h discouraged.

t , Dome &

a speciFic vadose speleogen consisting of a shaft several feet in diameter with sheer, slightl y groov~d walls and roughly circular cross section.

Dripstone, a popular or semitechnical group term including stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and similar projecting speleothems, deposited from dripping water. Duck-under, - a shart, low section between two more spacious areas of a cave.

-Flow ~

False floor, in limestone caves, a thin deposit of flowstone over a f i l l that has subsequently compacted or been washed away, leaving a space beneath an apprently solid floor. A similar phenomenon occurs less commonly in lava tubes, due to crusting.

s longitudinal , grooves in the walls of lova tubes, seemingly incised by gouging during flow
through the tube.

Flow

-&,a large or small

ledge on the wail of o lava tube, extending longitudinally as though deposited

at the upper margin of a flow through the tube. Flow line, -an imprecise term applicable to indistinct flow grooves or ledges.

Flow mark, any longitudinal deposit or site o f removal of material in a lava tube seemingly a result of -subsequent flow through the tube. Flow shelf, -a broad flow ledge.

Flowstone, a mineral deposit in a cave, resulting from deposition from water thot trickles aver a surface, without dripping.

-Grotto -1

Glacier cave, a cave developed by melting in or beneath a glacier.

Glaciere, a cave or other subterranean site in which ice forms and persists for considerable periods of time ( c e

alro ice cave).

Gour, a calcite-walled pool or the space that a n o w d r y pool o f this type once occupied.

(1) a small side chamber of a cavern.

(2) a cavernous opening that extends only into the twilight ZOhe.
(3) a local unit of the National Speleological Society.
Helictite, a specific nongravitomorphic axial speleothem. Most helictites are curved throughout, or at some point in their length. Mony lava helictites are not h u l y axial.

124

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

in the cave walls Horizon, a specific level of spele~~eneticflowmonifested Ice cave, -a cave in which ice forms and persists for a considerable period (see also glaciere).

--

Joint pocket, a specific phreotic speleogen consisting of a rounded enlargement of a cavern space a joint.

&,

slow

Karst, a spccific type of topography resulting from the solution of limestone bedrock and characterized by the features of development of underground drainage at the expense of surface drainage. a low, narrow limestone ridge, usually representing the exposure of the strike o f the beds in kant topography. Lateral ridge, a longitudinal floor deposit of a lava tube, apparently deposited at the margins o f a flow

throrrgh the tube. Lava dams, structures o f some lava tubes that roughly resemble gours several feat high. -dam has solidified. Lavafall, a solidified cascade o f lava. Lavo @, a short section of wall dividing a lovo tube pssoge. Lava puddle, a deposit o f smooth nonvesicular pahoehoe lava at the base of a lava speleothem or at the outlet o f a lava spring, without flow features. Lava seal, -a point where a smooth lava floor meets the ceiling of a lava tube. They may prove

to be the snouts of flows, the still-molten co:e of which has drained to lower levels after the

Lava spring, a recess in the wall o f a lava tube from which lava has flowed into the tube. Lava tongue, a raised section of a flow within a lava tube. Lava trench, an elongated depression o f considerable length resulting from collapse o f a section of lava -tube.
7-

Lava tube, a long, near-surface, somewhat tubular cavern found in certain flows o f pahoehoe lava. Ingressive or egressi+e branches are not uncommon, and considerable complexity i s present in some caverns.

7 -

Lava tube crust, a deposit lining lava tubes, o f which lava tube glaze i s a specific subtype.

Lava tube &, a thin smooth shiny nonvesicular form of lining of many lava tubes. -Lava tube slime, a curious and little-studied material found on the walls and ceiling of many lava tubes, --consisting of an amorphous, jellylike film.

It may consist of a silica gel and (or) micra-organism

pertaining to the zone of wave action.

GLOSSARY

125

k a n d e r niche, a speleogen showing the characteristics of solution of the wall o f a limestone c w e by fie curve of a stream. Melt cup, a Iova speleothem resembling vertical terraced flowstone, seemingly formed in the molten phase, but not yet subjected to microscopic, petrographic, or mineralogical study. Moonmilk, a white, puttylike form o f flowstone, formed of calcite, hydromagnesite, or dolomite. Pahoehoe, a type of basalt flow characterized by marked fluidity, and subsequent smoothness. Petromorph, a deposit formed within bedrock and subsequently exposed in the Phreatic, pertaining to the zone o f water beneath a water table. Pisolith, b rounded concretion of calcium carbonate. Ponor, o point o f piracy of a large or small stream by underground drainage. Resurgence, the point of emergence o f a subterranean stream to the surface.

wll o f a cave.

Rockshelter, a cavernous notural rock overhang. Schallendom, the German term for tumulus, o law domelike protrusion in congealed lava flows. Slime flowstone, a terraced flowstone, seemingly resulting from the action of, or coincidental with, lava tube slime. Slump ripple, a specific pattern of lova tube crust resulting from its irregular partial slumping. Speleogen, a feature of the bedrock o f a cave, resulting from removal of material therefrom. Speleogenesis, the process of origin and development o f caves. Speleoliferous, containing caves. Speleolagy, the study of caves and their contents. Speleothem, a feature o f a cave resulting from mineral deposition.

Splash concentric,

"congealed ripples" resulting from the fall of an object into congealing lava.

(See

concentric.) Stalactite, an axial, gravitomorphic speleothem directed downward.

-, Stalactite, d

a stalactite with a base larger than its lower end.

Stalactite, tubular, a thin-walled, hollow stalactite with a uniform diameter. Stalagmite, an axial, gravitomorphic speleohem directed upward. Stream flute, -an elongated, cupped speleogen resulting from turbulent flow of water. but usually applied to streams or rivulets o f some size.

Swllet, same as ponor, -

126

CAVES OF WASHINGTON

Terraced flawstone, a specific form of flowstone on which small gours have developed. Tree cast, a tubular (horizontal or vertical) imprint in lava o f a tree trunk engulfed by the lava. -Tube-in-tube, a rudimentary lava tube inside a lava flow which itself i s within a larger lava tube. ---

e,
Wall -

Tumulus, a law domelike potrusion in congealed lava flows. pertaining to the zone above a water table.

Vadose grooving, a specific speleogen consisting of fairly regular vertical grooving o f limestone walls by solution o f descending film o f water. elevation caves. a longitudinal deposit on a lava tube wall, apparently deposited at the margin of a flow Probably should be superseded by the term "flow ledge." In Washington, i t is seen predominantly in high-

*,
-

through the tube.

Waterfall slot, an accentuated andregular form o f vadose grooving limited to a small ore0 as a result o f local concentration o f descending water.