Tongass National Forest

Related Links Recreation on Prince of Wales   Boating   Cabins   Camping   Caves & Karst     El Capitan Cave     Beaver Falls Karst     Cavern Lake Trail   Fishing   Hiking   Hunting   Picnicking   Wilderness   Wildlife Viewing Recreation Areas Click for interactive map

ALERT!!

White Nose Syndrome in Bats
Cave Advisory
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recommendations

March 26, 2009

The Service’s cave advisory has four recommendations to limit the possible spread of white-nose syndrome by human activity:

1. A voluntary moratorium on caving in states with confirmed WNS and all adjoining states;
2. Nationally, in states not WNS-affected or adjoining states, use clothing and gear that has never been in caves in WNS-affected or adjoining states;
3. State and federal conservation agencies should evaluate scientific activities for their potential to spread WNS; and
4. Nationally, researchers should use clothing and gear that has never been in caves in a WNS-affected or adjoining state.

This also applies to mines used by cavers.

Caves and Karst

One of the most fascinating aspects of Prince of Wales Island is its vast underground world of caves. Over thousands of years, they form in as a part of delicately balanced karst ecosystem.

Karst geomorphology, areas of soluble carbonate bedrock such as limestone, can be found in many places on Prince of Wales Island and elsewhere on the Tongass.

Karst landscapes are often riddled with hidden sinkholes and deep, wet pits and caves.

Research into some of the thousands of caves on the island has provided evidence of former use and of conditions through the eons.

El Capitan Cave is the longest mapped cave in Alaska. Over two miles (almost 4 km) of passage have been mapped from the main entrance.

The Thorne Bay Ranger District has developed three sites for public access to and interpretation of the cave and karst ecosystem. These sites are in close proximity to each other. Click on the map to enlarge.

Taken together, the El Capitan, Beaver Falls Trail, and Cavern Lake Cave sites provide an excellent introduction to Southeast Alaska 's caves and the intricacies of the surface and underground karst ecosystem.

USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest
Last Modified: May 12, 2009