INNOVATION March-April 2019

F E A T U R E

Dr. Catherine Hickson, P.Geo., sits near the entrance of the cave in September 2018. P hoto : C atherine H ickson

shaft. They calculated a drainage area of about six square kilometres for the potential cave system. A large spring about two kilometres away and half a kilometre lower in the landscape was identified as the resurgence, the point where the river running through the cave returns to the surface. From this, the team calculated a potential length of two kilometres and a depth of 460 metres. “The size, the big drainage area, and the fact it had a fairly large active stream going into it, looked like it was going to be quite a big one,” said Pollack, “We needed to get up there to take a look at it on the ground.” NOT A NEW DISCOVERY The cave is in the traditional territory of the Tsq’escenemc, (the Canim Lake Band), as well as the Simpcw. “They’re looking back, talking to their elders, to see if they have any information or any stories about it,” said Hickson. Hickson also discovered that a geologist named Bert Struik mapped the feature as a sinkhole in 1984. Struik was a

In the Rocky Mountains to the east of Wells Gray, some of Canada’s largest caves tend to form in thick successions in limestone but, in this area of the park, the cave has formed in schist and marble—metamorphosed and deformed versions of limestone and shale. Caves don’t often form in these rock types. Through her association with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and The Explorers Club, Hickson knew several cavers with decades of experience exploring caves all over the world. She contacted John Pollack, a retired forester and archaeological surveyor whose speciality is surveying archaeological sites and caves. “I sent him the pictures, and microseconds later he’s on the phone,” said Hickson. Over the following two months, Pollack and Hickson studied satellite photographs of the area and discussed the landscape features with two experienced cavers, Lee Hollis and Dr. Chas Yonge. The team could observe a significant stream flowing from two glaciers that feed into the entrance

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