Artlish Caves Provincial Park
Encyclopedia
Artlish Caves Provincial Park is a provincial park
in British Columbia
, Canada
.
s is in a 1932 report to the Canadian Geological Survey, although the caves were certainly known to local hunters, miners and timber cruisers prior to that. Formal exploration and documentation of the caves between 1974 and 1978 resulted in a cave survey
of each under the names Artlish River Cave and The Black Hole, with 396m and 740m of measured passage lengths respectively.
Increased publicity and concern over potential damage by timber harvesting led to a reserve around the two caves conferred by the BC Forest Service in 1977. This was elevated to provincial park status in 1996. The park protects Vancouver Island
’s last remaining undisturbed karst unit that includes a major river cave. The area provides winter habitat and a migration corridor for Roosevelt elk, as well as habitat for sockeye, Coho, Chinook, and pink salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout. The park also protects coastal western hemlock and western red cedar as well as some amabilis fir and Sitka spruce.
and 78 km northwest of Woss, British Columbia, part way along the Zebellos road. A secondary logging road into the park was deactivated in 2009. A hike of approximately 4.5 km is required to reach the park boundary, and further hiking through old growth forest is required to reach the caves.
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
History and conservation
The name of the Artlish River is derived from the A'licath (Artlish) natives, part of the Kyuquot confederacy. The first recorded reference to the caveCave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s is in a 1932 report to the Canadian Geological Survey, although the caves were certainly known to local hunters, miners and timber cruisers prior to that. Formal exploration and documentation of the caves between 1974 and 1978 resulted in a cave survey
Cave survey
A cave survey is a map of all or part of a cave system, which may be produced to meet differing standards of accuracy depending on the cave conditions and equipment available underground. Cave surveying and cartography, i.e. the creation of an accurate, detailed map, is one of the most common...
of each under the names Artlish River Cave and The Black Hole, with 396m and 740m of measured passage lengths respectively.
Increased publicity and concern over potential damage by timber harvesting led to a reserve around the two caves conferred by the BC Forest Service in 1977. This was elevated to provincial park status in 1996. The park protects Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
’s last remaining undisturbed karst unit that includes a major river cave. The area provides winter habitat and a migration corridor for Roosevelt elk, as well as habitat for sockeye, Coho, Chinook, and pink salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout. The park also protects coastal western hemlock and western red cedar as well as some amabilis fir and Sitka spruce.
Location
Artlish Caves Provincial Park is located approximately 80 kilometres south of Port McNeill, British ColumbiaPort McNeill, British Columbia
Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 2,623 . Located on Vancouver Island's north-east shore on Queen Charlotte Strait, it was originally a base camp for loggers, Port McNeill became a settlement in 1936...
and 78 km northwest of Woss, British Columbia, part way along the Zebellos road. A secondary logging road into the park was deactivated in 2009. A hike of approximately 4.5 km is required to reach the park boundary, and further hiking through old growth forest is required to reach the caves.