Caves and Karst of the Providence Mountains Study Area
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This document summarizes a project to update cave and karst feature inventory data in the Mojave National Preserve. The project involved field work from 2010-2011, resulting in updated maps, reports, photos and inventory of 129 caves and features in the Clark Mountains and Bonanza King Canyon study areas. Many new caves and shelters were documented, lost caves were rediscovered, and several cave-adapted species were identified. The historical record on caving in the area was also preserved through this work.
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Caves and Karst of the Providence Mountains Study Area
- 1. Caves and Karst of the Providence Mountains Study Area Mojave National Preserve Building Upon Decades of Volunteer Contributions Bern Szukalski - Esri, Cave Research Foundation Tom Gilleland - MineGates, Inc. Ted Weasma - Mojave National Preserve National Cave and Karst Management Symposium October 3 – 7, 2011 Midway, Utah
- 2. The Big Story About Small Caves in the Mojave National Preserve Bern Szukalski - Esri, Cave Research Foundation Tom Gilleland - MineGates, Inc. Ted Weasma - Mojave National Preserve National Cave and Karst Management Symposium October 3 – 7, 2011 Midway, Utah
- 3. This is not the Mojave…
- 4. This is.
- 5. But it does rain and snow…
- 6. “When you’re stuck in 4-wheel drive, you’re really stuck.”
- 7. Mojave Desert & Mojave Desert Ecosystem A land of extremes and diversity • More than 80,000 square miles • Includes portions of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah • Elevation range: -280 to 14,505 feet • Wilderness, ranching, resource harvesting, major cities • National & State Parks, Preserves, scenic areas, landmarks
- 11. Mojave National Preserve (MOJA) • Established 1994 (California Desert Protection Act) • 2,500 square miles, 1.6 million acres (695,200 wilderness) • Elevation range: 880 feet to 7,929 feet • Third largest NPS unit in continental U.S. (DEVA, YELL)
- 12. Nearby Cave Areas Crystal / Kokoweef Pisgah Mitchell Caverns
- 13. Pisgah (BLM)
- 14. Mitchell Caverns 1,478 TSL – 84 TVE
- 15. Cave of the Winding Stairs 1,954 TSL – 311 TVE Photos: William R. Halliday Collection
- 16. Kokoweef Area 367 TSL Photos: William R. Halliday Collection
- 17. Kokoweef Cave
- 18. Kokoweef Cave
- 19. MOJA Caves • 197 caves, shelters, cave features • Most in Bird Spring fm. (Pennsylvanian – Permian) • Longest Cave = Warner’s Cave (335 feet) • Longest Lava Tube = Cima Cave (210 feet) • Most caves < 100 feet long Q. So what is the definition of a cave in the Mojave? A. Anything longer than the entrance is wide. Or… You know one when you see one.
- 20. MOJA Boundary
- 21. Wilderness Areas
- 22. Carbonate Rock
- 23. Cave Distribution Clark Mountains Providence Mountains
- 24. Mines (AML) Clark Mountains Providence Mountains
- 25. Many caves are remote Cars parked here!
- 26. Leads can be hard to reach
- 28. And with some determined searching… 1960s
- 29. Caves are found again… 2006
- 30. Formations are few… With a few exceptions… Coral Buddha Cave TSL 80 feet Sweet Surprise Cave TSL 103 feet
- 31. All cave maps are very large scale…
- 32. But it’s great fun.
- 33. Speleological History • Early miners • Jack Mitchell (1932) • So Cal Grotto (1940s) • Mojave Cave Survey (2001) • Laura Chlor (GIP) (2004) • CRF Expedition (2007) • Generations of cavers • Decades of ridgewalking & exploration
- 34. The Project Solicitation Number E8380100000
- 35. Contract Areas (PDF) Clark Mountains Bonanza King Canyon, Providence Mountains
- 38. Digitized Study Area Study Areas Clark Mountains Bonanza King Canyon Providence Mountains
- 39. Clark Mountains Study Area
- 40. Bonanza King Canyon Study Area
- 41. The Modern & Historical Record • Existing MOJA and personal databases • Published & unpublished reports - Hardcastle (1975), Quick (1979) • Newsletter articles • Notes, email, phone calls…
- 43. Field Work – December 2010 to March 2011
- 44. Place Names
- 46. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Crawllute Cave Open Sky Cave Middle Holes Calcite Cave Calcite Attic Tear Duct Shelter 4 3 5 2 1 6
- 48. The Report (243 pages)
- 50. Preserving The Old With The New
- 52. Report Sections
- 53. Database • 129 Caves & Features • Longest = Virginia Mine Cave (131 feet) - • Wishbone Cave (80 feet) Best bio discovery = Brackenridgia heroldi
- 54. Bonanaza King Canyon Database 2007
- 55. Bonanaza King Canyon Database 2011
- 56. In Summary – The Facts • Project successfully completed on-time • Updated maps, reports, photos, inventory • Many new caves & shelters were documented • Lost caves and leads were found and documented • Several special status cave-adapted species were identified • Historical record was preserved
- 57. Acknowledgements Project participants December 2010 – May 2011: Dr. Rolf Aalbu, Doug Billings, Ed Block, Kathy Block, Bruce Davis, Ray Hardcastle, Marc Heins, Pat Helton, Jason Knight, Tom Gilleland, Dr. G.O. Graening, Andy Gup, Bruce Lynn, Dell Quick, James Rice, Bruce Rogers, Jim Rolf, Dr. Bill Shear, Anthony Smith, Bern Szukalski, Dr. Rickard Toomey, Ted Weasma, Larry Zimmer, Zane Zimmer. Organizations: Mojave National Preserve, Mojave Cave Survey (MCS), various chapters of the National Speleological Society (NSS), Western Region NSS, Cave Research Foundation (CRF), Minegates Inc. And the volunteer efforts of generations of explorers and cavers that have invested their time, energy, and expertise to search for, map, and document caves and karst features throughout the Providence Mountains and Mojave National Preserve.