Tongass National Forest
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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 a delicately balanced ecosystem known as karst.
Karst areas, those hilly limestone features found in many places on Prince of Wales island and elsewhere in the Tongass, can be riddled with hidden sinkholes and deep, wet pits or caverns.
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 one of the longest mapped caves in the Americas. Over two miles (almost 4 km) of passage have been mapped from the main entrance.
The Thorne Bay Ranger Di
strict
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: July 11, 2007