A huge cave was hidden in British Columbia. Despite its astounding scale, until now nothing was known about it.
Situated in Wells Gray Provincial Park, the cave was first accidentally seen from a helicopter in April this year, and is now called a "cave of national importance." Due to the special structure and size (the length of its entrance is 100 meters, and the width is 60 meters) it was named Sarlacc Pit - in honor of a creature from the Star Wars universe. Researchers have not yet been able to determine the depth of the cave, as its grotto is filled with water, but they suggest that it could be several kilometers.
“Our first reaction: this is impossible, there simply cannot be a cave! It's just huge - when you first see it it's breathtaking because it's a giant hole in the ground,”says geophysicist Catherine Hickson, who led an expedition to the site in September.
According to Hickson, whose company Tuya Terra Geo Corp. funded the initial research expedition, the site in the park where the cave is located was hidden under the snow all year round and did not open until about 20-50 years ago. Partly because of this, and also because of the extremely remote and inaccessible position, the giant cave was found only this year.
To learn more about the cave and its history, the team of scientists turned to experts in contacts with local indigenous communities. They intend to find out if the cave exists in their records. Since this place is not mentioned in any known source, so far the hypothesis of snow cover looks the most plausible.
The name of the cave, given by biologist Bevan Ernst during the April flyby, is considered unofficial, however, if the communities of Canadian Indians do not have their own version of the historical name, a name from a galaxy far, distant can take hold.
Researchers are taking their time to reveal the exact location of the cave in an effort to protect the untouched natural environment. In addition, they do not yet have the opportunity to study it. During his September visit, Lee Hollis made the first and so far the only descent into the depths of the cave: he descended about 80 meters, but the huge flow of the waterfall made further research impossible.
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Lee Hollis has made the only descent into the bowels of the cave so far.
According to researchers, this waterfall turns into an underground river, which stretches for almost two kilometers and ends about 50 meters below the place where it enters the mouth of the cave. The next major expedition is scheduled for 2020.
Dmitry Mazalevsky