Boyden Cave

Boyden Cave
Map showing the location of Boyden Cave
Map showing the location of Boyden Cave
Location Giant Sequoia National Monument, Fresno County, California
Coordinates 36°48′54″N 118°49′05″W / 36.8149438°N 118.8181594°W / 36.8149438; -118.8181594Coordinates: 36°48′54″N 118°49′05″W / 36.8149438°N 118.8181594°W / 36.8149438; -118.8181594[1]
Length 0.63 miles (1.01 km) surveyed
Geology Mesozoic marble
Access Public tours available

Boyden Cavern is show cave in the located in Giant Sequoia National Monument, along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway in Fresno County, California.[2] It is just west of Kings Canyon National Park. It is currently closed owing to forest fire damage incurred in the area in August 2015.[3][4]

Cavern

The cave is a solutional cave formed in Mesozoic marble (metamorphosed limestone).[5] It is a cave with many varieties of natural speleothems, including rare "shield" formations. Boyden Cave or Boyden Cavern is located in the deepest river cut canyon of the United States, the 8,200-foot (2,500 m) deep Kings Canyon. The cave entrance lies beneath the 2,000-foot (610 m) high marble walls of the famous Portals of the Kings,[6] near the Kings River.

Tours

Regular tours of the cave are given by a licensed guide company from the last Friday in April to mid November.[7] The tour includes the Pancake Room, a stalactite group called the Upside Down City, and a flowstone formation called Mother Nature's Wedding Cake. In the Bat Grotto bats spend summer days sleeping. The Drapery Room contains curtains, soda straws and helictites. The tour ends at a small subterranean stream. 0.63 miles (1.01 km) of the cave have been mapped.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Boyden Cave". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. ↑ "Kings Canyon Scenic Byway". National Scenic Byways Program.
  3. ↑ "Boyden Cavern in Sequoia National Monument". Cavern and Mine Adventures.
  4. ↑ Stephen, Fairchild. "Kings Canyon - Boyden Cavern Blog".
  5. 1 2 "Specialist Report" (PDF). Giant Sequoia National Monument, Sequoia National Forest.
  6. ↑ "Kings Canyon Scenic Byway". Sequoia National Forest.
  7. ↑ "Boyden Cavern". Sierra Nevada Recreation Corporation. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
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