Boyden Cavern
| 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[1] |
| Length | 0.63 miles (1.01 km) surveyed |
| Geology | Mesozoic marble |
| Access | Public tours available |
Boyden Cavern is a show cave located in the Giant Sequoia National Monument of the Sequoia National Forest, along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway in Fresno County, California.[2] It is just west of Kings Canyon National Park.
Cavern
[edit]The cave is a solutional cave formed in Mesozoic marble (metamorphosed limestone).[3] 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. [citation needed] The cave entrance lies beneath the 2,000-foot (610 m) high marble walls of the famous Portals of the Kings,[4] near the Kings River.
Tours
[edit]Regular tours of the cave are given by a licensed guide company from the last Friday in April to mid November.[5] 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.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Boyden Cave". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Kings Canyon Scenic Byway". National Scenic Byways Program. Archived from the original on 2010-10-31. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- ^ a b "Specialist Report" (PDF). Giant Sequoia National Monument, Sequoia National Forest.
- ^ "Kings Canyon Scenic Byway". Sequoia National Forest.
- ^ "Boyden Cavern". Sierra Nevada Recreation Corporation. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
External links
[edit]- "Boyden Cavern". CavernTours.com.
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