Arctomys Cave

Completing the list of the largest caves in Canada is Arctomys Cave. It was discovered in 1911 and first reported in the Canadian Alpine Journal in 1912 by mountaineer A.O. Wheeler, who had descended to a waterfall at a depth of about 80 meters with Conrad Kain, Byron Harmon George Kinney, and 'Curly' Phillips, stating that "beyond that the going is wet and the exploration was not carried further, as there was no change in the character of the subterranean shaft." Following that, cavers from McMaster University Climbing and Caving Club, Guelph University Caving Club, Alberta Speleological Society, and several visiting British cavers explored and studied the cave to its maximum depth of -522 meters in 1971-73. British and Canadian cavers investigated passages above the entrance in 1983, resulting in the current vertical range of 536 meters. For many years, Arctomys Cave was the deepest known cave in Canada, until Bisaro Anima Cave, at 670 meters, overtook it in 2017. (2,198 ft).

Arctomys Cave is carved out of the Mural Formation limestone of the Early Cambrian Gog Group, which is steeply dipping. The cave's top section (The Endless Climb) falls very steeply, but at a depth of around 400 meters, the cave becomes more horizontal, with various ponds, and eventually finishes at a sump. Despite its considerable depth, the cave only has five pitches that reach a depth of 15 meters. The Straw Gallery includes flowstone and relatively lengthy soda straws, even though the cave is mostly undecorated.

Depth: 536m

Length: 3,496 m

Location: Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia