Bisaro Anima

Mount Bisaro boasts Canada's deepest cave network, which a Calgary crew has been exploring.

A group of cave explorers from around the country has set a new record for Canada's deepest cave. Bisaro Anima is a lonely alpine plateau north of Fernie, British Columbia, where the cave is located. During two expeditions during Thanksgiving 2017 and New Year's 2018, they exceeded key goals in their aim to explore, map, and study. In 2012, Henry Bruns of the Alberta Speleological Society planned an excursion to study the Mt. Bisaro plateau. Jeremy Bruns, a caver and project leader, discovered and rappelled into the cave opening at that time. Over thirty cavers from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom have been investigating the cave in a series of visits that began with a helicopter ride to the plateau. The cave is now 5.3 kilometers long and 670 meters deep, making it Canada's and the continental United States' deepest caves.

Expedition leader Kathleen Graham set the record depth after using scuba diving equipment to descend into a sump – a water-filled corridor in the cave. "We were astonished and saddened when we discovered the sump a few months ago. Since then, I've been fascinated by picturing what lay beneath the ocean," Graham explained. The explorers had previously explored the cave and determined that it was the third deepest in Canada, at 531 meters. "Based on our knowledge of the geography and geology, the system's depth potential is more than 1000 meters." "With further effort, I believe this cave system might become one of Canada's longest," Bruns said.

Location: The Andy Good Plateau in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.
Depth: 286m
Length: 6,001m