Cave in Ontario - A Window through the Rock
April 26, 2006 by rockwatching
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IMG_2693, originally uploaded by Mic2006.
This particular picture is of an airy cavern below a sizeable skylight. From above the window looms as an ominous blackhole just to the side of a well travelled path. The sumac densely blankets the area and hikers need to keep a wary eye lest the earth swallow them. Doug, Gord and I examined a watery tube within the cavern that Rob Laidlaw had reputedly followed out to the nearby river.
As can be seen by the picture the rock is very fractured. The underground passages hereabouts are in a seriously unsafe condition. Large caves seldom develop in this crumbling terrain. Kirk MacGregor says that an ideal layer of cave forming rock lies just beneath this strata and its appearance further up the river accounts for the development of some really large passages there. That system is well known to local cavers and several miles of tunnels have been mapped.
The countryside near Belleville is an area that has traditionally been considered as Ontario’s premier caving country. The TCG makes several trips here every year. They have as of late been conducting explorations in a riverside system that was discovered by Lori Nichols, Rob Laidlaw and Nina Muller.
James Sled spoke to me of a large cave in the area that he called Bell Cave. It is said to exist atop a high rock ridge. At the bottom of a relatively deep shaft there is a watery tunnel that runs on for some distance.
It is several large pits where someone has attempted to make a tourist attraction - but beyond these pits, off the property line, exists another solo pit (more of a sink hole). This sink is about 15 ft in diameter but quickly slims down to only a few feet wide. Below this choke is a rather impressive pit in the shape of a “bell”, hence the name - bell cave. I am unsure where the water comes from as it is high on a ridge. Could be a large water passage fed by a nearby swamp/large pond.(???)
Currently setting up a diver to tag along and dive the passage in May. Passage at the bottom goes for approximately 500 feet south west before coming into deep water and submurses the entire passage.