CAVES

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that there are thousands of caves in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, 650 have been inventoried. 

An estimated 850 square miles of Tongass are underlain by carbonate bedrock.  Over time geologic and climaticic processes have formed dramatic karst landscapes and cave systems.  El Cap Pit is the deepest known natural pit in the United States with an initial drop of 598.3 feet. Snowhole ranks third in the U.S. at 448.8 feet.  El Capitan Cave is the longest mapped cave in Alaska.  Over two miles (almost 4 km) of passage have been mapped from the main entrance.  The seven deepest known caves in Alaska and the five longest have been recorded in this area.