Cody Caves, Limestone cave system in Selkirk Mountains, Canada.
Cody Caves is a limestone cave system nestled in the Selkirk Mountains, featuring interconnected passages and chambers shaped by underground streams over thousands of years. The interior displays mineral deposits and rock formations that reveal how water continuously carved through the stone.
The first recorded visit was by prospector Henry Cody, who came to the Kootenays seeking silver. An 1899 article in Argosy Magazine titled The Noble Five described the caves as lined with gold, and Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada, visited in 1908. The caves became a provincial park in July 1966, the first subterranean park in British Columbia.
The caves are named after prospector Henry Cody, the first person to record a visit while searching for silver in the Kootenays. An 1899 article in Argosy Magazine titled The Noble Five described them as "lined with gold", drawing public attention. Today guided tours only are required to protect the delicate formations, and visitors are asked not to bring caving gear from east of the Rockies to limit the spread of white-nose syndrome in bats.
Cody Caves can only be entered on a guided tour; Adventure, Explorer and Family options vary in length, and school and group tours can be arranged. The caves lie 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Ainsworth Hot Springs on the west side of Kootenay Lake. To limit white-nose syndrome in bats, do not bring caving gear from areas east of the Rockies into any BC cave.
The boxwork here protrudes up to 20.3 cm, against a cave average of 2.5 to 5 cm, and is rated among the best in the world. Calcite formations grow about one cubic centimetre per hundred years, so the protruding fins on the walls are far older than the park, created in July 1966.
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