Grand Canyon Caves
The Grand Canyon is full of Caves. Almost of all of these caves are in the Redwall Limestone, thousands of feet below the rim of the Canyon. When water from the rim leaches down through the layers of the Grand Canyon, Carbonic Acid eats away the limestone forming the canyons many caves. This same process formed caves outside the park like Grand Canyon Caverns, a great adventure close to the Grand Canyon. Exploring caves in Grand Canyon National Park is very restricted and nearly all caves require special permission to visit. There are good reasons the park has these regulations, but the main issues are protecting archeologically, and biologically sensitive resources found in the caves. With a lack of resources to explore and monitor caves systems within the canyon this probably won’t change any time soon. Typically, the only people who get permission are members of Caving Organizations who will agree to do mapping of unexplored areas for the Park in return for being granted permission. The Grand Canyons Park Hydrologist is currently the person who makes the call on access to Grand Canyons subterranean world or check out Grand Canyon National Parks cave information page for NPS regulations and additional information. Read the guide below to learn more.
