Caving in Nova Scotia

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Caving in Nova Scotia

Postby NS_Caver » Jun 2, 2011 8:11 am

Hi all,

You'll have to pardon my ignorance a bit. I'm a rather quiet, long time caver from Nova Scotia, Canada. I've long been a lurker around the site and have recently joined the forums so I would have a place to discuss some topics with like-minded folks.

WNS was recently confirmed in NS. I would consider myself fortunate for being able to take part in research and awareness efforts relating to WNS in and around our province. Research has been ongoing for a couple of years in advance of WNS arrival and is quite busy now that it has been confirmed. I'm sure I'm not alone in being upset while watching everything taking place around me. With tests recently confirming the presence of WNS on day-flying bats, the coming winter will undoubtedly prove to be the last for the vast majority of our bats here in NS. WNS is certainly high on my list of discussion topics.

I'm also interested in talking with people about speleogenesis and the karst topography of NS. Nova Scotia is home to some of the best gypsum karst in the world - full of gnarly, fall-to-the-system-below kind of karst, if you're not careful. Our karsts are still largely unexplored and tend to yield interesting discoveries on almost every trip out.

A short time ago, my team made an exciting find in a field of lesser-known NS karst. I'm looking to learn more about this find and its importance. By international caving standards, most of our caves are rather simple and small. Occasionally, we still turn things over by making a significant new find. We're confident this latest find is one of the most important in learning more about how our caves are formed - to our knowledge, it's the first of its kind discovered, though I would be happy to learn that it's not and to learn that there is some education to be had on the subject.

I look forward to joining in on the discussion.

Cheers
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Re: Caving in Nova Scotia

Postby ian mckenzie » Jul 11, 2011 2:40 pm

NS_Caver wrote: Nova Scotia is home to some of the best gypsum karst in the world

Quite a claim.

Are you affiliated with cavingnovascotia.org ?

Ian
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Re: Caving in Nova Scotia

Postby batrotter » Jul 12, 2011 7:44 am

NS_Caver wrote:A short time ago, my team made an exciting find in a field of lesser-known NS karst. I'm looking to learn more about this find and its importance.



So are we.
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Re: Caving in Nova Scotia

Postby NS_Caver » Aug 13, 2011 2:22 pm

Hi Ian - Yes, it's Jon.

I suppose "best" gypsum karsts might be quite the claim. Well-defined might be a better word. I really don't know how extensive/common these types of fields are across the world. I wish one could get a picture that did the fields justice, but I don't think it's possible.

In any case, I thought I'd post a picture of a gypsum sinkhole/tube of the type found in NS. This one would be about 40ft vertical.

Image
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Re: Caving in Nova Scotia

Postby ian mckenzie » Aug 14, 2011 7:29 pm

Great stuff, can you post pics of surface gypsum karst too?

Perhaps some southeast US cavers can also post pics - I know that there is some gypsum in New Mexico - Parks Ranch cave is one good example.
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Re: Caving in Nova Scotia

Postby Adventurer » Dec 28, 2011 9:12 am

Hi Jon,Ryan here lol.get ready for more karsty fun.
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Re: Caving in Nova Scotia

Postby sunstarangel » Aug 12, 2019 4:53 pm

NS_Caver, have you found much out on karst in NS? I'm particularly interested in the Thorburn (near New Glasgow) area because the house I bought is there and I know from karst maps and talking with a couple geologists that karst is all around and under my house, plus there are coal mines galore here (one 1,000 foot deep opening is filled with water just around the block from my house). I would love to see if it's possible to find out if the hole that is supposedly beneath my property is either a mine or karst! Gosh, I wish I had ground penetrating radar. LOL
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