Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park

Last updated

Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park
Canada British Columbia location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Map of British Columbia
Location Alberni Land District, British Columbia, Canada
Nearest city Port Alberni, BC
Coordinates 49°20′42″N124°45′14″W / 49.34500°N 124.75389°W / 49.34500; -124.75389
Area158 ha. (1.58 km2)
EstablishedJanuary 29, 1971
Governing body BC Parks
Website bcparks.ca/horne-lake-caves-park/
The lower cave at Horne Lake, open to public visitation. Horne lake lower cave.jpg
The lower cave at Horne Lake, open to public visitation.
A vertical drop in Riverbend cave at Horne Lake, part of an adventure caving tour Riverbend cave.jpg
A vertical drop in Riverbend cave at Horne Lake, part of an adventure caving tour

Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is a provincial park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Its principal function is the protection, management, and recreational use of several caves collectively known as the Horne Lake Caves.

Contents

History

Although certainly known to the Qualicum First Nation, the first reference to caves at Horne Lake is in a geological report from 1912. [1] Two caves known as Main and Lower Main were thereafter known to loggers, and public visitation increased after they were publicised in 1939. In 1941 the larger Riverbend Cave was discovered and was a popular tourist site by 1945. In 1957 the Province placed a 29 ha. reserve around the Horne Lake caves which by then had been stripped of many of their formations.

Fears of vandalism in the recently revealed Euclataws Cave (discovered in 1963 but kept secret until about 1969) led local cavers to approach the provincial government for protection, and in January 1971 Horne Lake Caves became a provincial park. [2] Euclataws and Riverbend Cave were gated and guided tours commenced in Main, Lower Main and Riverbend caves. Vandalism and gate-breaching continued, however, and in 1984 a serious incident of vandalism in Riverbend Cave led to increased attention and the creation of a management plan in 1985, followed by improved visitor facilities and privately managed cave tours. Four additional caves, Cougar Cave, Eggshell Cave, Andre's Annex and Riverbend Trail Slot Cave, have recently been documented within the park. The park includes forest and part of the Qualicum River which provides opportunities for hiking, fishing and canoeing.

Location

The 158 ha Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is located approximately 60 km north of Nanaimo and 26 km west of Qualicum, and is 12 km from the Horne Lake exit off Highway 19. [3]

See also

Adam Grant Horne for whom Horne Lake was named.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parksville, British Columbia</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

Parksville is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 Census, Parksville's population was 13,642, representing a 9.5% increase over the 2016 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qualicum Beach</span> Town in British Columbia, Canada

Qualicum Beach is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the foot of Mount Arrowsmith, along the Strait of Georgia on Vancouver Island's northeastern coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional District of Nanaimo</span> Regional district in British Columbia, Canada

The Regional District of Nanaimo is a regional district located on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the south by the Cowichan Valley Regional District, to the west by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, and to the northwest by the Comox Valley Regional District. Its administration offices are located in Nanaimo. During the 2016 census, its population was established at 155,698.

Cody Caves Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It was formed in July 1966 to protect the Cody Caves and was the first subterranean park in British Columbia. The park is 13 km by road, northwest from the hot springs community of Ainsworth Hot Springs on Kootenay Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Point Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia

Francis Point Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the southwest end of the Francis Peninsula, south of the community of Pender Harbour on the west side of the Sechelt Peninsula in the Sunshine Coast region. Established in 2004, the park is 81 ha. in size, 72 ha. of it upland, the other 9 ha. foreshore.

Garden Bay Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada at the northwest end of the Sechelt Peninsula on the lower Sunshine Coast, near the community of Madeira Park. Established in 1969, it contains approximately 163 ha.

Inland Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located on the southeast side of Powell Lake, just to the northeast of the city of Powell River in that province's northern Sunshine Coast region. Inland Lake is located between the south end of Powell Lake (W) and Haslam Lake (E).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area is a 170,890 ha provincial park in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The park preserves the southernmost portion of the Hart Ranges and the northernmost portion of the Continental Ranges. The park also preserves significant marine fossil deposits located in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, on central Vancouver Island, that encompasses the entire southern shore of Cameron Lake. The Island Rail Corridor line to Port Alberni passes through the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MacMillan Provincial Park</span> Park in British Columbia, Canada

MacMillan Provincial Park is a 301-hectare (740-acre) provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Located 25 km (16 mi) west of Qualicum Beach and 16 km (9.9 mi) east of Port Alberni, the park straddles Highway 4 and the Island Rail Corridor in central Vancouver Island. It is nestled on the western shore of Cameron Lake, and protects the delta of the Cameron River. The park is home to a famous, 157-hectare (390-acre) stand of ancient Douglas fir, known as Cathedral Grove, which draws visitors from all over the world. The park provides the only highway-accessible protected old-growth Douglas-fir forest in British Columbia. In 2007 Cathedral Grove made the short list on CBC's competition Seven Wonders of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowser, British Columbia</span> Town in British Columbia, Canada

Bowser is a community on the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of 1,729. Approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) north of Nanaimo, Bowser is in a region informally known as Lighthouse Country, spanning a stretch of highway that extends from Qualicum Beach in the south to Horne Lake to the west and Fanny Bay in the north and east to Denman and Hornby Islands. Bowser is in the Regional District of Nanaimo and in its Electoral Area H, one of eight in the District. The community was named after William J. Bowser, premier of British Columbia from 1915 to 1916. Bowser is served by the coast-spanning Island Highway.

Sabine Channel Provincial Park, also known as Sabine Channel Marine Provincial Park, is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, in the waters surrounding Jervis Island in Sabine Channel, which separates Texada Island (N) from Lasqueti Island (S). Established in 2001, the parks is approximately 2,254 ha. in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stamp River Provincial Park</span> Provincial park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada

Stamp River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The 327-hectare park is located 14 km north of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. There are 23 camping spaces and 2 km of trails within the park along the Stamp River, named for Edward Stamp, a sawmill pioneer in the Alberni Valley.

Stuart River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located in two sections north and northwest of Vanderhoof along the Stuart River southeast of Stuart Lake and the city of Fort St. James. The upper section is located at 54°13′20″N124°00′00″W and comprises c.7391 ha. while the lower, eastern section is centred at 54°03′00″N123°37′00″W and comprises c.3390 ha. and is within the Greater Prince George area. The upper site, which is located around the confluence of the Stuart and Nechako Rivers, includes the site of Chinlac, a Dakelh village whose inhabitants were massacred and enslaved by the Tsilhqot'in of Anahim Lake c. 1745.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Errington, British Columbia</span>

Errington is a small community on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located on Errington Road, off Highway 4, just south of Parksville and Qualicum Beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Fraser (politician)</span> Canadian politician

Scott Kenneth Fraser is a Canadian politician who represented the Mid Island-Pacific Rim electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2005 to 2020. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, he was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the 2005 election, and re-elected in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 elections. During the 41st Parliament (2017-2020) he served in the Executive Council as the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. In that role he led the government through adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, with all party support, to implement the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cody Caves</span> Network of caves in British Columbia, Canada

The Cody Caves are a network of limestone caves in the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. They are located 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Ainsworth Hot Springs on the west side of Kootenay Lake.

Close To The Edge Provincial Park and Protected Area is a provincial park and a protected area in British Columbia, Canada.

The Qualicum River or Big Qualicum River is a river on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast from its headwaters in Horne Lake into the Strait of Georgia just south of Qualicum Bay, near the town of Qualicum Beach. The river's name comes from that of the Qualicum people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region</span> UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in British Columbia, Canada

Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located on the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was designated in 2000 by UNESCO to protect a large second-growth coast Douglas fir ecosystem in the watersheds of the Little Qualicum and Englishman Rivers from being developed.

References

  1. "Our Locations". Qualicum First Nation. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  2. "Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park". BC Parks. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  3. "Horne Lake Caves Park". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved September 15, 2021.

49°20′40″N124°45′30″W / 49.344444°N 124.75833°W / 49.344444; -124.75833