Most of the people commenting about the total length of Caverns of Sonora
haven't much of a clue what they are talking about. There are lots of little
crevices, tiny cracks, and levels upon levels throughout the cave. If you
surveyed all those, it might double the total "surveyed length" of the cave as
we know it now. Will this happen? Not likely.
Through the years there have been a number of survey activities at this cave.
At least half of them were ultimately discarded as useless. The Jack Burch
transit survey of the commercial route through the cave and then overland to
connect the two entrances has been the backbone of all subsequent efforts. It
closes quite well if not perfectly (years ago, I ran the numbers from his field
notes).
One of the problems is that a survey of the cave, done well, is extremely
tedious --- something on the order of 10-20 feet per hour. The cave is very
fragile and each move needs to be thoughtfully done. Look at the map on page
408 of your 50 YEARS book. That's a small portion in the middle of one of the
more complex areas and it took three fairly long trips to gather that much
survey data. And drafting an intelligible map is another story. This is
sketched and drafted at a scale that I would consider the bare minimum to show
the features of the cave. Digital drafting opens other doors that might be
successful.
It's not so much that the owners aren't interested in a high grade survey of
the cave as the fact that there aren't many people with the skills and
dedication to complete such a project. I thought that I might make this happen
back in the late 1960s and, with the blessing and cooperation of Jack Burch, we
made a start. Then, there was a change of heart among the majority owners and
the survey was suspended and never resumed.
This cave is TOTALLY unsuited to be a "TSA Project." That would be a disaster!
As George Veni has pointed out in another e-mail, he has received special
permission to do a highly detailed survey along the commercial route. That's
wonderful and I do hope that he finds time to complete that project but that
still leaves a lot of cave away from the tour trails and much of it is not only
difficult to travel but is multi-level and extremely fragile. On page 412 of
50 YEARS, I commented thusly:
"You might think that Caverns of Sonora would be among the best, most
professionally mapped caves in Texas. You would be
wrong. There are somewhat better maps available than the silhouette version
presented here, but the sad truth is that no comprehensive
"class A" map exists. There is an excellent transit survey making a loop that
goes in the historic entrance, along the
commercial trail, out the man-made exit tunnel, and back to the entrance, but
there is no "caver" map in the usual sense of that
word. Will it happen someday? Perhaps, but it will not be soon. It will require
a massive effort to compile the necessary data and
a cartography genius to interpret that data so that it makes sense in two
dimensions. That would be daunting enough in a cave
that offered free access, but such is certainly not the case here. Access to
the cave has been extremely limited for the past 40
years. Moreover, survey progress will necessarily be quite slow not just
because of the great amount of detail required but
because of the care required to move about without doing damage to the cave.
Through the years, many enthusiasts have begun
surveys only to be thwarted for one reason or another. Take a tour through the
cave sometime and pay special attention to the
many interconnected levels and overall complex nature of the cave. I think you
will be intimidated."
Meanwhile back to the 4th survey of our favorite: Powell's Cave. Will your
grandchildren see a completed map?
===Carl Kunath
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: Linda Palit
To: 'Mark Minton' ; Texascavers@texascavers.com
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 11:27 AM
Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Re: Sonora Butterfly
As I understand it the owners have never allowed and are not interested in a
full survey -- worry about damage.
===Palit
As for there being 7 miles in Sonora, I doubt it, but if
true why hasn't anyone started a serious resurvey project? Could
make a great TSA activity.
==Minton
