Talus Cave - Pinnacles NM EarthCache

These caves are on the west side of the Monument, but can be accessed from the east side with a little hike. The coordinates are close to the caves, but it is impossible to get a reading nearer to the caves.

Yes, there is a virtual cache for the same feature. I didn't want to mess up his system and this adds the geological component.

Safety Warning: Be sure to carry enough food and water with you. Summer temperatures easily exceed 100 degrees. A flashlight is also required to make it through the caves safely. The caves are closed during periods of high water.

This cache examines the formation of a talus cave, a rather uncommon form of cave. The Bear Gulch Cave is similar, but that cave is closed from mid-May to Mid-July while Townsend’s big-eared bats are raising their young. Portions of that cave are also closed for the bat’s hibernation period.

Talus is the rock that falls from steep slopes and cliffs and accumulates at its base. The size of the rocks in talus ranges widely and can include huge boulders to sand grains. Normally this material forms a loose pile of jumbled rocks at the base of the slope.

However, this is not the case here because of the narrow canyons that have formed. Faults and fractures (natural cracks that form in rock) have created steep narrow canyons. As the large pieces of rock break off from above and fall into the narrow canyon, they become stuck between the walls. The National park service believes that a rockfall (the breaking off of a large number of boulders at one time) during the last series of ice ages created the Balconies Cave.

Continued weathering of the cliffs above, continues to fill in the small spaces in between the boulders that form the top of the cave. Occasionally, flash floods flow through the canyon and remove the smaller rocks.

Logging requirements:
Send me a note with :

1. The text "GC7046B Talus Cave - Pinnacles NM" on the first line
2. The number of people in your group.
3. Give your explanation as to why there are gates at either end of the cave.
4. Is the reason the gates are there have anything to do with how the caves were formed.

The above information was compiled from National Park Service information and the following:

• http://www.nps.gov/pinn/pphtml/subnaturalfeatures38.html
• http://www2.nature.nps.gov/views/KCs/CaveKarst/HTML/ET_Intro.htm
• San Francisco Bay Area Network I & M Program Monitoring Report: Phase I October 2002 version 7/7/2005 Jennifer Bjork

Placement approved by the Pinnacles
National Monument

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