Channel Islands National Park - Santa Cruz Island
Sea Cave Kayaking locations. This Santa Cruz Island Sea Caves map is made with National Park, NOAA, and USGS data from a earlier NPS contracted survey of the known and unkown sea caves on Santa Cruz Island. The source is from data compiled from the only official survey of the sea caves in 1983. REFERENCES -
Bunnell, d. 1983. Sea Caves of Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara, California: McNally and Loftin
Littoral caves(water sea caves) may be found in a wide variety of host rocks, ranging from sedimentary to metamorphic to igneous rock, but caves in the latter tend to be larger due to the greater strength of the host rock.
In order to form a hollowed out sea cave, the host rock must first contain a weak zone. In metamorphic or igneous rocks, this is typically either a fault such as the caves of the Channel Islands in California, or a dike as in large sea caves of Kauai's Na Pali Coast. In sedimentary rocks, this may be a weaker bedding-plane parting or a contact between layers of different hardness. The latter may also occur in igneous rocks, such as in the caves on Santa Cruz Island, California, where waves have worn the contact between the andesitic basalt and the agglomerate.
These sea caves were created by the constant sea wave action and tides. Erosion is ongoing anywhere that waves batter the coasts, but where sea cliffs contain areas of weakness, rock can be removed at a greater rate along these zones. As the sea reaches into the open fissures thus formed, they begin to widen and deepen even more due to the tremendous force exerted within a confined and focused spaces, not only by direct hydraulic action of the surf and any grinding rock particles that it bears, but also by compression of air pressure within. Blowholes (partially submerged caves that eject large sprays of water as waves retreat and allow rapid pushing re-expansion of air compressed within), attest to this process. Adding to the large hydraulic power of the waves is the constant abrasive forces of suspended sand and rock. Most sea-cave walls are irregular and chunky, reflecting an erosional process where the rock is stronger in some spots and fractured piece by piece. However, some caves have portions where the walls are very rounded and smoothed and polished, typically floored with cobbles, and result from the swirling motion of these cobbles in the surf zone acts like a rock polisher.
Sea caves can prove surprisingly complex where numerous fault zones of weakness—often faults—converge. In Catacombs Cave on Anacapa Island, at least six faults intersect. In several caves of the Californian Channel Islands, long fissure passages open up into large vaulted chambers beyond. This is invariably associated with intersection of a secondary fault oriented almost perpendicularly to that along the entrance passage.
For more information on kayaking around the sea caves, contact the National Park Service or one of the many kayak tour companies that are licensed with the National Park Service for the Channel Islands. Also, visit our Anacapa Sea Caves Map at - http://www.cccarto.com/anacapa/index.html
Make sure you visit the National Park site for visitor information and rules on visiting the Channel Islands National Park. http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/kayaking.htm
map copyright 2007 CCCarto.com
NPS Cave Name data. Cave locations can be off. Use as reference only. Data output and adjusted locations copyrighted by CCCarto
| CAVE_ID | CAVE_NAME | ENT_WIDTH | ENT_HIEGHT | LENGTH__M_ | SPECIAL_CONDITIONS | LONG_DD | LAT_DD |
| 108 | Kangas Cave | 21 | 3 | 99 | Predominately wet | -119.525065 | 34.036173 |
| 107 | Kiwi Cave | 15 | 6 | 34 | Predominately wet | -119.525507 | 34.036615 |
| 104 | Cormorant Cave | 9 | 6 | 34 | Wet | -119.527232 | 34.038626 |
| 106 | Urchins Galore Cave | 5 | 5 | 20 | Predominately wet | -119.527361 | 34.038141 |
| 105 | Flotsam Cave | 21 | 9 | 43 | Predominately wet | -119.527476 | 34.03829 |
| 103 | Varicolored Sponge Cave | 30 | 9 | 30 | Wet | -119.527796 | 34.039518 |
| 102 | Grey Cobble Cave | 11 | 5 | 18 | Predominately dry | -119.529986 | 34.040132 |
| 101 | Sharp Cobble Cave | 13 | 5 | 17 | Predominately dry | -119.530024 | 34.040285 |
| 109 | Surging Tidepool Cave | 0 | 0 | 43 | Submerged entrance; predominately dry | -119.533251 | 34.024813 |
| 110 | Boneyard Cave | 19 | 3 | 27 | Dry; difficult entry | -119.533716 | 34.024679 |
| 100 | Little Scorpion Bay Submerged Cave | 0 | 0 | 23 | Submerged | -119.546755 | 34.044782 |
| 99 | Little Scorpion Bay Submerged Cave | 0 | 0 | 35 | Submerged | -119.547122 | 34.044954 |
| 98 | Little Scorpion Bay Cave #6 | 10 | 9 | 57 | Wet; multiple entrances; heavy surge | -119.547427 | 34.047987 |
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| 95 | Little Scorpion Bay Cave #1 | 4 | 6 | 64 | Predominately wet | -119.547701 | 34.045183 |
| 94 | Little Scorpion Bay Cave #2 | 4 | 5 | 108 | Predominately wet | -119.547984 | 34.04611 |
| 96 | Little Scorpion Bay Cave #4 | 5 | 4 | 64 | Predominately wet; multiple entrances | -119.548236 | 34.047159 |
| 97 | Little Scorpion Bay Cave #5 | 16 | 8 | 55 | Wet; multiple entrances | -119.548358 | 34.04764 |
| 93 | Little Scorpion Bay Cave #3 | 7 | 3 | 64 | Predominately wet | -119.549365 | 34.046385 |
| 92 | Scorpion Bay Cave #2 | 11 | 8 | 60 | Wet tunnel | -119.551684 | 34.046575 |
| 91 | Scorpion Bay Cave #1 | 7 | 8 | 77 | Wet tunnel | -119.552043 | 34.047533 |
| 90 | Cavern Point Cave #3 | 4 | 6 | 19 | Wet tunnel | -119.561991 | 34.054758 |
| 89 | Cavern Point Cave #2 | 2 | 2 | 28 | Usually submerged | -119.562144 | 34.054964 |
| 88 | Cavern Point Cave #1 | 20 | 8 | 101 | Predominately wet | -119.562304 | 34.055089 |
| 87 | West Cavern Point Cave #2 | 1 | 2 | 15 | Predominately dry | -119.563533 | 34.055692 |
| 86 | West Cavern Point Cave #1 | 8 | 4 | 80 | Predominately wet | -119.563739 | 34.05573 |
| 85 | Cavern Point Cove Cave #5 | 2 | 1 | 47 | Dry | -119.56409 | 34.055471 |
| 84 | Cavern Point Cove Cave #4 | 5 | 5 | 33 | Dry | -119.56428 | 34.055257 |
| 83 | Cavern Point Cove Cave #3 | 5 | 9 | 21 | Predominately dry | -119.564479 | 34.05517 |
| 82 | Cavern Point Cove Cave #2 | 6 | 2 | 14 | Predominately wet | -119.564738 | 34.055208 |
| 81 | Cavern Point Cove Cave #1 | 23 | 4 | 89 | Predominately wet | -119.56499 | 34.055242 |
| 80 | Neptune's Trident Cave East | 34 | 9 | 145 | Wet; narrows significantly | -119.565631 | 34.054597 |
| 79 | Neptune's Trident Cave Middle | 34 | 9 | 30 | Wet; narrows significantly | -119.565776 | 34.054468 |
| 78 | Neptune's Trident Cave West | 34 | 9 | 76 | Wet; narrows significantly | -119.565875 | 34.05438 |
| 77 | Thrashed Dinghy Cave | 14 | 2 | 28 | Predominately wet | -119.566889 | 34.052801 |
| 76 | Lost Lobster #2 | 6 | 3 | 49 | Predominately wet | -119.571788 | 34.052362 |
| 75 | Lost Lobster Cave #1 | 6 | 8 | 47 | Predominately wet | -119.572093 | 34.052438 |
| 73 | Bat Cave | 44 | 11 | 190 | Predominately dry; multi-chambered | -119.572833 | 34.051664 |
| 72 | H Cave | 21 | 5 | 87 | Predominately wet | -119.573123 | 34.05132 |
| 71 | Y Cave | 6 | 3 | 21 | Predominately dry | -119.573558 | 34.050638 |
| 74 | Sea Stack Cave | 6 | 8 | 122 | Wet; multiple entrances | -119.573817 | 34.052446 |
| 70 | Hidden Lake Cave | 3 | 3 | 21 | Landlocked | -119.574099 | 34.050035 |
| 69 | Purple Urchin Cave | 14 | 3 | 59 | Predominately wet | -119.577395 | 34.050264 |
| 68 | Dripstone Cave | 21 | 3 | 37 | Predominately wet | -119.578463 | 34.050451 |
| 67 | Sidepocket Cave | 5 | 5 | 57 | Wet | -119.580401 | 34.050702 |
| 66 | Seal Canyon Cave | 12 | 9 | 189 | Wet; partially submerged | -119.581416 | 34.050851 |
| 65 | Little Blowhole Cave | 12 | 3 | 15 | Wet | -119.587069 | 34.05187 |
| 64 | Surging T Cave | 15 | 11 | 108 | Wet, with tunnels | -119.587367 | 34.051782 |
| 63 | Potato Harbor Cave | 18 | 6 | 22 | Dry | -119.591929 | 34.047048 |
| 62 | Potato Rock Cave #2 | 8 | 3 | 28 | Dry | -119.595111 | 34.048245 |
| 61 | Potato Rcok Cave #1 | 4 | 5 | 42 | Predominately wet | -119.595202 | 34.04812 |
| 60 | Potato Rock West Cave | 0 | 0 | 0 | Unmapped | -119.596125 | 34.046876 |
| 59 | Little T Cave | 4 | 3 | 48 | Predominately wet | -119.59627 | 34.046453 |
| 57 | Coche Cove Cave | 11 | 5 | 98 | Wet; multi-chambered | -119.606326 | 34.039243 |
| 58 | Backdoor Cave | 11 | 11 | 85 | Wet tunnel | -119.606333 | 34.039452 |
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| 56 | Cave of the Sea Swifts | 3 | 5 | 36 | Predominately wet | -119.705736 | 34.037219 |
| 55 | Surprise Blowhole Cave | 8 | 5 | 25 | Predominately wet | -119.708651 | 34.039726 |
| 54 | Contact Cave | 11 | 6 | 21 | Dry | -119.708964 | 34.040141 |
| 53 | Platt's Harbor Cave #2 | 12 | 3 | 39 | Predominately wet | -119.73411 | 34.045947 |
| 52 | Platt's Harbor Cave #1 | 20 | 2 | 16 | Predominately wet | -119.734362 | 34.045943 |
| 51 | Midden Point Cave | 13 | 9 | 102 | Predominately wet | -119.741618 | 34.049575 |
| 111 | Willows Anchorage Cave #1 | 9 | 6 | 20 | Predominately dry | -119.74463 | 33.963252 |
| 50 | Emerald Pool Cave | 8 | 12 | 48 | Wet; Partially submerged | -119.748454 | 34.051318 |
| 48 | Fry's Harbor Cave | 7 | 5 | 64 | Wet | -119.755862 | 34.056376 |
| 49 | Fry's Harbor Submerged Cave | 0 | 0 | 0 | Submerged, unexplored | -119.75603 | 34.055445 |
| 112 | Willows Anchorage Cave #2 | 5 | 6 | 24 | Unmapped; surgey conditions | -119.756226 | 33.960715 |
| 47 | Diablo Anchorage Cave | 11 | 8 | 95 | Submerged at all but very low tides | -119.767665 | 34.056532 |
| 46 | Leftover Cave | 4 | 7 | 46 | Predominately wet | -119.77508 | 34.055903 |
| 45 | Fractured Tunnel | 4 | 7 | 52 | Wet, two opening tunnel | -119.775385 | 34.055853 |
| 44 | Double Decker Cave | 3 | 5 | 42 | Predominately wet | -119.78187 | 34.056082 |
| 43 | Baby's Harbor Cave | 8 | 6 | 30 | Wet | -119.788043 | 34.055945 |
| 42 | Lady's Harbor Cave | 19 | 23 | 122 | Wet; narrows quickly | -119.790248 | 34.05678 |
| 41 | Arch Rock Cove Cave | 26 | 8 | 26 | Predominately wet | -119.799326 | 34.054213 |
| 40 | Waterfall Cave | 14 | 5 | 18 | Predominately dry | -119.804438 | 34.052622 |
| 39 | Faultless Cave | 15 | 6 | 91 | Predominately wet | -119.808413 | 34.051729 |
| 38 | Hidden Ampitheater | 98 | 8 | 82 | Predominately dry | -119.810702 | 34.050623 |
| 37 | Tex Shelter Cave | 30 | 9 | 21 | Predominately wet | -119.815829 | 34.052446 |
| 36 | Little Tex Cave | 2 | 2 | 12 | Predominately dry | -119.816271 | 34.052225 |
| 35 | Hidden Canyon Tunnel | 17 | 9 | 23 | Dry | -119.816721 | 34.052046 |
| 34 | Cueva Valdez | 24 | 18 | 131 | Dry; multiple entrances | -119.818652 | 34.052522 |
| 33 | Green Grotto | 6 | 6 | 181 | Wet; multi-chambered | -119.820017 | 34.053755 |
| 32 | Fern Grotto | 17 | 9 | 21 | Dry | -119.851268 | 34.067552 |
| 31 | Shark's Teeth Cave | 14 | 8 | 158 | Wet | -119.853 | 34.06949 |
| 30 | Breathing Cave | 29 | 12 | 106 | Wet | -119.853457 | 34.06944 |
| 29 | Kelp Trap Cave | 26 | 12 | 67 | Predominately wet | -119.854884 | 34.069867 |
| 28 | Little Painted Cave | 29 | 15 | 91 | Predominately wet | -119.858226 | 34.071225 |
| 27 | Painted Cave | 30 | 40 | 370 | Predominately wet | -119.860728 | 34.070493 |
| 26 | Seals' Secret Cave | 30 | 9 | 79 | Predominately wet; multi-chambered | -119.865275 | 34.070214 |
| 25 | Hidden Room Cave | 18 | 6 | 75 | Predominately dry | -119.865672 | 34.069787 |
| 24 | Seal's Cove Submerged Cave | 0 | 0 | 0 | Submerged | -119.865992 | 34.070325 |
| 23 | Cave of the Mists | 9 | 6 | 149 | Predominately wet | -119.866725 | 34.071027 |
| 22 | Respiring Crevice Cave | 12 | 9 | 58 | Predominately wet | -119.868472 | 34.071828 |
| 21 | Backwash Cave | 12 | 6 | 48 | Predominately wet | -119.868716 | 34.071568 |
| 20 | Uvula Cave | 27 | 5 | 44 | Wet | -119.874637 | 34.072991 |
| 18 | Sideways Cave | 37 | 6 | 93 | Predominately wet | -119.875392 | 34.072762 |
| 19 | Cave of the Bird's Eggs | 16 | 12 | 129 | Dry | -119.875438 | 34.07272 |
| 17 | Blimp Hanger Cave | 30 | 67 | 76 | Predominately wet | -119.880267 | 34.073235 |
| 16 | Not Much Cave | 18 | 12 | 30 | Wet | -119.882235 | 34.072938 |
| 15 | Twin Faults Cave (unmapped) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Predominately wet | -119.884303 | 34.074364 |
| 14 | Del Mar Cove Cave | 12 | 21 | 76 | Predominately dry | -119.894717 | 34.073697 |
| 13 | Natural Bridge Cave | 14 | 8 | 117 | Wet | -119.899783 | 34.073746 |
| 12 | Cave of the Swimming Cormorants | 5 | 12 | 44 | Predominately wet; surge | -119.904071 | 34.074826 |
| 11 | Could Go Cave | 5 | 8 | 46 | Wet | -119.906512 | 34.075146 |
| 10 | Swiss Surprise Cave | 7 | 9 | 176 | Predominately wet | -119.908336 | 34.075272 |
| 9 | Blue Grotto | 9 | 5 | 40 | Predominately wet | -119.908458 | 34.075776 |
| 8 | Painted Grotto | 4 | 18 | 124 | Predominately wet | -119.911677 | 34.076584 |
| 7 | Dry Sandy Beach Cave | 24 | 24 | 111 | Predominately dry | -119.912448 | 34.077027 |
| 6a | Unexplored | 0 | 0 | 0 | Predominately wet | -119.919978 | 34.073479 |
| 6b | Unexplored | 0 | 0 | 0 | Predominately wet | -119.920237 | 34.073681 |
| 6 | Deathtrap Cave | 12 | 6 | 46 | Predominately wet; surge | -119.920276 | 34.073303 |
| 5 | Birdtracks Cave | 23 | 14 | 97 | Predominately dry | -119.920848 | 34.072445 |
| 4 | Suicide Crevice Cave | 8 | 11 | 48 | Predominately wet | -119.921595 | 34.072006 |
| 2 | Shipwreck Cave | 17 | 23 | 123 | Predominately dry | -119.921641 | 34.070362 |
| 3 | Mussel Cave | 2 | 8 | 44 | Predominately wet | -119.922053 | 34.07069 |
| 1 | Thunder Cave | 7 | 9 | 84 | Wet | -119.92229 | 34.070053 |
Data source NPS.