The Cave and Basin National Historic Site of Canada is located in the town of

Banff, Alberta Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise. At above Banff is the community with the second highest ...

, within the Canadian Rocky Mountains, at the site of natural thermal mineral springs around which Canada's first national park, Banff National Park, was established.

Geology and setting

The Cave and Basin is the lowest component of nine sulphurous hot springs clustered in three groups on the northeast flank of Sulphur Mountain. All are located along the Sulphur Mountain

Thrust Fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. If ...

below Devonian limestones. The water is heated geothermally from an estimated depth of three kilometres. The Cave and Basin is the only

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

rn large enough to comfortably accommodate groups of people.

History

Human habitation in this area can be traced back to 10,700 years BC with the retreat of the last great glaciation, and it is unlikely that the hot springs escaped being noticed. The first recorded reference to hot springs here is by

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...

of the Palliser Expedition in 1859, followed by Joe Healey in 1874 who found the Cave and Basin site in 1875. But it was Canadian Pacific Railway workers William McCardell and Frank McCabe who brought national attention to the Cave and Basin. In 1883 they descended through the skylight entrance into the cave using a felled tree, and the following year constructed a small cabin nearby with the intention of commercializing the Cave and Basin site. Conflicting claims by other parties prompted intervention by the Canadian government headed by

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, and in 1885 an order-in-council reserved around the Cave and Basin, the Banff Hot Springs Reserve. This was the genesis of Canada's national parks system. In 1886 the Canadian government held an inquiry into the various private claims to settle on compensation. In 1886 an artificial tunnel was driven into the Cave and Basin to aid visitation. In 1912 bottled water from the Cave and Basin site was sold for its alleged curative powers. In 1914 a naturally heated swimming pool was opened to the public and continued to operate until 1994. The Cave and Basin was formally declared a National Historic Site in 1981. Canada's national parks system celebrated its centennial in 1985, on the anniversary of the order-in-council that established the original reserve around the Cave and Basin. On 20 August of that year,

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

and consort of the

Queen of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

, unveiled the National Historic Site plaque.

Facilities

The built facilities include an artificial tunnel to natural grotto, a replica of the original 1887 bathhouse, the restored 1916 swimming pool and structure, interpretive displays, hiking and snowshoe trails. The 1887 bathhouse, the first structure on the site, proved inadequate by 1902, and a new pool was built in 1904. The stone bathhouse was completed in 1914, designed by architect Walter S. Painter. The pools were closed in 1975, restored in 1985, then closed again in 1992. An interpretive center now uses the structures. The Banff Upper Hot Springs is a separate facility some southeast of the Cave and Basin. Many of the early structures were built by detainees held at a World War I

Ukrainian Canadian internment The Ukrainian Canadian internment was part of the confinement of "enemy aliens" in Canada during and for two years after the end of the First World War. It lasted from 1914 to 1920, under the terms of the ''War Measures Act''. Canada was at war wi ...

camp located nearby. The camp held citizens of countries with which Canada was at war at the time, and had a significant Ukrainian contingent. A permanent exhibit about Canada's first national internment operations was opened at the Cave and Basin site, postponed three months by extensive flooding across southern Alberta, on 13 September 2013, with an address by

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...

, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism.

Environmental

Almost all of the delicate

cave formation A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending on ...

s had been stripped out of the Cave and Basin immediately following its 'discovery'. According to articles in the '' Calgary Herald'' at the time, the construction of the artificial tunnel was contentious even in 1887. In 1924 western mosquitofish were introduced into the hot springs in an attempt to control mosquitos. Tropical fish illegally introduced into the lower springs by local aquarium enthusiasts may have contributed to the extinction of the Banff longnose dace. Cave and Basin hot springs are also notable as the habitat for the Banff Springs snail, listed as an endangered species in 2000 by the

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC, French: Comité sur la situation des espèces en péril au Canada, COSEPAC) is an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists whose "raison d'être is to identify s ...

Gallery

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References

* ''Caves of the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains'' J Rollins, Rocky Mountain Books, 2004 * ''Physical and Chemical Properties of the Sulphur Mountain Thermal Springs, Banff National Park, and Implications for Endangered Snails'' Stephen E. Grasby and Dwayne A.W. Lepitzki, 2002, NRC Canada

External links

General information

Technical information on the springs and the Banff Snail

Cave and Basin Bathhouse
at the Alberta Society of Architects
Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association
{{coord, 51, 10, 06, N, 115, 35, 29, W, display=title Caves of Alberta Banff, Alberta National Historic Sites in Alberta Hot springs of Alberta Landforms on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Buildings and structures on the National Historic Sites of Canada register 1885 establishments in Canada