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Sinks Canyon Cave is a very unique limestone fissure which the Popo Agie river courses into. The cave seems to be in its infancy. My guess is that it started as a phreatic development until a meander with the stream cut into its fractures on the surface. Now the cave is being carved by the river, causing a vadose formation. During the high water seasons, only about 70 percent seems to go into the cave. A dry bed during the winter is a spill way for the remanding water to flow down. During the waters low season, all the water is fed into the cave. The water flows into fissures to small for exploration.
The rise of the sinks is about a mile south of the sink. It is a still artesian type rise. The water flows out of the mountain from several different points. A large sandbar appears a the rise, and seems to change in size by the year. Perhaps this could tell us the size of cavern beneath the surface if studied long enough.
There is a small explorable section of the sinks. It is directly towards then south side of the entrance. It can only be explored during the winter and fall seasons, and is prone to flooding, so only experienced cavers should explore it.
The NOLS is the main care takers of this area, if you are seeking more info on this cave contact them.
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| Tips: |
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Sinks Canyon is a gorgeous destination for fishing, camping, and most importantly rock climbing. The cave can be explored in less than an hour, so the spelunking is not usually the only reason to go here.
If you make a trip to Lander be sure to stop by Wild Iris Climbing Shop. These guys have a great little store and they deal only the best gear, like Marmot, Petzl, and Mountain Hard Ware.
If you do go to explore this cave in the winter, I advise you to take your crampons if you drop into the entrance to check out the sink. It can be an ankle breaker if you slip on the ice falls.
Click here for more gear tips.
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