Kuna Caves

The Kuna Caves^{[needs IPA]} (or Kuna Cave) is a lava tube cave south of Kuna, Idaho with a public entrance, an opening in the ground with a caged ladder leading down into the main cavern.

Kuna Cave Entrance

A group of children and young adults gather under the entrance of the Kuna Caves during noon, where the sun shines down on the cave from the entrance.

Background

The cave is about 50 feet (15 m) deep and runs about a quarter mile north and around 1,000 feet (300 m) south from the entrance. The southern portion of the cave requires crawling through a trench dug out of the clay floor of the cave leading to a small space approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) wide by 3 feet (0.91 m) tall by 4 feet (1.2 m) long in which you can turn around to return to the main [cavern].^[1] The interior temperature of the cave hovers around 56 °F (13 °C) year round.^[2] A logbook was placed deep in the North end of the cave for people to sign in 2018.^{[citation needed]}

Local Culture

According to locals,^[who?] at one time the system had been much larger and was composed of multiple caves, even stretching to the Snake River,^[3] before the United States Army Corps of Engineers blocked it off by detonating dynamite, collapsing a portion of the cave.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy

The official Bureau of Land Management stance on the cave is that it should not be visited by the general public.^{[citation needed]} Traveling to the caves involves driving along a short dirt road, that is often very muddy, leading to the cave from Kuna Cave Road. Although the entrance has a ladder to get down into the cavern, it is not maintained. The cave itself is littered with graffiti, trash, and ash from fires started by teenagers, leading officials to consider restricting access to the caves and sparking local demand for conservation of the caves.^[4]

In 2021, the Bureau of Land Management performed an environmental assessment and proposed a draft for a "Kuna Cave Recreation Site Improvement Project",^[5] which would improve public facilities by adding a road leading to the caves, a parking lot, an improved ladder, and a new grate to deter vandalism.^[6]

References

1. Ross, Sylvia H. (1969). Introduction to Idaho Caves and Caving (PDF). Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
2. Ekman, Leonard C. (1962). Scenic Geology of the Pacific Northwest. Binfords & Mort. ISBN 9780832301308.
3. "Outdoor Recreation". Kuna, ID. Archived from the original on 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
4. Caskey, Brady (2024-05-25). "Kuna Caves impacted by visitors dumping trash, painting graffiti, and lighting fires". Idaho News 6. Archived from the original on 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
5. "Kuna Cave Site Improvement Project". BLM National NEPA Register. U.S. Bureau of Land Management. 2021-03-13. Archived from the original on 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
6. "Bureau of Land Management releases analysis of proposed improvements to Kuna Cave". U.S. Bureau of Land Management. 2021-03-15. Archived from the original on 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-10.

43.4121°N 116.4497°W / 43.4121; -116.4497