Kuna Caves

Kuna Caves are lava tubes found south of Kuna, Idaho. There is currently one publicly known entrance to the cave, an opening in the ground with a caged ladder leading down into the cave.

Kuna Cave Entrance

Background

The caves are about 50 feet (15 m) deep and run about a quarter mile north and around 1,000 feet (300 m) south from the entrance. The southern portion of the cave requires you to crawl through a trench dug out of the clay floor of the cave leading to a small space approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) long by 3 feet (0.91 m) wide by 3 feet (0.91 m) high in which you can turn around to return to the main cavern.[1]

Though according to locals, at one time the system had been much larger and was composed of multiple caves, even stretching to the Snake River, before the United States Army Corps of Engineers blocked it off by detonating dynamite collapsing a portion of the cave.[2] A logbook was placed deep in the North end of the cave for people to sign in 2018. Although the entrance has a ladder to get down into the cavern, it is not maintained. The short road leading to the cave is unmaintained, often very muddy, and the cave itself is littered with trash and graffiti. The interior temperature of the cave hovers around 56 °F (13 °C) year round.[3]

The official Bureau of Land Management stance on the cave is that it should not be visited by the general public.[4]

References
  1. Ross, Sylvia H. (1969). Introduction to Idaho Caves and Caving. Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology.
  2. "ICYMI 2021: Inside Idaho: The legend of the Kuna Caves". BoiseDev. December 30, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. Ekman, Leonard C. (1962). Scenic Geology of the Pacific Northwest. Binfords & Mort. ISBN 9780832301308.
  4. "Experience Idaho: Kuna Caves". 104.3 WOW Country. Retrieved May 9, 2022.

43°24′43.7″N 116°26′59.0″W

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