Cave and Basin National Historic Site
| Cave and Basin National Historic Site | |
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The Cave at Cave and Basin National Historic Site
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| Location | Banff, Alberta, Canada |
| Elevation | 1,405 m (4,610 ft) |
| Founded | 1885 |
| Founder | Three CPR workers |
| Built | 1916 (pool structure) |
| Governing body | Parks Canada and Municipality of Banff |
The Cave and Basin National Historic Site of Canada is located in the town of Banff, Alberta, 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.
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 below Devonian limestones. The water is heated geothermally from an estimated depth of three kilometres. The Cave and Basin is the only underground cavern large enough to comfortably accommodate groups of people.
Human habitation in this area can be traced back to 10,700 years BP 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 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, and in 1885 an order-in-council reserved 10 square miles (26 km2) 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.
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