IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF HYPOGENIC CAVES OF THE FAR WESTERN UNITED STATES

The characteristics that definitively constitute hypogene speleogenesis as a process are still equivocal within the field of karst science. There are currently two different approaches in determining speleogenetic cave type. The geochemical approach emphasizes geochemical mechanisms, process of dissolution, and source of aggressiveness of cave forming waters. The hydrogeological approach defines hypogenic caves through their morphology and place and position in a hydrogeological system. In this study a combination of both methods were used to identify enigmatic caves from the Klamath and Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and from the eastern Great Basin of Nevada.  Morphological , geochemical and hydrogeological characteristics were used as hypogenic process indicators for conduit porosity development. Classification parameters included three-dimensional morphological cave footprint, occurrence and morphology of primary wall and ceiling features, identification of secondary mineralizations such as speleothems and crystalline wall coatings, and classification of hydrogeologic regime. Though the study caves in California occurred in areas predominated by epigenic processes, the stated analysis identified them as hypogenenic caves formed under unusual geological/hydrogeological conditions. The Great Basin caves were confirmed as hypogenic in nature. This study showed that using a combination of geochemical and hydrogeological parameters was a successful means of identifying speleogenetic cave type.