Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park
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Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park, also known as Euclataws is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada Discovered in 1963 by spelunkers Delores and Jim Johnson of Nanaimo BC Canada; it was made a class "A" category 2 park on Thursday October 9th 1969 when the caves' existence was revealed to parks director Robert Ahrens by the Johnsons. The main cave is 4000 feet long with outstanding natural phenomena including intricate calcite formations such as flow stone, hollow stalactites known as "soda straws", calcite crystals containing 'cave pearls', hanging stalactites and a type of formation known semi-informally as 'bacon strips'.
After much lobbying by Mrs Johnson (who was a member of the International Speleological Society), Parks Director Robert Ahrens, and students of the University of Victoria cave club, the cave's entrance was sealed by the Provincial government to protect the system from vandalism and to preserve it for future generations. Unfortunately, the damage done by both vandalism and unrestrained cave use required that the remaining caves (which were still largely unvisited) be protected before the damage spread, with access restricted to authorised guided tours.
Mr and Mrs Johnson named their discovery Euclataws in honor of the First Nations tribe that frequented this region. For offering their discovery to the Province of British Columbia Canada, the B.C. Parks Board promised to always allow Mr and Mrs Johnson and their children future access.