The biggest and the longest
Which California caves lead the pack?
California’s caves are carefully documented
Cavers actively map and chart caves making for a plethora of cave statistics. On this page we highlight the longest, deepest and biggest in California. Most of the longest caves in the state are formed in marble (metamorphosed limestone), but a few are lava tubes and one is a talus cave. Our deepest caves are all in marble. But, surprisingly, our biggest cave room is in a sea cave. The deep and long cave lists are courtesy of cave-exploring.com at https://cave-exploring.com/index.php/long-and-deep-caves-of-the-world/
The Longest Caves in California (over a mile)
- 1. Lilburn Cave, 22.17 miles, Tulare County
- 2. Bigfoot Cave, 16.25 miles, Siskiyou County
- 3. Church Cave, 4.00 miles, Fresno County
- 4. Crystal Sequoia Cave, 2.94 miles, Tulare County
- 5. Hurricane Crawl Cave, 1.92 miles, Tulare County
- 6. Catacombs Cave (lava tube), 1.60 miles, Siskiyou County
- 7. Mammoth Cave, (lava tube), 1.56 miles, Modoc County
- 8. Apogee Cave, 1.42 miles, Sisikiyou County
- 9. Post Office Cave, (lava tube), 1.50 miles, Siskiyou County
- 10. California Caverns, 1.45 miles, Calaveras County
- 11. Glory Cave, 1.37 miles, Santa Cruz County
- 12. Paul Gibson Cave, 1.35 miles, Trinity County
- 13. Catwalk-Gaping Holes System (lava tube), 1.32 miles, Sisikiyou County
- 14. Vanished River Cave. 1.1 miles, Santa Cruz County
- 15. Bear Gulch Cave (talus cave), 1.09, San Benito County
- 16. White Chief Cave, 1.08 miles, Tulare County
- 17. Dry Stream Cave, 1.05, Sisikiyou County
The Deepest Caves in California
- 1. Bigfoot Cave, 1,250 feet deep, Siskiyou County
- 2. Church Cave, 547 feet deep, Fresno County
- 3. Lilburn Cave, 508 feet deep, Tulare County
- 4. Hummels Cave, 447 feet deep, Fresno County
- 5. Crystal 67 Cave, 415 feet deep, Tulare County
The Biggest Cave Rooms in California
- 1. Painted Cave, (sea cave) Santa Barbara County
- Maximum extents: 625 feet long x 100 feet wide and 125 feet tall
- Average sizes: 625 feet long, 75 feet wide and 70 feet tall
- Approximate volume: 3, 281,250 sq ft
- This does not include the underwater section of the cave
- 2. Ancient Palace, Shasta County
- Maximum extents: 420 feet long x 160 feet wide by 70 feet tall
- Average sizes: 400 feet long x 125 wide by 50 feet tall
- Approximate volume: 2,500,000 sq ft
- 3. Bigfoot, Big Room, Siskiyou County
- Maximum extents: 250 feet x 210 feet x 70 feet
- Average sizes: 225 feet x 200 feet x 40 feet
- Approximate volume: 1,800,000 square feet
- 4. Moaning Caverns, Calaveras County
- Maximum extents: 180 feet tall by 100 feet in diameter
- Average sizes: 170 feet tall by 75 feet wide by 75 feet across
- Approximate volume: 956,250 sq ft
- Mountain Room, Crystal 67 Cave
- Church Cave, Cathedral Room
- Crystal Cave, Marble Hall
- Hex Room in Lilburn