Clapham Cave, Jamaica

Jamaican Caving Notes

Jamaican Caves Organisation

Clapham Cave

August 30, 2010

District: Clapham	Parish: St Ann
WGS84 L/L: By request only	JAD2001: By request only
JAD69: By request only	Altitude: 385m WGS84
Accuracy: +/- 5m horizontal; +/- 10m vertical
Type: Dry passage	Accessibility: Walk-in
Depth: 25m	Length: 50m
Explorers: Leeds, 1963	Survey: None
JU Ref: Pg 122	JU Map: N/A
Entrance size: 6m wide, 3m high	Entrance aspect: Not noted
Vegetation in general locale: Scrub/farm	Vegetation at entrance: Scrub
Geology: White limestone	Bedding: Poor	Jointing: Poor
Speleothems: Stals	Palaeo resources: None seen
Archaeo resources: Petroglyphs	Hydrology: Dry
Dark zone: 0%	Climate: ~24, dry
Bats: 500-1000	Bat guano: Little
Guano mining: Occasional	Guano condition: very minor deposits of fresh/fluff, and wet
Visitation: Occasional	Speleothem damage: None
Graffiti: Some	Trash: Much
Ownership: Windalco	Protection: None
Vulnerability: High

Clapham Cave
August 30, 2010
Team: RS Stewart, D Selvyn, Carlos
Notes: RS Stewart

Clapham Cave was visited in response to an enquiry from a friend in Pollyground as to whether we knew of the cave. We didn’t, it was convenient to do on this, the last day of fieldwork, and an associate, Carlos, was familiar with the district. Accordingly, it became the last site assessed during the August-July 2010 session of fieldwork. The team consisted of Stewart, Selvyn, and Carlos (who stayed at the entrance).

First, we must mention the disagreement between what we found, and what is given in Jamaica Underground.

From JU: “Depth: 25m. Length: 15m. At Clapham, 200m south of the village, 150m west of the road. A gully leads to a 6m wide entrance to a 3m pitch which ends on a 15m boulder descent into a choked chamber, 12m in length.”

Petroglyphs at Clapham

What we found: The entrance is located 50m NW of the road, and basically in Clapham (the village is spread out). The width is about 6m. There is no 3m pitch, but there is a built, concrete staircase where it might have been, which was put in for tourist use. Beyond this, there is a bouldery stretch about 15m long, with a gradual, easy descent. After a short level section, there is a lighthole on the right. Then, there is a breakdown chamber area that is more like 20m long, although we did not measure it. The total length of the cave is closer to 50m than 15. The width varies from about 6m to 15m as one goes inward.

The site we visited is locally well known, and we heard of no others. We do not understand the discrepancy in length, but the odds are good that it is indeed the listed site.

The most notable feature of the cave is the presence of Taino petroglyphs on the left side of the south-facing entrance chamber. There was no mention of these in JU, but because the site seemed promising in this regard, a careful search by Stewart soon found two, sketched in this report. The floor is sandy, and could be dug.

The total number of bats is roughly between 500 and 1000, with at least Artibeus jamaicensis present, and probably at least one other species (based on a visual inspection). Capture and release netting will be complicated by the lighthole further into the cave also serving as an exit. It is roughly 2m+ in width, and may be able to be covered. The main entrance should be suitable for a harp trap if work is done to block the area on either side with tarps.

Cave crickets are numerous. One amblypygid was noted. No roaches were seen.

There is much trash in the cave, although most of it is old metal, rather than household garbage. Also, someone lived here at some point – a mattress and old clothes were seen not far in, on the right.

Guano mining has taken place in the past, and there are currently no real accumulations, just thin patches of fresh/fluff, and about 1cm of wet guano on some boulders.

According to the local people, Windalco owns the land external to the entrance.

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