Friday Gate Cave, Jamaica

Jamaican Caving Notes

Jamaican Caves Organisation

Friday Gate Cave

August 18, 2010

District: Sherwood Forest	Parish: Portland
WGS84 L/L: 18 08 26.8, 76 22 33.9	JAD2001: 816023 E, 665693 N
JAD69: 315912 E, 165404 N	Altitude: 205m WGS84
Accuracy: +/- 5m horizontal; +/- 10m vertical
Type: Dry passage	Accessibility: Walk-in
Depth: >10m	Length: 37m
Explorers: GSD	Survey: None
JU Ref: Pg 178	JU Map: N/A
Entrance size: 3m wide, 2m high	Entrance aspect: W
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: None seen	Hydrology: Dry
Dark zone: 50%	Climate: ~23, semi-humid
Bats: <500	Bat guano: Little
Guano mining: None	Guano condition: very minor deposits of fresh/fluff
Visitation: Occasional	Speleothem damage: None
Graffiti: None seen	Trash: Some
Ownership: Private	Protection: None
Vulnerability: Medium

Friday Gate Cave
August 18, 2010
Team: RS Stewart
Notes: RS Stewart

Visited after Sherwood Forest Stream Cave. The hike from the road to the entrance is about 450m, SW, through a pasture, and then along a track on the NE side of a wet, minor valley. The main entrance faces west, and sits in a bushed-up gully. A sign, “Friday Gate Cave”, currently in poor condition, has been placed several metres away.

Friday Gate Cave Entrance Sketch

There is also a second entrance a short distance to the SW, although this was not georeferenced.

A passage about 4m wide, and 5m high descends to the SE. After about 15m, a small chamber on the right leads to the second entrance, while the main passage continues. Stewart was alone in the cave, so did not push to the very end, but GSD stated the length as 37m, and he covered at least 25m, so must have been close.

The bat inventory numbers are under 500, with species undetermined, although they did not appear to be Artibeus jamaicensis, and there was no sprouting fruit on the floor.

Cave crickets, and Eleutherodactylus cundalli were noted. No roaches were seen.

The cave was dry, with no mud, although it takes water from a gully. The thick vegetation upstream of the entrance appears to be preventing siltation. Occasional clearing does take place, but it probably grows back quickly, and any mud that was in the cave is removed during heavy rains by the fairly clear water that flows in.

A harp trap will work for capture and release at the main entrance. It is about 3m wide, by 2m high, with the shape when viewed from the inside as shown in the sketch.

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