Tyre Stream Cave, Jamaica

Jamaican Caving Notes

Jamaican Caves Organisation

Tyre Stream Cave June 6, 2006 - 11:00-13:00 EST Team: RS Stewart, E Slack, M Taylor, J Pauel, A Yovandich
District: Troy	Parish: Trelawny
WGS84 L/L: 18 15 48.0, 77 37 07.8
JAD69: 184449 E, 178967 N	JAD2001: 684560 E, 679256 N
Altitude: 190m WGS84	Accuracy: +/- 15m horizontal; +/- 20m vertical
Type: Stream passage	Accessibility: Walk-in
Depth: 1m	Length: 40m
Explorers: JCO (June 6/06)	Survey: None
Entrance size: 1.5m W x 2m H	Entrance aspect: apx 80 deg true
Vegetation in general locale: Farm	Vegetation at entrance: Scrub
Rock type: Yellow limestone	Bedding: Strong	Jointing: Moderate
Speleothems: Stals, flowstone	Palaeo resources: Marine fossils in x-section on wall?
Archaeo resources: None
Hydrology: Rainy-season input	Siltation: Medium
Dark zone: 70%.	Climate: Cool, humid.
Bats: None	Bat guano: None
Guano mining: N/A	Guano condition: N/A
Eleutherodactylus cundalli: Undetermined	Neoditomyia farri: None
Amblypygids: None	Periplaneta americana: Some
Cave crickets: None	Sesarma: Some
Other species: Araneae. Species undetermined.
Visitation: Occasional - local water source.	Speleothem damage: None
Graffiti: None	Garbage: Some
Ownership: Private	Protection: None
Vulnerability: Medium

Tyre Stream Cave
June 6, 2006 - 11:00-13:00 EST
Notes: RS Stewart

Tyre Stream Cave was first found and explored on May 11, 2005, during the Parks in Peril Project, by members of the JCO, with the assistance of Paul Bailey of Tyre. Because of rainy conditions at the time, and flood-risk, exploration remained incomplete. The aim of the visit on this day in 2006 was to finish it up.

This cave takes surface water seasonally and has a minor flow from subterranean input over an extended period. Water is pooled in the cave year-round when there is no actual flow. The rising for this cave is unknown.

The entrance is small, and low on the side of a cockpit. On this day, I was able to follow the passage until it eventually became low and sumped where the bedding-plane it is developed in sloped beneath the water-table. The passage was not surveyed but it is believed to be about 40m from the entrance to where we encountered the sump. A return visit will be made in the future to map this passage in aid of determing where the rising may be (we are not positive enough of the orientation to be able to guess at this time).

Again, as with the last visit, Sesarma crabs were seen, but this time I was uncertain as to whether they were windsor or verleyi, while last time I believed they were S. verleyi judging by the colour and morphology. A few American roaches were seen, apparently feeding on detritus that washes in, including nutrients from the yam farm on the cockpit slopes above the cave.

There is a substantial input of silt to the cave, with this coming from yam fields that are on the hills that immediately surround it on several sides. As with other sites in the district, the siltation could be reduced if trenching practices were altered.

Because there is water in the outer part of the cave much of the year, it is used by farmers as a water-source in dry times. Unfortunately, trash from this use is entering the cave in rainy times, with this including non-biodegradable plastics. Given enough time, this trash can be expected to aid in choking the cave with silt. Several of our crew took out the trash from the cave that we could access, but more may be located in the downstream area where it was too low and wet for us to enter.

We have changed the accuracy of the listed position from our 2005 coords as a result of this visit. Reception is poor, and our repeat position this time was about 12m out from the first visit.

Jamaican Cave Notes - Main Page

June 2006 Caving Notes - Main Page