ELLIOTT ET AL.: THE CAVE FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 
73 
Table 16. Ranked regional view of 291 caves with stygobites and troglobites. Occupancy (cave obligates/ 
caves) is highest in the Bay Area/Delta (Santa Cruz Karst and Napa caves). 
Region 
Stygobite Sites 
Troglobite Sites 
Cave Obligates 
Caves 
Occupancy 
Bay Area/Delta 
1 
7 
7 
8 
0.88 
Mojave Desert 
9 
6 
9 
0.67 
Klamath Mountains 
2 
26 
18 
28 
0.64 
Sierra Nevada South 
15 
32 
30 
47 
0.64 
Sea Caves 
2 
1 
2 
0.5 
Sierra Nevada North 
17 
69 
35 
86 
0.41 
Lava Flows North 
112 
9 
112 
0.08 
Coast Ranges 
0 
Totals 
35 
257 
105 
291 
0.36 
Table 17. High biodiversity caves as measured with B, (Elliott’s biodiversity value, 2007) and B 2 (based 
on single-site endemics). B 1 = SR*T*SE, B 2 = SR*T*SST. Caves are ranked on B,. Abbreviations: KM, Kla¬ 
math Mountains; LFN, Lava Flows North; SNN, Sierra Nevada North; SNS, Sierra Nevada South; BD, Bay 
Area/Delta; CR, Coast Ranges; SC, Sea Caves; MD, Mojave Desert; CD, Colorado Desert. 
Rank 
Cave 
Region 
County 
Type 
SR 
T 
SE 
Bi 
SST 
b 2 
1 
Clough Cave 
SNS 
Tulare 
Cave 
58 
11 
5.04 
3216 
3 
1914 
2 
Samwel Cave 
KM 
Shasta 
Cave 
44 
11 
5.92 
2865 
4 
1936 
3 
Empire Cave 
BD 
Santa Cruz 
Cave 
76 
6 
4.29 
1956 
4 
1824 
4 
Clay Cave 
BD 
Napa 
Ash Cave 
68 
5 
3.08 
1047 
2 
680 
5 
Lilbum Cave 
SNS 
Tulare 
Cave 
71 
5 
2.14 
760 
1 
355 
6 
Transplant Mine 
SNN 
Tuolumne 
Mine 
53 
7 
1.35 
501 
0 
0 
7 
Hurricane Crawl Cave 
SNS 
Tulare 
Cave 
51 
5 
1.76 
449 
1 
255 
8 
Music Hall Cave 
SNN 
Calaveras 
Cave 
32 
6 
2.21 
424 
1 
192 
9 
Lost Soldier's Cave 
SNS 
Tulare 
Cave 
81 
2 
2.00 
324 
2 
324 
10 
McLean's Cave 
SNN 
Tuolumne 
Cave 
98 
4 
0.72 
282 
0 
0 
11 
Hidden Cave 
SNS 
Tulare 
Cave 
52 
3 
1.58 
246 
1 
156 
12 
Bower Cave 
SNS 
Mariposa 
Cave 
76 
2 
1.5 
228 
1 
152 
13 
Carlow's Cave 
SNN 
Calaveras 
Cave 
26 
5 
1.57 
204 
1 
130 
14 
Kaweah Cave 
SNS 
Tulare 
Cave 
45 
2 
2.00 
180 
2 
180 
15 
Lost Piton Cave 
SNN 
Calaveras 
Pit 
37 
3 
1.27 
141 
1 
111 
16 
O’Neil’s Cave 
SNN 
Calaveras 
Cave 
20 
3 
2.14 
128 
2 
120 
17 
Walk Softly Cave 
SNS 
Tulare 
Cave 
43 
2 
1.25 
108 
1 
86 
18 
Subway Cave 
LFN 
Shasta 
Lava Tube 
30 
3 
1.09 
98 
1 
90 
19 
Shasta Caverns 
KM 
Shasta 
Cave 
17 
3 
1.75 
89 
1 
51 
20 
Poleta Cave 
SNS 
Inyo 
Cave 
12 
3 
2.33 
84 
2 
72 
