Monstrous unexplored cave found in remote Canada nicknamed after Star Wars beast

A monstrous cave has been unearthed in remote western Canada and nicknamed after a famous execution pit in Star Wars.

A massive, unexplored cave stumbled upon in western Canada is said to be “about as big as they come” in terms of its monstrous size — which is why it’s been named after a carnivorous execution pit in Star Wars.

Found in a remote alpine valley in British Columbia’s Wells Gray Provincial Park, the team who are claimed to be its first explorers say it’s of ‘national significance’.

Referring to the spectacular find, John Pollack and Chas Yonge wrote the cave is “a major new find in Western Canada, and promises a dramatic new chapter in the story of Canadian cave exploration.”

Mr Pollock told Canadian Geographic that the cave had an entrance that was “truly immense, and not just by Canadian standards.”

The photo to the cave's entrance. Picture: Geologist Catherine Hickson/Canadian Geographic

It was discovered back in April during an aerial survey by the British Columbia’s Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.

Ministry biologists Bevan Ernst nicknamed the cave the Sarlacc Pit, after the giant sandy lair of the beast in Return of the Jedi.

Galaxy gangster Jabba the Hutt would force prisoners into the Sarlacc’s sinkhole lair in the Great Pit of Carkoon as a form of entertainment.

The Sarlacc isn’t an alien you’d want to meet. It’s multi tentacled with sharp teeth that drags victims into the hole … and into its mouth.

Actor Harrison Ford and Jabba The Hutt character in scene from Special Edition "Star Wars" film trilogy. Picture: News Corp Australia

“The opening is 100 metres long by 60 metres wide, and when you’re standing on the edge looking down into it, your line of sight is nearly 600 feet [183 metres]. You don’t get lines of sight of 600 feet in Canadian caves — it just doesn’t happen. And this is a shaft. It goes down quite precipitously, it had a large amount of water flowing into it and is wide open for as far down it that we’ve gone. The scale of this thing is just huge, and about as big as they come in Canada,” Mr Pollock said, adding that the Sarlacc name was unofficial and temporary.

The parks department is trying to figure out whether there is a traditional indigenous name for the area.

Galaxy gangster Jabba the Hutt in scene from Star Wars film "The Phantom Menace". Picture: News Corp Australia

PREVIOUS DESCENT UNLIKELY

Mr Pollock said chances were slim that anyone had attempted to explore the cave previously, given its assumed depth.

“The entrance to the river sink is precipitous, intimidating and sufficiently technical that pre-contact descent is unlikely,” he said.

“You’d need long ropes and the rope-ascending systems carried by cavers — it’s very unlikely that someone would try to drop into it on a short rope of the kind carried by mountaineers. Plus, the entrance is sufficiently notable that descent attempt would have been written up by mountaineers, cavers or park staff if it had been encountered in the past 40 or 50 years. No such account exists in caving or mountaineering literature.”

In September Mr Pollock joined geologist Catherine Hickson and caver Lee Hollis and other experts to survey the area.

Mr Hollis was proud to have made the first known descent, successfully navigating rockfall hazards and powerful whitewater that could have dragged him into the abyss.

Ms Hollis has been caving 31 years and said ‘the Sarlacc’ was “by far the largest and most impressive entrance pit I’ve ever encountered.”

During this trip, he abseiled down about 80m.

The famous pit in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Picture: Supplied

IMPOSSIBLE FIND

Ms Hickson said she was amazed by the find and found it almost unbelievable that the massive void had sat undiscovered for so long.

“My immediate reaction was that there can’t be a cave there, it’s impossible,” she told Global News.

“It is huge. It is enormous. When you first see it, you just gasp because it’s just this huge hole in the ground.”

Ms Hickson said the cave site is located in an area that would have been historically buried by snow year-round until between 20-50 years ago.

She said it’s located in an extremely remote and difficult to access position so she believes the April discovery may very well be the first time humans have ever laid eyes on the giant cave.

While the name is up for debate, a Change.org petition has already started pushing for Sarlacc Pit to be the official name.

“We believe “Sarlacc Pit” will be an apt additional name (or official name if there is no indigenous name) that will draw significant attention to this cave and Wells Gray Provincial Park in general. We want the Sarlacc Pit to be a part of British Columbia geography!” the petition states.

If the ‘Sarlacc’ does officially become part of Canada’s history, then we hope explorers don’t meet the same grim fate as those who faced it in Star Wars.