CaveFinder. LiDAR Cave Entrance Detection

Step 1: Select an Area
Click a button, then draw on the map to select your search area
Already know your area?
Elevation Data Source
Override auto-detection if you know the best source for your area.
Ready. Draw an area to begin.
Want more control?
Run an analysis to see results. When you return, your latest completed analysis reloads here automatically (server must still have it). Use Save in My Saved Results to keep a copy permanently.
After your scan, turn the top picks into an optimized field route + printable packet with Create Ridgewalk Plan
How to Use CaveFinder
1. Draw an area on the map over terrain you want to search (Setup tab). Use the draw box tool, or search by place name / coordinates.
2. Click Find Caves. CaveFinder scans the elevation data for terrain features that look like cave entrances, sinkholes, and karst depressions.
3. Review results in the Results tab. Pins appear on the map and in a ranked list.
• The list runs best first: the top spot looks the most cave-like in this scan
• Elev on a candidate = the site's ground elevation above sea level, not depth
• These are candidates, not confirmed caves, field verification is always needed
4. Adjust the filters to show more or fewer results.
• Show more spots below the list adds the lower-ranked spots
• Elevation range slider (Pro mode), narrow the ground-elevation band shown, e.g. to exclude candidates below or above the terrain you're targeting
5. Save what you want to keep. Click Save in the Results tab to add the run to Saved searches (Field Data tab, at the top), saved results don't expire like an active session does. Optionally try 3D View in Map Controls to tilt and rotate the terrain.
6. Create a Ridgewalk Plan to get a terrain-aware walking route between your selected candidates, downloads as a ZIP with a PDF route map and a GPX track for your phone or GPS.
7. Use the Field Data tab for everything that isn't a scan result: drop custom pins (Saved Points), record a GPS breadcrumb trail while hiking (Tracks), and add a caving contact to share tracks/points with (Friends). The tab has more sections too; open it to see them all.
8. Go to the field! Mark each spot as Cave found, Not a cave or Needs another visit after visiting it.
Tips for Better Results
Higher resolution = more caves found. At 30 m you'll catch large sinkholes. At 10 m you catch medium sinkholes but miss small ones. At 1 m you can pick out small sinks and pits a few metres across.
Draw small areas first. Start with a 2-5 km² box over known cave country to verify the tool finds what you expect before running a large area.
Enable the Karst layer in the Map Controls panel before drawing, if your area is outside the green overlay, there's little point running analysis there.
Have your own maps? Upload georeferenced cave maps and surveys as custom overlays from Your overlays in Settings. Quotas (file size, storage, uploads/day) scale up by tier, but the feature itself isn't Pro-only.
Outside the US? In the US, scans use USGS 3DEP LiDAR: 1 m where published, which covers most of the country, and 10 m elsewhere. We also carry national 1 m LiDAR for Slovenia (ARSO), Canada (HRDEM), France (IGN LiDAR HD) and New Zealand (LINZ) where those surveys have flown, and we bring higher-resolution data into more international areas all the time. Anywhere else, the scan uses the 30 m Copernicus global elevation data automatically. Every plan gets these live international fetches. On paid plans you can pick a different source under Switch to Pro mode in Setup: ALOS (30 m), NASADEM (30 m) or Copernicus, plus SRTM (90 m) when the list offers it.
Use field notes. After a field trip, mark each spot as Cave found, Not a cave or Needs another visit in the Results tab. This data is saved and included in GPX/KML exports for the next trip.
More Resources
Field Guidefull how-to manual How it worksthe science behind detections Contact supporthelp@cavefinder.app
Drag to draw a search area · Esc to cancel
Map Controls▼
Base Map
Hillshade
National lidar hillshade, no scan needed: shaded relief for seeing the ground’s shape. USGS and national agencies in the US, France, Canada and Slovenia
Hillshade (all directions)
Relief lit from several directions, so no slope hides in shadow. USGS and national agencies, US; national hillshade in France, Canada, Slovenia, no scan needed
Slope (national)
How steep the ground is, coarser than a scan. USGS and national agencies, US, France, Canada, no scan needed
Slope bands (national)
Steepness in coloured bands, see the key. USGS, US only, no scan needed
under 5° 5–10° 10–15° 15–20° 20–30° over 30°
Colour-infrared photo (NAIP)
Summer air photo in colour-infrared: healthy plants show red. USDA NAIP via USGS, US only, zoom 12 and in
Contour lines (national)
Lines of equal height, 25 ft apart up close and 10 ft closer in. USGS, US only, zoom 13 and in
Caving Organizations
Karst
France detailed geology
BRGM 1:50,000 geological map. France, zoom 6 and in
Soils
USDA soil map. Tap for soil name and depth to bedrock. US, zoom 12 and in
Geology
Macrostrat lithology
My points
My tracks
My drawings
Known caves
Sinkholes
Mines, underground
Mines, surface
BLM
All public land
Every public owner in one layer, coloured by owner. BLM Surface Management Agency, US
Township and section grid
Survey grid with township and section numbers. BLM, zoom 10 and in; not drawn in states without this survey (for example TN, KY, TX)
National Forest land
Filled: Forest Service land. Unfilled: other owners, or tracts not loaded at this zoom.
Forest roads and trails open to vehicles
USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map. Zoom 11 and in; click a line for season and vehicle types
BLM roads and trails
BLM, zoom 11 and in
road, open road, limited motorized trail non-motorized trail other public trail not assessed
Georgia WMA roads, gates and parking
Georgia DNR, zoom 12 and in; click for status
Missouri conservation area roads and parking
Missouri Dept. of Conservation, zoom 12 and in
TVA recreation land rules
TVA, zoom 12 and in; green some rules, amber bow only, red no hunting
National Park roads and trails
National Park Service, zoom 12 and in
Gates and access (OpenStreetMap)
OpenStreetMap volunteer data, may be out of date. Zoom 13 and in
Trails and roads
OpenStreetMap, the network Ridgewalk routes along. Zoom 13 and in
Weather forecast
Tap the map for the forecast there. NWS in the US, MET Norway elsewhere
UTM grid
Grid lines with MGRS reference. Zoom 7 and in
Recent burn areas
Wildfire outlines, last 25 years, newest strongest. NIFC, US, zoom 9 and in
Cell coverage
FCC carrier reports, 4G or 5G outdoors. US only, not a promise of signal
White-nose syndrome (bats)
USGS NABat, by county. Orange WNS, yellow fungus only; dashed suspected. Provisional
National Park land
Filled: Park Service land. Unfilled: other owners, or tracts not loaded at this zoom.
TVA Reservoir Land
Wildlife refuges, Corps and military land
State land
Local parks and land
Conservation easements
Watersheds
USGS subwatershed outlines. US only. Zoom 10 and in
Hydrology
Sinking streams and resurgences (USGS)
Where streams sink or rise. USGS, zoom 10 and in
Missouri losing streams
Missouri DNR, zoom 10 and in
Kentucky karst basins and flow paths
© Kentucky Geological Survey, zoom 12 and in
Dye traces
Missouri DNR and © Kentucky Geological Survey. Same plan as Known caves; zoom 10 and in
Springs & seeps
Thermal springs
Waterfalls
Custom Overlays
Legend▼
Known cave