Ursa Minor (cave) Ursa Minor (cave) Ursa Minor Cave is part of Sequoia National Park, a naturally formed system of caves in California's Sierra Nevada. The cave was discovered in August 2006 by four cave explorers from the Cave Research Foundation who found a softball-sized hole on a cliff face in the mountains. After widening the hole to allow for human entry, the explorers discovered one of the most spectacular caves in the western United States. The cave has since been named "Ursa Minor," because of the large bear skeleton found in the cave. The cave was featured in the September 2007 issue
Ursa Minor "septentrio", from "septem" (seven) and "triones" (oxen), from seven oxen driving a plough, which the seven stars also resemble. This name has also been attached to the main stars of Ursa Major. In Inuit astronomy, the three brightest stars—Polaris, Kochab and Pherkad—were known as "Nuutuittut" "never moving", though the term is more frequently used in the singular to refer to Polaris alone. The Pole Star is too high in the sky at far northern latitudes to be of use in navigation. In Chinese astronomy, the main stars of Ursa Minor are divided between two asterisms: 勾陳 "Gòuchén" (Curved Array) (including