About us

The idea of Survey Down sprung into notion after printing my first cave map. I had just finished an 18-month project in Sistema Exploradora, repeatedly diving from the same cave entrance over and over again. The project consumed my life, and it was almost all I could think about.

I couldn't afford to dive every day but I'd spend my days-off in a trance, staring at the survey, staring at the map, and planning my next dive.

When we finally reached a finishing point, I put together a final draft and sent it out to a few friends to be proof-read for spelling mistakes, odd layout mishaps, etc.

No one replied.

I realized then, that my map wasn't just a map. It was my art. By that night I began to understand that I was no longer just a cave diver, I was suddenly an artist without an audience.

What I needed was a place to geek-out over cave maps with people who appreciate that sort of thing – and I know they exist! I needed a studio.

Survey Down is a place for cave cartographers to share their maps, and to share their art.

- Rory O'Keefe