[2][3] The entrance to Booming Ice Chasm was initially found by accident by members of the Alberta Speleological Society while attempting to reach a different cave in June, 2008.

[3] The result of this is that the entrance pitch and floor are covered in a dense, cascading glacier-like ice block[6] and there is an underground, frozen waterfall and lake.

[2][3] It is approximately 150 kilometre south-southwest of Calgary, Alberta and is situated near the summit of Mount Sentry[9] at an elevation of 2200 metres on the south-side ridge.

[10] Booming Ice Chasm was initially identified in 2005, when speleologist Charles (Chas) Yonge came across a black speck on Google Earth.

In 2013, Global News' 16x9 accompanied caver Nicholaus Vieira and a team into the cave, where one of the waterfall ice climbing leads was completed.

[14] On the upper descending part of the cave, near the entrance, is a dense, steeply downward sloping sheet of ice,[7] dropping approximately 140 metres.

Approximately 140 metres below the entrance, on the cave floor, lies a large chamber that features an underground lake, which is completely frozen over.

[6] The ice floor is incrementally added to, as small amounts of water from occasional seasonal rain falls or melted snow, drips or seeps into the cave.

A map by caver, Nicholaus Vieira shows downward sloping paleo currents that indicates these types of incremental water flows.

[3] It is speculated by microbiologist and Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Thompson Rivers University, Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham, that Booming Ice Chasm may hold potential as a source of new super antibiotics.

[16] There are two climate and formation characteristics of Booming Ice Chasm, which have created a closed environment and in turn may have led to this potential existence of these specialised species of micro-organisms.

[7][16] The closed nature of Booming Ice Chasm's physical and atmospheric systems means that the microclimate is stable or controlled, not in a constant state of change, throughout the year.

[16] The second factor is the lack of plants,[7] which in most environments form the basis of food chains and microbial activity, thereby implying limited nutrients in Booming Ice Chasm.

[7] The combination of limited nutrients and the quantities of essential elements such as carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen in ice caves, has implications for the type of micro-organisms or microbes that may exist in these closed environments.

[16] Cheeptham pursued this opportunity by having Nicholaus Vieira plant petri dishes in Booming Ice Chasm for one month and collecting bacteria specimens for research.

[17] During an expedition in 2019, Sediments from the cave were collected by Katie Graham and Christian Stenner and sent to NASA Johnson Space Centre and the University of Alberta.

The purpose of the research involves determining the mechanisms for colonization and survival by microbial communities in dark, nutrient poor (oligotrophic) environments, and for Metagenomic studies and collecting genomes of bacteria to add to the database.

[22] The climate of Mount Sentry also presents several hazards for greater scale exploration and potential for development of commercial activities, with high pressure systems, sub-zero temperatures and strong winds.

[7] Film director Francois-Xavier De Ruydts' documentary, Terres d'Exploration explores remote locations of Canada, with each episode focusing on a different type of landscape.

[23] The first episode of season two, 'Grottes: Le Monde sous nos pieds', investigates Booming Ice Chasm, as well as neighbouring cave, White Rabbit.