The AMERICAN CAVER BULLETIN SIXTEEN of the NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
The AMERICAN CAVER BULLETIN SIXTEEN of THE NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Member of the American Association for the AdYancement of Science
IN THIS ISSUE ...
Accurate and informative articles on caves including
CAVES OF INDIANA THE SPELEO-BAROMETER ICE CAVES OF THE UNITED STATES CAVES AND KARST OF THE .U.S.S.R. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF CAVERNS IN THE BEECH CREEK LIMESTONE IN INDIANA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF LIMESTONE CAVES IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON THE MINERALOGY OF NEW RIVER CAVE PLEISTOCENE ECOLOGY OF CUMBERLAND BONE CAVE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT 'OF SEA CAVES
DECEMBER 1954 THE AMERICAN CAVER T HE NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY was organized in 1940. It now has mem Published by bers scattered throughout the United States, and also has many members in THE NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY foreign countries. To stimulate interest in caves and to record the findings THE SOCIETY is a nOll-profit organiza of explorers and scientists within and outside the Society tion of men and women interested in the study and exploration of caves and allied phenomena. It is chartered under the law of the District of Columbia. Its energies IN THIS ISSUE ...... December, 1954 are devoted to the unlocking of the secrets of the world underground. PREFACE ...... 1 THE SOCIETY serves as a central agency for the collection, preservation and publi cation of scientific, historical and legend FRONTIspmCE ...... 2 ary information relating to Speleology. It arouses interest in the discovery of new caves and encourages the preservation of IcE CAVES OF THE UNITED STATES ...... William R. Halliday 3 the natural beauty of all caverns. THE AFFAIRS of the Society are con PLEISTOCENE ECOLOGY OF CUMBERLAND trolled by a Board of Governors. The Board appoints the national officers. T he BONE CAVE ...... Bro. G. Nicholas, F.S.C. 29 Board also approves committee chairmen - who are chosen not only for their prov ed ability ill a particular field, but also CAVES AND KARsT OF THE U.S.S.R...... M. B. Shelley 40 for their activity in the work of the So ·ciety. CAVES OF INDIANA ...... George F. Jackson 55 OFFICERS FOR 1954-55: W illiam E. Da vies, Falls Church, Va., President; Bur ton S. Faust, Washington, D. c., Vice ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF CAVERNS IN Presidwt (Administration); Joseph D. Lawrence, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa. Vice THE BEECH CREEK LIMESTONE IN INDIANA President (Organization); Jerome M. Preston McGrain and O rville L. Bandy 65 Ludlow, Trenton, N. J. Vice-President (Pltblications); Albert C. Mueller, Scotch Plains, N. J. Vice-President (P.ublic Re ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SEA CAVES. la tions); Brother G. Nicholas, F.S.C., David G. Moore 71 Cumberland, Md. Vice-President (Re search) ; Howard N. Sloane, Upper Mont clair, N. J.. Treasurer; Rhoda Coulson, SUPPLEMENTAL REpORT ON THE MINERALOGY Washington, D. c., Secretary to the OF NEW RIvER CAVE ...... John W. Murray 77 Board of Governors. DIRECTORS: Thomas C. Barr, Jr., Nash ville, Tenn.; Roger W. Brucker, Yellow REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF LIMESTONE CAVES Springs, Ohio ; Robert H. Flack, Silver Spring, Md.; WilIiaTl1 J. Foster, Falls IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE ...... Thomas C. Barr, Jr. 83 Church, Va.; William R. Halliday, Salt Lake City, Utah; George F. J acksoll, THE SPELEO·BAROMETER ...... Donald N. Cournoyer 91 Evansville, Ind.; Lewis C. Kibbee, Gaith ersburg, Md. ; Samuel A. Loyd, Jr., Waynesboro, Va.; Charles E. Mohr, LIST OF GROTTOES AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS...... 94 Greenwich, Conn. ; John Dyas Parker, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Miles D. Pillars, Washington, D. c.; Ivan T. Sanderson, WHO'S WHO IN BULLETIN SIXTEEN ...... 95 New York, N. Y.; Ida V. Sawtelle, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Howard A. Shugart, Glendale, Calif. ; Phil ip M. Smith, Spring field, Ohio; John L. Spence, Brooklyn, PUBLISHED intermittently, at least once a year; EDITOR: Jerome M. Lud N. Y.; William J. Stephenson, Bethesda, low, 1108 West State St., Trenton 8, N. J. Md.; Ralph W. Stone, Harrisburg, Pa.; Inquiries relating to the publication of manuscripts in the BULLETIN J oh11 N. Thomasson, Waynesboro, Va.; should be addressed to the Editor; those relating to the distribution of Halvard Wanger, Shepherdstown, W. Va. the BULLETIN should be addressed to the Office of the Secretary, National OFFICE SECRETARY : Mrs. Lois B. Cutler. Speleological Society, 2829 So. Buchanan St., Fairlington, Arlington, Va. LOCAL SECTIONS of the Society are called COPYRIGHT, 1955 by The National Speleological Society. Grottoes. They serve to stimulate and co ordinate activity and increase the interest, PUBLICATIONS include the BULLETIN published at least once a year, and en joyment and productiveness of caving. the NEWS appearing monthly. All members receive the BULLETIN and the NEWS. LIBRARY: An excellent speleological library is owned by the Society and is Membership helps to support the publications, special investigations, and being constantly enlarged. Items on hand the operation of the Society. may be borrowed by NSS members. Ex Associate ...... $ 3 Sustaining ...... $10 tensive collections of cave maps, photo Regular ...... $ 5 Institutional ...... $10 graphs and slides are being gathered and Life ...... $100 are available on a loan basis. Preface
During every year of its life the f-.:a tional Speleological Society has increased in stature, influence, and activities. The period since the last Bull etin was released has been no exception in the general prog ress and g rowth of the Society. The Society has conducted its fi rst large-scale, scientific study of a cave. The report of this activity is presented in a book entitled "The Caves Beyond". This is the culmination of the cooperative ef forts of a large g roup of members who spent many long hours of heavy, arduous labor. a considerable amount of vacation time, and a very substantial personal financial sacrifice to make the F loyd Collin s Crystal Cave Expedition a success. Our thanks and appreciation are extended to all who contributed time, equipment, talent, or finances to thi s project. \Ve ha\'e been honored by having the officials of our Kational Park Ser vice consult us on matters of policy governing speleological acti\" ities within areas under their jurisdiction. N umerous conferences ha\'e been held and a f ree exchange of ideas and thoughts encouraged, vvhich resulted in a vastly improved and more understanding appreciati on of mutual problems. As a result a modified and liberali zed set of regula ti ons that affect the Society and its members has been formulated. \Ve have been in vited to attend the \ \To dd Cong ress of 1Iineralo g ists to be held in Mexico in 1956. This is the fir st time an invitation has been extended to speleologists to attend these meetings. Conse quently, \\'e feel g reatly honored by this recognition. This Cong ress meets every four years and only rarely on the ::\ orth ~-\1l1 e ri can conti nent. Our recent meeting . held concurrently with the American Associ ation for the AC!\'ancement of Science. at Berkeley, Cali fornia, was the best attended of any such session since the Society has been a member of that scientific g roup. Such meetings are for the primary purpose of providing sessions at which papers directed to the more serious aspects of speleolog-y may be presented. They provide, also, an additional focal poi nt at which widely scattered members may meet and exchange ideas. The r\nnual Convention continues to be the most important and inl ~lu e nti a l acti\'ity of the Society. 1t is at these meetings that a def ini te attempt is made to provide a program of papers. discussions, and acti\·iti es. among- which every person, regardless of the length of hi s membership will find something of interest. T here has been a substantial increase in our Affi li ated members. all of \\'hich are foreig-n g roups of speleologi ts. T hese memberships g-ive our publications a worlC\ -\\·ide circul ation. ] n turn, we receive publications from such member g roup '. This arrang-ement brings
( Coll l illll cd (} II PII[Jc' 95 )
Ice Caves of the United States
By WILLIAM R. HALLIDAY, M.D.
Ice (UlVes harue lOll Y fas cinated Ih e speleologist but few persons realize Ih e ex lelll 10 which Ih ey exist in Ih e Ull ited S Ia.les. T he accompa.lIyil1g article presel1ts a delailed ill velll ory 0/ icc caves to be fO llnd in Ihis couutry togelh er w ilh 1110.1IY oili er fa.cls as 10 Ih ei1' origin. a.l1d develo/,1II ell t.
That ice should he found in certain caves has estimable contributions, far greater gaps \-"ould long stirred the interest and curiosity o f the caver, exist in our present knowledge, and to them, the a nd 0 [ the imagi na ti \'e observer in general. T o a uthor's appreciation is sincerely rendered. \ i\' ith m any, fallliliar with the year-round comfort o f few exceptions, the data so contributed, whether the majority o f our A merican caves, its occur or not included in the reference li st as "personal r ence seems anomalous if not incredible, A little communication" , is on fil e vvith the National Spe refl ectiun, however, wi ll show that to expect this leological Society, to be the universal case would be unreali sti c. In Nevertheless, despite all the data which could the case o f the Nakimu Caves, high in the Selkirk be gathered through field, bibliographic and inter M ountains o f British Columbia, the surprising personal research, this paper inevitably indicates feature is not that one o f the caves contains ice that important data is l\J1 a\'ailable in far too ma ny the year round ( 23) . but that the briei summer cases, and a few seriously incorrect conclusions thaw is sufficient to keep all the others clear. may have thus been introduced into this paper. A bout 50 years ago, considerable in terest in thi s Their correction would be welcomed. L et us hope subject was evident in the U nited States, and a that the number of new ice caves discovered and number of excell ent studies were conducted (9, reported in the future will only be surpassed by 10. I I , 74, 75, 78. 123. etc. ). These have been the amount o f new data on those already knowl1 , imprm'ed upon very little in the intervening years so that another survey o f this type will be neces despite a conside rable literature, much of which, sary in a much sh orter time interval. un fortunately, is unsound and based upon incom plete informat ion. In addition, the total number DEFIKITTON o f cayes has in c r ea~ed it hundred fold, so that a Due to the prevalent con fusion as to the defi moderate increa,:e in the number of known ice nition of a cave, the term ic e wve has been applied caves is entirely re:1:,o nahle. \ Vith the increase in to m ore mines, fi ssures, chasms, canyons, sinks, numher ha" n , me an increase in data, which, even talus accumulations, shelters, tunnels, a reas o f tholl g'h iar ir(Hll completc. has stimulated the evo permafrost and other unlikely spots than to true lutiull l, r ma ny ll(' \\' concepts. meteorological as caves. Since it is usually the ice rather than the wcll :1:-; :-; pl' !eplpgical. cave which is the curiosity, it must be admitted Thi:-; 1); 1] 1(=' r i,: Ih)t pr e:
4 NATION AL SPELEOLOG I CAL S OCIE T Y ice (45 ). Sam's Point Caves, wh i' e locall y called radicably fi xed in popular and scientific usage, and ice caves, contain little if any pe rsistent ice ( 73). there seems little actual harm in its use when This is an example of talus in a gorge. about properly defined and limited. In this paper, the whi ch numerous fantasti c tal es are told. terms "ice cave" and "glaciere" will be used some Mr. F rank T homson, the well-known hi storian what interchangeably in discussing true caves, but of Spearfish, S. D., has kindly investigated the "glaciere" will be appli ed to ice-containing sub "Ice Cave at Spearfi sh" pictured in an earl y issue terranean cavities of all types, both natural and of the Black Hill s E ngineer (99). After consid artifi cial. erable research. it is hi s conclusion that it is only T hough nearly every glacier contains a smaB a shelter with transient icicles overhanging the cave or two, the following examples are well entrance. .A number of such "caves" are known enough known glacier caves to cause confusion: in that area ( 119). Mt. St. Helens Cave has 1. Ice Caverns, St. Mary's Glacier, Colo. (38) apparently become confused with those at the foot 2. Ice Cave, N isQ ually Glacier, Wash. (84) of neighboring Mt. Adams, for no persistent ice is 3. Paradise Ice Cave, Stevens-Paradise Glacier, "Vash. (84) found in thi s two-entrance lava tube (3). T he 4. Tee Cave, Carbon Glacier, ' ;Vas h. (84) Tenn essee site is descri bed as a single steep solu 5. Kautz Ice Cave, Wash. ( 106) 6. Big F our Ice Cave, Wash. (13 ) ti on passage 150 feet long. with a li ttle snow at 7. Icc Cave, Lower Chall enger Glacier, "Vash. (91) the bottom in July (8) . A similarly named Ten Most of these glacier caves are relatively inter- nessee cave is so called because "the single forma mittent in character, formed over the emergence tion therein supposedly looks like an ice fl ow" point of streams fl owing from beneath tLe glacier, ( 50). and constantly change with recession of the gla I CE CAVES, GLACIERE AND GLACIERE CAVES cier. T he Paradise Ice Caves, however, are rela Balch ( 11 ) was one of the many who have felt tively static (83) . There is considerable reason that the F rench term gfa cier e should be employed to beli eve that the Kautz Ice Cave is a result of for a cave containing ice. and "ice cave" reserved entirely different processes ( 106) , but these are fo r caves in glaciers. T hi would follow the an glacial, not speleological phenomena. alogy of limestone, sandstone and lava caves (but THEORIES ON F ORMATION OF CAVE I CE excluding sea caves), but fifty years has shown Rather remarkable theories of the formation of cave ice have long been in existence. It has been suggested that it may originate as the remnant of a glacier, preserved beneath lava flows ( 11 , 89) . Obsen 'ations in Lava Beds National Monument show that successive fl ows are hot enough to melt consid erable portions of earlier, underlying fl ows in forming caves of several levels. How this would preserve glaciers is hard to imagine. Vol cani c ash. on the other hand, has been known to cover and preserve snow, bl1t this is of no spele ological significance. Many other theo ries have been advanced, in cluding capillarity ( 11 ), adiabatic cooling ( 11 , 89) . and "remnants of the ice age" ( 11 ). Each
Photo by John H. lincoln has been investigated and found wanting. Kim ball . for example, found that the maximum adi Fig. 1. Typical ice speleothems, Mt. Adams Ice Cave, Washington. abatic cooling theoreticall y possible in an ice cave i I "F. (89) . On the other hand, glimmers of a his campaign to be fruitless. Indeed, in the last half-truth may be seen in the beli ef that the ice is few years, quite a reverse tendency has been ap a remnant of the glacial ages. In most ice caves. parent, with increasing use of the term "glacier removal of the ice deposit results in replenishment cave". In any event, "ice cave" now seems iner- within a few days, weeks, months or years. In a
BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 5 few, howeyer, the ice has never reformed. In many, the deposits are gradually diminishing. In no known case in the U nited States is the volume of ice increasing. These facts seem to icdicate that ancient conditions were more conducive to the fo rmation of cave ice than the present, but to attribute all cave ice to glacial epoch remnants is quite a different matter.
MODER T CON CEPTS OF THE FORMATION OF CAVE I CE Two factors are obviously necessary for the formation of cave ice: cold and water. 'While running water may occasionally be a primary source for ice formation. ordinary seepag(! is the usual source. Frost crystals are undoubtedly the result of condensation of atmospheric moisture. It is important to note that the water and the cold are often not synchronously present in the cave. F urthermore, perhaps in conformance with laws of bedrock heat transfer, there is a defi nite lag in ice cave temperatures behind the sea sonal surface variances. This may be shown as a linearly damped phase shift in the curve of the annual temperature ( 12 ), which is a variable mul Phot os by Merlin K. Potts, cc urtesy o f National Park Serv ice tiple sine curve. This is well demonstrated by a Fig. 2. Exterior and interior of a glacier cave (Paradise graph of the temperature of Decorah Ice Cave Ice Cavel. shown elsewhere. Since such a cave may receive little or no seepage from the frozen surface in BA IC SPELEOMETEOROLOGI CA L FACTORS win te r, ice will be formed in large quantities only A working knowledge of the basic principles after the spring thaws, even though the tempera of speleometeoroloO"y is necessary for an under- ture is below freezing everal months earlier. tanding of the formation and persistence of sub T hi s is the origin of the widespread popular fal terranean ice, especially in limestone glacieres. In facy that cave ice mysteriously forms in summer some instances, the processes involved appea r to and melts in winter. fall among some of the most complex tempera It has been repeated ly stated (63, 89) that ture-humidity-evaporation relationshi p known in water i frozen into cave ice by cold circulating caves, but the majority are more easil y recogni zed air. T hi s appears to be true rarely, if at all , in and understood. U nfortunately, such a working important glacieres . Circul ating air in ice caves knowledge is difficult for most American cavers i generally a major kataboli stic agent. Passive to acquire, sin ce nearly all the speleometeo rologi seWing of the heavier cold air, in stead, is the cal studie published in recent years have been u ual cause of the development and persistence of E uropean. A summary of the pertinent points of the cave ice. T hi s is basicall y the theory so bea u this field as they apply to ice caves is therefore in ti full y documented by Balch (9. 10, 11 ). O n the ord er. other hand, A ndrews (2) acknowl edges Balch's work. but pre ents evidence of an apparently ac LBIESTONE CAVES AS VARIATIONS OF tive ummer circulati on of cold air in the Sweden HOMEOTHERMIC CAVITIES Vall ey Ice lVl ine. T hi s, however, is not a true Below a definite but locall y varying depth, a cave ( 101 ). and the phenomena described are due completely sealed cavity, like the surrounding bed to a vastly di fferent type of circul ation which wi ll rock, will theoreti call y maintain a constant tem be discussed below. perat11l'e, modifi ed onl y by long-term climatic
6 NATION AL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY cycl es. Caves may be con 'id ered as van atl ons of bide li ghts. They are. then, a purely katabol istic thi s theoretical sealed cavity, with modifications agent in terms of the ice depo it . imposed upon their temperature, humidity and EFFECTS OF lVl o I STUHE barometric pressure by a host of factors depend in g upon the in herent structure of the indi vidual O nl y in the form of drifting snow can moisture cave. T hese in clude proximity to the surface, entering an ice cave assist in the lowering of tem nature and location of entrance passages. and en perature. This is a di stinction from a cave above try o f foreign substances such as air, water. snow the freezing point, in which running or dripping and expl orers. water in temperature eq uilibrium with the bed rock can act as a pronoun ced stabili zing agent. G REAT ER "VEIGHT OF COLD Am Even the water which directly forms the cave ice Perhaps the one principle of greatest signifi releases heat to the atmosphere and bedrock. and cance in ice ca\'es is the sim ple fact that colel air thu indirectl y hinder the formation of additional is denser, and thus heavier than warm air. and ice. E xtremely dry, warm ai r is necessary to pro wi ll there fore tend to settle. di splacing upward duce sufficient evaporati on to form cave ice ( 122 ) . lighter, warm air. Stratifi cation of layers of air EFFECTS OF A IR ENTERT. TG THE CAVE appears to be common in both vertical and hori zontal caves. with a step-like increase in tempera Entrance of air into an ice cave is ordinarily the ture from fl oor to ceiling (93) . most signifi cant factor in its temperature changes. It may occur in th ree major ways : by the action IVIET EO ROLOG I CAL Z01'\ES of wind. through greater weight than underlying In the somewhat theoreti cal case o f a sim ple cave air. or through pressure changes. In mo t sizeable hori zontal cave \\·ith a single entrance and ca\·es. the wind cau e mere convecti on currents, passage. particul arly if not connected to the sur or eddys, in the single entrance. \Vhile it may face by the usual multitude of tiny fi ssures, there blow ri O'ht in one entrance and out another if mul~ may be defin ed three rather di stinct meteorologi tipl e entrances are present. irregularity and tor cal zones. somewhat reminiscent o f the entrance, tuo ity of pa sage and entrances ordinaril y tre twil ight and darkne s zones. The outer zo ne. im mendously reduce its force. Nevertheless, it may med iately within the entrance, is protected from become a significa nt factor in ice caves with two many climatic factors. but approximate external entrances. especiall y if they are approximately at co nditions fairly cl osely. The change to the tran the same leyel. sitional zone is usuall y more sharply defined than In single-entrance ice cayes, changes in temper might be expected. This zone i conducive to a ature and in barometri c pre sure are commonly fairly constant temperature, but one which va;ies the most im portant factors in alterations of cave consid erably f rom season to season. and the hu conditions. Perhap the greatest ingle kataboli s midity. while high. is well below saturation. T he tic agent of thi s group is th e atmosphere's ever line of demarcation from the inner, homeothermic changing ba rometric pressure. but other proce es zone is usuall y arbitrarily chosen at the point may be even more vital in an ice cave, particularly where seasonal flu ctuations become minimal. Each if more than one entrance is present. cave superimposes its own inherent vari ati ons C HANGES DEPENDING 01'\ "VEIGHT upon thi pattern, and conditions in different por OF COLD A IR ti ons of a cave's homeothermic zone may vary consid erably. H ot air is. of course, li ghter than warm air. and consequently is displaced by the latter at the bot ~ A LTERATIONS OF C AV E :METEORICS tom of any clo -ed container. It is thu s apparent The three g reat agents producing di sturl ances that cold air ",ill be trapped in single-entrance in an ice cave are air, moisture and cavers. T he caves whose extent li es beneath the entrance. U n last is usually the least important. yet in Crystal der favorable conditions, the heavy cold air thus Ca \Ie . Lava Bed . Cali f.. it is unwise to remain in sinks through the entrance, di splacing the lighter the crystal grottos for more than a few seconds, warm air remaining at the beginning of winter. for the frost crystals begin to melt from the mere In summer, the warm air. bein O' lighter. enters proximity of the human boely. even without car- such caves with difficulty and by other method
BULLETIN NUMBER 16, D ECEMBER 1954 7 C HA l\GES DEPEl\Ofl\G Ol\ LEVELS ,\ NO this phenomenon. but no such studies have \'et TDIPERATli RE DIFFE RE NCES been carried out in America.
In the case o f a horizontal cave, the stratifica PERSISTENCE OF CAVE I CE tion of air previously mentioned tends to cause, From these paragraphs. it is possible to under in summer and winter respectively, an inAow of stand the persistence and formation of ice in cer warm or cold air at the ceiling or fl oor level, with tain caves when moisture is present to be frozen. consequent displacement of the other. In a simple This di scussion applies primarily to limestone cav cave with, two or more entrances at different lev erns, from which lava tubes differ in volume, the els. the cave air, which is heavier than the outside lack of overburden. and in the relative pauci ty of air in summer and lighter in winter, will escape e\'aporation-condensation processes, but the basic at the appropriate entrance, with entry of the out structure of basalt makes it an even better I11 SU si de air at the other. lator than limestone.
EFFECT OF CHANGES TN B ARO:\[ ETRIC Geographic factors are ob\'i ously 0 f great il11- PRESSU RE pOl'tance. for whatever protects the caye from In contrast to these passive, anabolistic phe heat and sunlight encourages the persistence of nomena which depend on settling of heavy, cold caye ice , The nature of the interior of the cave is air and which are ordinarily of significance in ice similarly of great importance, for an irregular, caves only in winter, changes in atmospheric pres tortuous course and a narrow entrance. for ex sure are occurring to a significant degree at all ample, \\'ill act as baffles to air currents. A pile of times. with opposing effects in sUl11m er and win neve in the entrance will not only further this ter. \ Vhil e they cause perhaps the most dramatic process. but due to its position, will absorb much alterations 0 f the conditions in " normal" caves, of the heat entering the cave. It is not surpris they are the cause of the only important changes ing. therefore, that most ice caves are found in during summer in pit glacieres. A ri se 0 f only a reas of high elevation and latitude. with small 10 nll11 in the barometric pressure will result ill turtuous shaded entrances facing north. N ever the ingress of large quantities of summer air in theless, given sufficient winter cold , many of these many cases. Illustrative is D uck Creek Ice Cave, factors are often absent. Ctah. a small cave \\'ith a volume of about 60.000 The nature of the ice, too, must be considered. cubic feet. into \\'hich such a change will hring E \'en in so-called perpetual ice caves, and e\'en at 700 cubic feet of outside air. \\'ith all the thermal very low temperatures, its surface layers are un changes inherent therein. dergoing minute but distinct alterations (76) . in di cating that the ice is not truly immutable and E\'APORAT!0,' l 8 NATIONAL SPELEOLOCfCAL SOC I ETV essentially two basic types of true ice caves, lime tubes soon disappear with entry of the summer's stone and lava, their mechanisms are not neces warmth. saril y identical. In the U nited States, the lime Lava tube patterns are innumerable, but as they stone type is less predominant than in E urope, are intimately related to the formation of th ice, where they make up the majority of the great ice a few typical ones will be described. Simplest is caves of that continent ( 11 ). Most limestone the tube sealed at both ends, en tered through a caves, as di scussed, are not only homeothermic, collapsed portion of the roo f. These are often dis covered by the plume of steam marking their en trance in winter. This, of course, is the conden sati on of vapor in the comparatively warm cave air which, being lighter, is di splaced by the heav ier cold air settling into the cave. In summer, the outside air enters onl y through eddying and through barometric alterations. As a result', warm ing occurs very slowly. Since warm air is lighter than cold, stalagmites and frozen lakes are much commoner than stalactites. These same general principles are true in tubes with a single open end, and in portions of more complex patterns. It is obvious that a small en trance and a steep slope such as Skull , Crystal Falls or Arnold Ice Cave, will favor the persist ence of ice much more than a level cave like South Ice Cave, in which convection currents and baro metric changes can more easil y cause escape of cold air at the en trance. Si milarly. in a complex pattern like TVI t. Adams Ice Cave, persistent ice is limited to the lower end, whose circulation is in acti\'e. Surprisingly, direct sunlight does not pre clude persistence of ice, for sunlight . strikes the Phot o by Basil Hritsco ice deposit in Perpetual Ice Cave. N. }d., for part Fig. 3. The Falls, Crystal Falls Cave. of each year (25). Yet another entirely differently meteorolog!cal but possess an active circulation. In a temperate group is made up of glacieres in which ;: old air zone cave. an active summer circul ation can onl y settles along an impen 'ious slanting surface. be detrimental to the cave ice whi ch it can reach. These are primarily the hillside t~ ve of talus gla and will insure prompt melting of winter ice de ciere. T hey cannot be considered to have a truly posits unl ess certain specific factors have a strong active circulati on even though they possess a influence. downward drift of cold air in summer. This group An entirely di fferent meteorological group is is typified by Chelan Ice Cave. \Vash. It is char made up of most lava tubes, some limestone caves, acteri zed by porousness but great irregul arity. a mines and the like, in which all or part of the steep slope, and some sort of opening at the lower subterranean cavity lacks -these two features. end, where the ice is best found. In wi nter, the Balch compared the circulation of these two cold penetrates and settles into the open spaces groups as dynamic and static, but the terms have and chills the rock. In summer. as th e outside air not met general acceptance. It is to this second becomes li ghter, the heavier cold air tends to de group whose circulati on may be termed passive scend. and foll owing some relatively impervious that most Ameri ca n ice caves. belong, and these layer, escapes at the lower end where a sheet of are primarily lava tubes. Every la\'a tube, in fact, ice may extend for several feet outwa rd from the is a potential ice cave. hut the deposits in most cave. T he coldness of the roc ks and the large ex- BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 9 c~--=-,="", Zlii//==,'-----' :D ~IB C [\""''''''}E I ~ ~II~~ I ~ F G H lJ NEVE !Ill CAVE ICE J K L Fig. 4 . Diagrammatic Sections of Glacieres A-Sunset Crater Ice Cove F-Arnold Ic e Cove J-Shoshone Ice Cave at time B-Mt, Adams Ice Cove G-South Ice Cove of discovery C-Skull Cove H-Crystal Falls Cave K-Shashone Ice Cave at time of Harrington's visit D-Chelan Ice Cove I-Duck Creek Ice Cave L-Shoshone Ice Cave today E-Cax Ice Cove posed surf: ace area chill the entering warm air, glacieres, That settling is not the only mechanism and it may easil y be late summer before the tem active in talus glacieres, however, is indicated by perature ri ses to the freezing point, The area the fact that ice persists best in talus even within involved is not necessari ly large, for Chelan Ice true ice caves. Whether this is due to insulation Cave is a ll exaggerated horseshoe-shaped. boulder frOI11 air currents, evaporation relationships or filled depression on the hill sid e, measuring not other effects cannot be stated, over sixty feet in maximum diameter, and appar Talus glacieres lacking a lower egress form a ently about 6 feet in depth. Nevertheless, it is a subgroup somewhat sil11ilar to the lava tube group. rare summer that ice is not present in the open at Transitional types, however, are C0l111110n in talus. its lower end. despite its western exposure and As such glacieres are u uall y a sociated with lack of protecti on. The Sweden Vall ey Ice M ine gorges of some type and have cO l11l11 on meteoro is an even m re famous exampl e of this phenome I gical characteri stics, they are included with that non (50) , which also appears to be of importance °TOUP ill this study, as direct passive settling is in certain fi ssures. but rarely in lil11 estone or lava thei r co 111 111 on factor. 10 NATION A L SPELEOLOGI AL SOCIETY LrMEsTo 'E SOLUTION G L ACIERES which neve persists through much of the summer About 5000 limestone caves are known 111 the to a depth of several feet, almost blocking the U nited States. Of these, a consid erable but inde entrance to the inner room. Enough of an active terminate number are so located that they inhale circulation exists between these two openings, enough cold air each winter that ice speleothems however, than by early August, 1952, the great form in their entrance and transition zones and stalactite row of the inner room had partially persist a short time before melting under the on melted and fallen, and considerable melting of the slaught of warm spring air or seasonal egress of corresponding six-foot ice stalagmites was notice cave aIr. Logan Cal·e. Utah, Peacock Cave, able. T he portion of the frozen lake which co,'ers ""T. Va (31), and Mt. Aeolus Cave, Vt. ( 102) the floo r of this room was also partially melted are examples of caves whi ch fall into this group along a line between the two openings, especially without being considered ice caves. No rigid de near the opening from the collapsed room. marcation can be made between these and the The only protection afforded this unusual ice group which are on the glaciere borderline. In the cave is that of its elevation of 7815 feet, and the latter, ice persi ts for a few weeks after its dis consequent severe winters of that part of Idaho. appearance outdoors. Nor is it often easy to di s Its entrances face south, and it li es in the middle tingui sh between these and the true limestone gla of a barren "canyon basin". The accumulations ci ere characteri zed by a persistence of many of neve in the collapsed room and beneath the weeks or months. Each must be considered upon vertical opening in the inner room must serve as its own merits. the first line of defense of lhe cave's ice. :Major ice deposit> are authentically known in Two features of the speleothems are worthy of about a score of American limestone solution cav special note. The great stalactite-stalagmite row, erns. Several of the e are poorly known, not all which comprises 1110st of such forms in the cave, are large, and few are true permanent glacieres, is aligned beneath the major joint of this cham but all li sted below show strong contention for ber. Delicate ice crystals are to be found on the consideration as significant ice caves : roof of a low grotto at one side of the inner room 1. Paris Ice Cave, Idaho. when melting is evident elsewhere. To circula 2. F reezing Cave, Ind. tion was evident here, however, suggesting that 3. Decorah Ice Cave, Iowa. 4. Postvill e Ice Cave, Iowa. the grotto is protected from the main pattern of 6. Judith Gap Ice Caves, Mont. the cave's circulation by local factors. Origin of 7. Pryor Mountains Ice Caves, Mont. 8. Carlisle Center Ice Cave, N. Y. such crystals is discussed elsewhere. 9. Ice Cave, Galena, S. D. F reezing Cave, near E lkinsvi lle, Brown Co., 10. Ice Cave, Stagebarn Caverns, S. D. 11. Gillette Canyon Ice Cave, S. D. Indiana, is known only from an unidentified 1896 12. Big Brush Creek Cave, Utah, et al. newspaper clipping quoted by Balch ( 11 ). Recent 13. Duck Creek Ice Cave, Utah. 14. Skinner's Marble Cave, Vt. local research by Robert D. Frederick (46), while 15. Fossil Mountain Ice Cave, \lIlyo. resulting in other discoveries of interest has shed Paris Ice Cave (56) , al so known as Canyon no real light on the problem. Like many other Basin Cave ( 17 ), is an interesting example of a cave stories of the Gay Nineties, this may be a glaciere occurring under unusual circumstances. hoax. If so, it is skillfull y done, and to err on Located in a small , isolated outcrop of nea r-hOl'i the side of afety, it eems best to include all the zontal Cambrian limestone, it is basically a joint data available. To quote Balch: controll ed solution cavern consisting primaril y of "The entrance is said to be overlapped with two parall el rooms almost a hundred feet long trees and to resembl e a mine sha ft. The winding and hal f as wide, connected by a low intermediate way leads to a holl ow some 15 meter below the chamber near one end of the rooms and oppo ite surface, resembling a broad vaulted corridor, the entrance passage. At some indeterminate time which is known to the natives as the levil' cham in the past. the entire roof of the first room has ber and where the temperature is low. F rom this co ll apsed, leaving a huge pit, and a small opening point several gall eri e lead further in, and from also exists in the rear of the inner room. T he col one of them comes a bla t of icy cold air. This lapsed room now serves as a "deep freeze" in pas age is similar to the one at the entrance of BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 11 the cave, but after a few meters frost is visible, Decorah Ice Cave was formerl y the best-known and further on it is thick on all sides, like the major American glaciere. but rockfalls have closed crust that is formed on the pipes of an ice plant. much of the cave and rendered the remainder too T he narrow way leads to a big chamber, known hazardous to warrant further study (l05). J ucl g as the ice vault. In this dome, which is fully 30 ing f rom the old descri ptions ( 11 , 78) , the cave meters in width, the ice forms a large stalagmite is Y -shaped, with entrances at two ends of the and is of unknown depth." Y and the ice almost at the end of the other. That fhis certainly has all the earmarks of a lime it is not absolutely at the end, as might be ex stone glaciere, which, however, is remarkably elu pected, would seem to be due to a tiny active cir siv e. Despite local di sfavor of outsid ers' cave ex culation through an apparently closed crack, as is ploration due to legends of a golden statue and typical of limestone caverns. T he diagram shows other Indian treasures (46), Frederick has ob the ice begin s to form at the end 0 f March, tained a report from a long-time inhabitant of a reaches its maximum about June 1. and has di s nearby area: appeared by late summer ( 78 ) . A n even more interesting ice cave north of "My parents spent the summer of 1902 on a Postville, Iowa, was recently reported and was farm in the southwest section of Indian Creek under study when it was deplorably graded shut Township, Monroe Co., Indiana. This farm was by self-appointed "safety experts" (30). H ori the old homestead of Jacob Teague, an uncle of zontal, it is a true solution cavern with two en my father. One day whi le roaming through the trances, and at least three small rooms, though woods on this farm, with some neighbor boys, we not completely explored due to the difficult con discovered a hole in the ground with a ladder ditions within. "The fl oor of the entire cave is down in the hole. Bein g ready to explore any ice most of the year, and ice and water the rest. " thing, we descended the ladder and found a good One main passage was still too full of ice in A ug., sized room and large chunks of ice mixed in the 1952, to permit entry. leaves. Although this was a very hot day in July, it seemed more like a cold day in January with frost all around the walls of the room." In another area, the search was partially suc cessful, with the di scovery of ice in a solution cavern in limy sand stone. Parts of the report of George's P it Cave are of interest: "The entrance of the cave is in a fall en-in room about 30 feet across. A very recent breakdown left the principal part very dangerous. It onl y ex tended about 20 feet back to the breakdown. T here was evidence of snow just outside the en trance under some blocks of stone. T he ice fo r the most part started right at the entrance. T here was very little ice fl ow except in certain sections. It contained mostl y ice formations. There were several \'ery del icate ice flowers that at fi rst we thought were gypsum fl owers. T he fl ow was up to four inches thiclc \Ve took the temperature and found it to be 35 °F." On the other side of the fall en room was a small pit chamber with ice at the bottom, onto whi ch a stream of rainwater was running. This is probably not a signifi cant glaciere, but these fragmentary reports indicate that an ice cave can conce ivabl y exi t in the re Photo by John H. l incoln puted area of F reezing Cave. Fig . 5. Closeup of ice speleothems, Mt. Adams Ice Cove. 12 NATIONA L SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY From the brief description, a few inferences feet along and 50 feet wide, where ice is found are possible. The second entrance would theoreti on the fl oor. High altitude, severe winters and caIly establish a direct, active circulation, and this lack of unusual features seem to indicate that appears probably in view of the melting ·which these are classical examples of uncomplicated occurs. It may well be that the major factor re limestone ice caves, but more data would be wel sponsible for the preservati on of the ice is its comed. massive volume, which fi lI s so much of the cave. McDonald's Ice Cave, Kane County, Utah, was Further study may give an answer, for reopening reported in Dec., 1954. It is locally said to be the cave should be neither difficult nor dangerous about 2 miles west of U. S. Highway 89, just to a trained team (30). within Dixie National Forest at an elevation of Frankford Cave, Mo., presents several interest about 7500 feet. It is west of McDonald's Ranch ing problems. Complete information is lacking, which is the first ranch north of Lava arrows, and a fu ll-scale study would undoubtedly add con about 7 miles north of Glendale, U tah. Described siderably to our knowledge of these phenomena. as a single deep shaft 10 to 20 feet in diameter Even the duration of the ice is not establi shed. and several times as deep, it may be merely a O n March 27, 1949, it was several feet thick in neigiere. According to Herbert E. Gregory (Geol places, on Oct. 2, 1949, none remained (33 ) . ogy and Geography of the Zion Park Region, It i readily seen that the nature of the cave U tah and A rizona, U.s.G.s. Prof. Paper 220, could produce unusual atmospheric conditions. 1950), the area is in the Tertiary ,1\ asatch lime The entrance is spacious, and the entrance room stone. about 50 feet in length. A crawl way then leads to An unauthenticated report of an ice cave on the next room, twenty-five feet in height and with Mt. Nebo in central Utah is recorded in T echnical two holes in its ceiling. T he cave then continues Note No. 24A of the Salt Lake Grotto, N.S.S., about 3/8 of a mile to a second entrance through entitled Additional Caves Reported in Utah. some tiny passaaes. A stream fl ows the full length Several caves in the P ryor Mountains of Mon of the cave. T he ice deposits are found at the rear tana are reputed to be ice caves. Of these, at least of the entrance room (33). two are authoritatively known to be glacieres, Other studies wi ll be required before any defi and another, a neigiere ( 1) . Too little is known nite statement may be made about this cave wi th of Little Ice Cave, other than the mere presence any certainty. In many ways, however, the cave of a large ice flo or in the entrance room, to per is reminiscent of Big Brush Creek Cave, Utah, mit conclusions. Big Ice Cave is primaril y "one discussed below . immense room of ballroom proportions, whose Two ice caves in the Big Snowy Mountains of fl oor is heavily underlaid with ice all year round. Montana, northeast of Judith Gap, are unroman The ice fl oor is 25 feet thick." Frost crystals exist tically known as Old Ice Cave and New Ice Cave in some minor lower passages. Crater Ice Cave (41). The former is apparently id entical with the "consists of a natural arch approach and a large Lewistown Ice Cave of Balch (10, 11 ) . A nearby crater-like room holl owed out of the rock. Snow vertical cave known as The Chasm is not an ice drifts into the mouth of the cave and lasts all cave. Both are said to be fai rly hori zontal olu summer." Red Pryor Ice Cave and Mystic Cave ti on caverns with relatively vertical entrances, and are other possible glacieres, but have not been both are thought to contain perennial ice, though confirmed ( 1) . The limestone in which most of much is melted by Fall. Old Ice Cave co nsist the caves in this area are located is the Nladison mostly of a single room about 100 feet long and limestone of Mi siss ippian age (29). Big and Little 30 feet hi gh, with the entrance above and at one Ice Caves are therefore classifi ed as major lime end . Neve accumulates on the entrance sl l ~ e. and stone glacieres despite the lack of meteorological permanent ice is apparently limited t the A r in ob ervations. proximity to a spring, a phenomenon \Vhi h is a Balch ( 11 ) knew of the existence of the Ice OTeat rarity in American ice cave. New Ic ave Cave at Carlisle Center, N. Y., but no published is somewhat different. A vertica l ntr'l11 ce lead description of the glaciere is apparent. It is basic to a crawl way which in turn leads to a room 200 all )' a narrow horizontal cave, about 100 feet in BULLETIN N UMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 13 length, but is strongly modified by the entrance seven weeks in 1951 (36). The air current prob collapse, which forms a steep slope. Several other ably indicates that the known cave is merely the small openings are present in the roof of the en antechamber of an extensive cavern system, and trance area. N ear the rear of the cave, the ceiling that the ice is a transition zone phenomenon. abruptly descends, then rises again in a chimney The Black Hill s region of South Dakota con before again descending into breakdown (36, 45). tains several glacieres of various types. At least Conditions in the cave are apparently subject to three are limestone glacieres. Oft-recorded but considerable variati on. In Sept., 1950, floor ice apparently unvisited for some 50 years is that at I I 35 i, I ,.~, I 1,/0 , ,0----0.... ' ,, I I I I , I , 30 - \ I \/iOUTSIDE TEMP. ,I \ I I \ I w I , P 0 \ I , / , ,.0.. , <[ - \ I , 25 \ b I P a:: \ (.!) \ I \ , I \ , I \ , I \ f- I \ I Z 20 , \ I w '0' .. \ I u \ I \ I \ I \ 0 \ , \ , , / en 15 - \ \ w , I '0- . ' w \ I cr \ I (!l CAVE I w 10 TEMP.~ ~ , 0 ? I I p/----<>-\ 1\ I I w 5 - ~' "'0, " I cr .. o----..().-' ...... , ,0' :::J , " f- ,. 0-.. , <[ . ___ =.0_____ . .0- n: 0 -)------0-' w " "<:,,>, ""I p' "-0--.' a. -0-.... '~"\ "/i,' c:r .. .. ~ ...... --0- -\-0-. .. .. "/' ". lJJ -5 f- '0"""'_0-( I JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB I MAR APR MAY JUNE JU LY MOIST DRY FROSTY ICY AIR CIRCULATION -OUT- -IN- Fig . 6 . Meteorological conditions in Decorah Ice Cave, Iowa (after Kovarickl. was reported present from the midpoint of the Galena. A first-hand account from one of the entrance room to the midpoin t of the rea r pass oldest inhabitants of the area (20) "erifies it to be age. In July, 1951. it was reported to be two feet a small cave in limestone with a small entrance. thick, with many ice speleothems (36). On Aug. 1VIrs. Borsch describes columns of ice 12 to 14 21, 1953 . no ice was present (45). Air circulation feet in length along the wall s and in the center of in the cave has been estimated to average nearly the room when she visited it around 1900. Lo two mil es per hour. with the current directed out cated in a yo ung but thick pine grove, it is locally ward in summer (36). Dead leaves on the ice in !)e li eved to have been blasted shut several years dicate that spring runoff supplies part of the ice ago. A possibility that this may be an artificial deposit. glaciere l11u st be admitted, as this is a mining Carli sle Center Ice Cave thus appears to be an district. example of a cave with a typically active circula A second limestone glaciere of South Dakota tion, yet with a very large accumulation of ice. has been described as follows: The circulation is just sufficient to melt the annual "O n a high limestone ridge about one mile accumulation. as the cave was free of ice for only northwest of Stagebarn Caverns is the entrance to 14 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCTETY Ice Cave. The roof of the upper chamber of thi Bru h Creek, usually dry, sea on all y fl ows into cave has fallen in to form a sink about 60 feet in and pe rhaps through the cave, which faces north, diameter and 20 feet deep (Plate XXI , 1) . A and stream deposits are everywhere. No calcare very sinuous and boulder-strewn pasasge lead ous speleothems have yet been di scovered in the downward from the bottom of this sink for ap cave. proximately 100 feet to several small chambers. T he writer visited thi remarkable cave Aug. The cave exhibits some crystals and a few stalac 24, 1952, and Sept. 7, 1953. At the time of the tites and stalagmites, but the most noticeable fea fi rst vi it, no ice was found . It was a great sur ture is its low temperature. In one of the lower pri se, therefore. when approach to the cave 12 rooms there is a fairly large deposit of ice ( P late months later revealed a great stalagmite of ice XXI, 2 ) . At a point about 35 feet below the sur 2JO feet inside. Examination of this ice depo it, face of the sink the temperature is low enough to whi ch wa the only one fo und in the cave, re cause the moisture of the air to condense and \'ealed it to be of im pressive dimensions, yet being freeze on the wall s of the gall ery in the fo rm of rapidly destroyed by a continuous drip whi ch frost. The frost and ice remain in the cave dur must caused its origin several months earlier. ing the entire year." (98 ) . Reaching the height of 20 feet, yet completely hol The latter photograph shows a small fl ow of lowed out by the dri p. it was the central point of true cave ice. F rom the de cription, it would seem an oval ice sheet a hundred feet long and up to that this is a typical funnel-like pit glaciere, but fou r feet thick. One edge of the great stalagmite its size and the coexistence of calcite and ice had melted, expos ing the central cavity, and a speleothems, a rare phenomenon, indicates that "pirated channel", representing an earlier stage of the probl em is complex. melting, led down the ice slope. A very minor Gill ette Canyon Ice ave, in P ennington Co., channel was also melted into the ice al ong the S. D., is poo rly understood. Consisting mostly of margin where Big Brush Creek would be expected a sin gle room roughly 100 by 150 feet (29), it is to Row over the deposit. a limestone solution cavern at 6200 feet elevation Di 'cussion and eXI lanation of the phenomena (62) . Ice is present on the fl oor of the center of of thi s cave are hampered by the difficulty in ob the room each spring, sometimes forming a 20 taining in fo rmation about their nature at an earl foot column beneath a dripping point, though the ier sea on. It is evident, however, that the two ice generally di sappears by late summer (29). The entrance room , huge as they are, are but the ante entrance, 'which faces north, is 60 feet wide and chamber to a network of small er passages, and 30 feet high, and slopes down into the main cave the cave clea rl y pos e es an acti\'e circulation. room (62), thus suggesting a similarity to Duck Located as it is. it is obvious that the cave takes Creek Ice Cave, Utah. with the larger entrance in an enormous quantity of cold air each winter. permitting entry to greater katabolistic forces. Considering the nature of the cave and the fact Big Brush Creek ave ( 55 ), in the heavily for that its twilight zone is about 500 feet long, it i ested U inta :Mountain wilderness of northeastern ev id en t that the ca \'e' transitional zone e.'{tends U tah, at an altitude of 8140 feet, has become a at least to the rea r of the fi r t room. Ice would truly legendary ice cave even though acce sibl e be expected to form throughout the lenO'th of this onl y in late summer. T hi s is not wholly unreason zone. A few shattered remnants of ice stalactites able, for it is truly a fanta tic cave. A whole can confi rm their I~ r e ence early in the ea on. \\ itb yon i swallowed in its yawning mouth, more the onset of wanner weather. n rmal ave circu than 200 feet in width and nearly 50 feet high. lation. eddying curl' nt in th huge entrance and The entrance room tapers O\'er its 300 foot length Big Brush reek t am lip to de troy the ice, fi r t to a constriction wh ere it is "onl y" 40 feet wide on the ceiling . and it final Ie truction is accom a nd 3 feet high. then opens into an equall y larg pli hed by th near-wat dall previou Iy men room. Beyond this poin t. the cave assume the tioned. pattern of a three-dimen ional phreatic complex T \\'o other ca \'e a f e\\' mil e to the we t in an of small narrow passages, heavil y modifi ed by ven more inacce- ible ar a are probably \'ery vadose waters, and as yet far from explored. Big imilar in th nature of their ice depo its. The B U LLETIN JUMBER 16, DECEM BE R 1954 15 few Forest Service Rangers who have reachfd the location. In early Oct., 1953, following a mild isolated mouths of Farm Creek Cave arcl of winter and hot summer, truly remarkable quanti Mosby Moun tain Cave report that they appear to ti es of ice were present in this little-visited cave, be sizabl e limestone caves possessing year-round which is known to have been plumbed only once ice deposits a short distance within ( 55). Neither by speleologists (34, 35). has been explored, 111uch less studied. This solution cave, which is one of the largest Duck Creek Ice Cave. at an elevation of 8600 in vVyoming, is probably the largest and most feet in southwestern Utah, is protected by a north magnificent limestone glaciere in the U nited ern exposure and a fi ne stand of aspen, fi r and States. vVith ice pre ent for nearly all of its thou ponderosa pine. It consists of a single large room sand foot length, it terminates in a room some 45 in \iVasatch limestone ( 51 ), measuring 82 by 50 feet high and 30 feet in diameter containing two by 15 feet, with a semi-vertical entrance at one great frozen waterfalls on opposite walls, a thick, side. The descent was rendered easy on July 13 , mooth ice fal se fl oor, and additional deposits on 1952, by the presence of about 500 cubic feet of the true fl oo r level (34). snow piled in and below the entrance. On that The entrance of the cave is large. measuring date, the walls were wet above a line about 3 feet about 20 by 10 feet. and its height increases to from the fl oor. Below this line, they were frosty. a 35 foot maximum some 100 feet in sid e. At thi A frozen lake e\'eral inches deep covers the en point, the fl oor begin to assume a fairly steep tire floor of this room. A very little water was slopc for about 300 feet, then slopes more gently present on its surface. Later in the year, consid to the Cascade Room. Clear, solid ice begins to erable melting is said to occur, and if the preced be found on the fl oo r about 150 feet from the ing winter is unusually mild, the lake melts en entrance, and becomes progressi vel y th icker as ti rely ( 124). No air currents could be demon the ca\'e worms its tortuous way deeper into the strated within the cave, suggesting that passive mountain, reaching a thickness of at least five feet settling is the basic mechanism present in winter, as it arches into the Cascade Room. Depo its of and that barometric changes and convection, the frost crystals up to 1 inch in thickness are present main sources of ice destruction. Other minor ice on parts of the ceiling of the main passage. A deposits are known in nearby limestone and lava mentioned, a g rander 30 foot waterfall, 20 feet in pits ( 124). width, enters the Cascade Room from a small The most noted of the eastern limestone gla hole on the opposite wall. A small offset room 43 ciere is Skinners' :lVIa rble Cave. It is small , and feet below the foot of the falls has several minor said to consist mostly of narrow vertical pas ages leads, but all are choked with rock after a few and a few small r00111 S. Located in a dense forest, feet. facing north, and well up the slopes of Mt. Equi l\leteorological conditions in the cave are puz nox, it is in an ideal locati on for a glaciere. Balch zling . 250 feet within the entrance, the tempera visited the cave, and gain ed the impression that it ture was 1°C, but within another hundred feet, contained only snow ( 11 ). He describes only the it became 0°, and this was maintained throughout entrance r o0111 , however, and was probably una the rest of the cave. Nevertheless, distin ct cur ware of the remainder of the rest of the cave, rents of air could be perceived at all points in the where the walls are said to be coated with ice, cave, but alternating in direction from time to which is often stratified, at all times. Clay Perry time. These were strongest in the broken rock ( 104) believes that no acti ve circulation is present. area beneath the Cascades. A few unexplored Fossil Mountain Ice Cave, located at an eleva side passages are known to exist. From one of tion of nea rl y 8000 feet in the Teton Range of these, a small seasonal rivulet has melted a the 'Wyoming-Idaho border, is in an ideal location trough in the ice fl oo r of the main passage. Some for an ice cave. The total absence of ice in \i\l in I melting of the larger Cascade must also have oc ave, similarly located hi gh on the west wall of curred, as its base is hollow. It could not be glacier-carved Darby Canyon and less than a mile determined, however, whether this was due to at down stream. however, indicates that the presence mo pheric or bedrock heat transfer. of ice is due to more than factors 0 f external O rdinary theories of glaciere production seem 16 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY poorly appli cable to Fossil Mountain Ice Cave. ice to supply the vicinity at least in early summer T here i no lack of moisture or of cold air, and is reported . but a cursory examination in late there is evidence of annual summer melting espe ummer (61) failed to reveal ice deposits_ It may ciall y in areas of heaviest active circulation, just wel l prove to be similar to \Nilson Cave. Ky., as in other examples di scussed earli er . There is whi ch was recently reported ( 12) to possess every opportunity for heavy intake o f cold winter rather massive ice speleothems in late winter in air through both weight and temperature rela its domepit entrance room. This is undoubtedly ti onships. O n the other hand, much the same Jllay a brief middle zone phenomenon. and \ \T il son be said for nearby \i\1i nd Ca\"e. whi ch, however. Cave is not locall y con idered a glaciere. is lacking the ice. To consider this to be merely The remarkably named E lephant's Den is a the antechamber of a larger cave. as in the case of small solution ca\'ern, about 100 feet in length, in several other limestone glacieres. approaches the which ice may be found on the walls until early ridicul ous in view of the peleogeology of the May. It appears to have an active circulation. and area. M uch study wi ll have to be devoted to this the . mall entrance and severe win ters are prob intriguing situation before a sati sfactory answer ably responsible for this transient ice ( 102_ 104 ) . can be given. Meanwhile, it is the writer's per sonal suspicion that the ice in this parti cul ar cave, Ice Cave. in \Vhite Pine Co .. N e\".. is part of through its great ma s and tremendous potential the incompletely known Baker Creek limestone ity of heat absorption, has been present since the solution complex. Greatly exaggerated tales of Glacial Epochs. when the entire area was soli dly its ice deposits are told. but whil e considerable ice frozen. and that today. lik e most of Ameri ca's ice was found in :March. 19 52 with wintry condi caves. its contents are delining at an imperceptible tions outside. only a single three-inch fl oor patch but progressive rate. in a sheltered room was to be found July 4, 1953, and none at all at the end of the summer of 1"\ 0 RD EHLl NE LDIESTO NE GL:\ CTEHES 1952 ( 54). Of everal caves which might conceivably be T hree rather vari ed descriptions of Ice Cave or consid ered limestone glacieres. some must be in Beer ave at \iVatertown_ N _ Y .. are to be found I cluded in this study out of mere courtesy. as the in the three references a\-ailable ( 11. 67. 103) . persistence of their ice, while of more than a few Balch, visiting the cave Sept. 12. 1898, after a days' duration. is unremarkabl e. As shown earl hot summer. was totally unimpressed and does not ier . it is un fo rtunate that no sharp line of demar even include it as a cave. but as a fi ssure. The cation can be made at either end of this group, so other descriptions, however. leaye no doubt that the following are included here for the speleo it is a true limestone cave of considerable length meteorologist to judge as he may see fit: even if low and narrow. and ice speleothems per sist for some time. though melted by late summer. 1. Bixbv Ice Cave. Io\\'a. 2. Freez ing Cave, Ky. The earlier statement that " when the temperature 3. E lephant's Den, Mass. 4. Bakel- Creek Icc Cave, Nev. in the shade was 92°, that at the mouth of ( this) J . Beer Cave, N. Y. cm-e was 32°" seems more reasonable than the 6. Benson's Cave. N. y . later statement that it is "approximately 40° the Bix by Ice Ca"e is a small. steep. pit-like 20 year round". l:!"o ugh mentions a cu rrent of air foot limestone passage in Edgewood State Park. passing outward in summer. and Perry call s it a Iowa. in which now and ice remain until mid bl owing caye. It does not appear to quali fy as an summer (40), probably as a simple pit glaciere. im portant ice cave. Apparently an insignifi cant site. it appears to be Benson's Cave, in Schoharie Co .. N. Yo. is an identical with Balch's (1 1) Brainerd Ice Cave. extensive seri es of narrow passageways in Man F reezi ng Cave, Ky .. is apparently well known. lius limestone, which have recently been discO\- yet so li ttle authentic information can be obtained ered to connect with Secret Caverns. A deep about its features that it cannot be included in a crevice. 4() feet long and 4 to 10 feet wide, just li st of glacieres with certain ty. It is said to be a ,,-ithin the entrance, is said to contain cave ice true solu tion cavern ,,·ith a deep ve rtical entrance until July (45 ), and before the fo rest cover was and a " maze o f passages" below (90). E nough cut. un ti l late sUlllmer. This. ho\\·e\-er. does not BULLETIN N MBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 17 appear to qualify Benson's Cave as a glaciere, blazing summer, two deposits of clear ice of un and it is not so known locall y. certain but considerable depth were found in the deepest depressions in the cave, less than 15 feet ANOMALOUS S ITES from the surface. Remarkably abrupt climatic l. R ifl e Canyon Ice Cave, Colo. 2. Swan Lakes Ice Cave, Idaho. changes were encountered in this short descent. The narrow vertical entrance was pleasantly cool T hese two sites must be so designated because and moist, with maidenhair fern growing in small they are only incidentall y in "lime rock", and yet niches. The main portion of the cave resembl ed in some ways they resemble other limestone gla any limestone cave in both temperature and deco cieres more cl o ely than other groups. The Colo- ration, with incipient stalactites and much fl ow stone evident. This room, parallel to the terrace face, is about 10 feet wide, 6 to 10 feet high, and about 75 feet in length. In two areas along the rear wall, a narrow drop of about 4 feet leads to the tiny lower levels containing the ice. Some melting was evident, even though the temperature in these recesses was much colder than in the rest of the cave. T hi s melting water drains into a minute space between the ice and the rear wall. A six inch column of ice connects the low ceiling at one end to the frozen pool, but also showed signs of melting. Due to their relative paucity, practically no study has been devoted to the meteorology of travertine caves . vVhile many of their character istics are similar to those of limestone caverns, the differences in composition of the two sub stances will almost certainly preclude their being speleometeorologicall y identical. Swan Lakes Ice Cave, therefore, must be considered an anomalous site. T he melting evident indicates that it is a glaciere at the critical point. As in many of its li rilestone analogues, its ice appears to be the re Photo by Howo rd Jackson sult of settling of the winter's cold, where the ice, Fig. 7. The ice slope in Arnold Ice Cave. nearl y fill ing the small recesses at the lowest point, regulates its own environment to a considerable rado site proved to be a transient glaciere in a degree. It seems unlikely that the ice would recur hi o' h region of bi tter win ters, usuall y without ice if the entire depo it were removed. by mi d-summer. O ri gin all y a long shelter at the I n summary of the reported limestone glacieres base of a lim estone cli ff, it has been converted of the U nited States, we may thus say that two in to a kind of a caye, open at each end , by a types are encountered. One type possesses little massi\'e stalagmite-like mound of travertine, de or no active circulati on, and the other possesses po ited by a seasonal waterfall . Cold air is trapped an accul11ulati on of ic'e so great that the acti ve in the resulting pocket, and the source of water circulati on is unable to melt it in proportion to the appears to be the waterfall. out-of-doors thaw. Some, at least, of this second Swan Lakes Ice Cave is one of the most un group represent the middle zone of a large cavern us ual caves ever visited by the wri ter ( 56, 59). system. I n most case. both processes are present, It is in travertine rather than limestone, and is so but one predominates . located in the ba e of a huge ancient hot spring terrace as to leave no doubt of its thermal origin . LAVA T U BE G L ACIERES On Aug. 23. 1953 . foll owing a mi l l winter and Lava tubes make up the majority of the ice 18 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGI CAL SOCIETY caves of the U nited States. Discussed in theory Forty-six such caves are presently known in earli er, they are so numerous that it seems better California, more than any other state, and these to merely list those reported, and to discuss only are limited to its northeastern corner. Five are a few which illustrate pertinent points or pose known in the McCloud area (37, 113 ) and twenty interesting questions. This group includes: seven on the Modoc Jational Forest (92). Little data is available on any of these or on those near Sunset Crater Ice Cave, Ariz. Government Cave, Ariz. (26) Eagle and Wilson Lakes (97). Those of Lava Lake Mary Ice Cave, A riz. (26, 107) Beds ational Monument are better known. Ice Cave, White Mountains, Ariz. (11) (Two) McCloud Ice Caves, Calif. (37) Twelve of the 297 caves there are apparently true Eagle Lake Ice Cave, Cali f. (97) Wilson Lake Ice Cave. Calif. (97) ice caves, and, due to the 4000 foot altitude with (Twenty-seven) Ice Caves, Modoc National Forest, its severe winters, many of the others like Indian Calif. (92, 97) (Three) Ice Caves, McCloud Ranger District, Calif. \Vell Cave contain transient ice. The 'Ionument (85, 113 ) staff clas es them in three group (77 ): Skull Cave, Calif. M errill Ice Cave, Calif. (77) 1. Major : large depos its or speleothem. Cox Ice Cave, Calif. 2. Minor : small domes or lakes. Bearpaw Ice Cave, Cali f. (77) 3. Tatural bridge : mall depos its in low or sheltered Crystal Cave, Lava Beds, Cali f. poinls. Frozen River Cave, Cal if. (Two) Caldwell Ice Caves, Calif. (77) The major ice cave of the National Monument Dragon Head Cave, Cali f. (77) Heppe's Ice Cave, Calif. (77) include Cry tal , Skull, :Merrill, Bearpaw and Indian Well Cave, Cali f. (77) Cox's Ice Cave. Frozen River, Upper and Lower Shoshone Ice Cave, Iuahu Crystal Fall s Cave, Idaho. Caldwell and Dragon Head Caves are minor, and Great Owl Cave, Idaho ( 114 ) Heppe's and Upper Ice Cave are members of the Last Chance Cave, Idaho ( 114) Boy Scout Cave, Idaho. third group, which, due to the expected active cir (Two) Ice Caves. Craters of the Moon. Idaho ( 114) culation. contain the least ice (77) . Magnificent, Dewdrop Cave, Idaho. Surprise Cave, Idaho. multilevel Crystal Cave is about 800 feet long and Perpetual Ice Cave, ew Mex. (25. 42) 100 feet deep, and is specially noteworthy for its A rnold Ice Cave, Ore. Edison Ice Cave, Ore. (32) enormous deposits of ice crystals, often two South Ice Cave, Ore. inche in diameter, which eclip e its ice domes, Surveyor's Ice Cave, Ore. (32) East Ice Caves, Ore. (21) columns, waterfa\ls, stalactites and stalagmite . Matz's Ice Caves, Ore. (32. 52) Oddly, the domes are found near the bottom of Fillmore Ice Cave, Utah ( 14) Mt. Adams Ice ave, 'Vash. the cave, the crystals on the roof of certain inter As indicated, four of these are known in Ari mediate pas ao-es, and most of the other speleo zona. The 200 foot ice cave at Sunset Crater faces thems in the passage near the cave's vertical en west and has neither forest cover nor large annual trance. It is certainly worthy of exhaustive study. rainfall. so it is 110t surprising that all of the large Idaho ranks second among the states in the spring accumulation. except for a few floor de number of its ice caves. Craters of the Moon posits. has usually melted by autumn despite par National Monument alone has been said (89) to tial protection by neve in the narrow entrance. contain fifteen, but closer examination of the Though at 7000 feet altitude, the area is really original reference ( 114) shortens the li st. A hot in summer. Government Cave, some 20 miles would be expected, most of the lava tubes in this to the we t, formerly contained massive ice de high area contain transient ice, but Great Owl posits. but the e were removed for local consump Cave i probably the only one in which it is near tion, and have not reformed in any quantity e.'C permanent (27). Last Chance Cave and two un cept amid some talus (26). The Ice Cave south designated ice cave are said to contain quite per of F lagstaff reported by Balch, and Renoe ( 107 ), sistent leposits (27, 114). On Sept. 2, 1952, Boy is now submerged by the waters of Lake Mary cout Cave contained a thick Aoor deposit of ice. (26). No in formation ha been obtain ed on the overlain by meltwater. At the ame time, Dew ice caye reported by Balch to be in the \Vhite drop ave contained some two cubic feet of solid Mountains. but the ol'iginal description ( 11) and ice in protected corner amid talus at the c1eepe t the lack of other types of cave in this range ee111 part of it ino-Ie room, as did urprise Cave. to place it in this o- roup. Beauty av wa found to contain only a little lce B LLETIN NUMBER 16. DECENIBER 1954 19 at the bottom of contraction fiss ures about 5 mm result of circulation between the entrances. It is wide and 20 cm deep. The 30 foot deep Crater entirely possible that occlusion of the small rear F unnel "Ice Cave" near Big Crater was found to entrance might result in re-establi shment of much be bare even of the neve which it is said to store of the cave's former magnificence. If a trapdoor in early summer ( 114) . were used, and left open in winter, the result Shoshone Ice Cave, Idaho, presents an excellent should be promptly evident. T he project would at illustration of the deli cate balance of features per least be a harmless, worthwhile experiment. mitting persistence and formation of cave ice. The Crystal Fall s Cave indubitably ranks as one of cave has been known and visited for many years, America's two finest lava glacieres. E ntered and a comparison between the early description through a steep, doubly constricted entrance. it (82), that of Harrington in 1934 (63) and the consists of a double level lava tube measuring cave as it is today is very revealing. about 900 feet in length, with a connecting pit Shoshone Ice Cave is located in the midst of a near its midpoint. On July 5, 1953, the first ice sparsely vegetated lava plain in a region of cli was encountered within 100 feet of the entrance, matic extremes. T he ice cave is one of a series of and almost the entire remainder of the upper level caves remaining after intermittent collapse of a was floored with ice. Water was present atop the large lava tube, whi ch was about 30 feet in diam ice for about 300 feet, ranging from one to six eter and about a mile in length. The glaciere is inches in depth. That this melting was due to about 500 feet in length. atmospheric changes and not to warming of the \ iV hen . the cave was first discovered, only a bedrock was demonstrated by the location of the small entrance existed among lava talus, and the melting, ,vilich was practicall y absent along the entire cave was fi ll ed with solid ice to a point a wall s. T he great ice cascade which gives the cave few feet inside. Settlers enlarged the entrance to its name is only one of several formed at the lip facilitate removal of the ice, "an entrance was of the two-level pit, but is the only one in actual made in the ice and ladders put in . Sometimes continuity with the frozen rivers, in this case, the the ladders would get coated with ice again, but upper di stal river. T he base of this great cascade as air began to circulate, the ice retreated" (82). almost completely seals off the main pa 'sage of Despite these warning signs, promoters further the lower level, which may be entered through a enlarged the entrance as a tourist lure. " ... in small hole between the cascade and the wall. T hi s 1929 ... the front portion had no ice except on leads down a short slide to the fi rst of several the Roor ... with portions of the fl oor covered chambers characterized by a totally smooth ice by unfrozen water. At that time the rear of the floor and cei ling masses of huge frost crystals. cave was en tirely blocked by ice, from floor to T he individual plates in many cases reach a width ceiling. But the wall of ice graduall y receded of 8 inches, and a few are even larger. T he ice through the years" (82). \i\Then visited by Har here is of unknown depth, and the lower level rington, it had receded beyond the small ceiling ends by sinking into the ice. The other end of the opening at the rear of the cave, but the ice Roor lower level is Cjuite short, and may be reached by and wall were intact. On ept. 3, 1952, an exten a dangerous 30 foot sli de beneath another ice cas sive ice Roor was present beneath several inches cade. The temperature of the lower level was of water. but this was locall y said to be completely 30 0 1~, and the only ev id ence of any melti ng was melted by the end of most summers. that induced by carbide lamps. Other nea rby T hi s ev idence of the kataboli sti c effect of cir caves are known to contain les 'er deposits of ice, cul atin g air is so plain that the local inhabitants notably the " Ice Cave" one mile away wh ich is are entirely aware of the chain of events. and indicated by road signs. have neither evolved the odd legends usually as A single group of lava tube ice cave. in New sociated with such a cave nor adopted Harring Mexico is the only OCClirrence of this type known ton's erroneous theory wh ich impli ed that the ice east of the Continental Divide. Perpetual Ice present in the cave was the result of circulating Cave i well known. having been developed and air. Even the shal)e of the ice body shown in hi s publi cized by the state. Here in a short tube with sketch of the cave is evidence of melting as a a large but hi gh mouth i a large block of ice 20 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL OCIETY against the rear wall , wh ose size is said not to The ice is limited to the lower section, which is vary perceptibly despite direct sun shine in some about 200 feet in length. T he main entrance con winter months (25 ). Other similar caves are re sists of a hole in the roof, but the upper end of ported nearby. the segment is al so open, permitting a perceptible draught. The draught, however, apparentl y does O regon is well suppli ed with ice caves. A rnold not reach the lower end of the cave, the flo or be Ice Cave in former years supplied all the ice used neath the pit-like main entrance. or two side pas by the city of Bend (21 ). Its small entrance leads sages, and these are the sites of the persistent ice. immediately to a beautiful but dangerously steep 'W hen visited in the mild October of 1950, the ice slope, thence to an ice Aoo r about 70 feet long, ice showed evidence of much melting, but was fi fteen feet wid e and of unknown depth, com still massive, and the pile of neve below the main pl etely filling the cave at the rear. It is located at entrance was several feet thick. the lower and o f a large lava sink, and is thus assured of a consid erable supply of moisture. Edi Some special features of this cave are worthy son Ice Cave is not known to have been visited in of note. As mentioned, there are two side pas recent years. It is reported to have a small verti sages which branch off the main passage be tween the two entrances. They are below the level cal entrance and a great quantity of neve and ice (32) . South Ice Cave is about 300 feet long, and of either. One of these terminates in a small hole in April , 195 1, con tained many ice stalactites and leading upward at a sharp angle, completely filled a large pool, plus less common forms like bacon with cave ice, and the adjoining Aoor is completely rind draperi es and helictites. These, however, coated with ice for about 5 feet. Beyond this point, the fl oor and wall s are moist. Frost crystal s were obviously transient. Two large stratified were found on the ceiling here, as well as on the domes are pre ent in small depressions further back in the cave. O ur gui de noted that that had ceiling at the lower end of the cave. The other shrunk perceptibl y in the thirty years since he had side passage, nearby but not connected, is an un usual room, completely dry and with a Aat fl oor, first seen them. and thi s. plu s the inwa rd draft the refuge of hundreds of hibernating harvest perceptible well back in the cave, indicate that this men. The entranceway is a narrow passage amid cave is at the critical point. Surveyor's Ice Cave lm'a talus, and though the adjacent walls are wet, is apparently quite similar (32). East Ice Caves the talus is in termingled with clear ice. Earlier in (21 ) and Matz's Ice C l\'es (32) are probably the summer, fi ne transient ice speleothems are id entical. U nfortunately. nothing seems known of present throughout the cave. This unusually ac them except their exi stence (32). :Many of the cessibl e cave should prove an excell ent laboratory other lava tubes of this area co ntain notably tran for the study of many of these unexplained phe sient ice. lVlalheur Cave (28), Lava River Cave nomena. (32), and \Vind Cave are especially noteworthy in this respect. OTHER SUBTERR ANEAN I CE D EPOSITS The Ice Ca\'e west of F illmore, U tah, seems to As previously mentioned, other natural glacieres be a short segment of lava tube in pahoehoe qua exist besides those in true caves. For the sake of ternary basalt ( 14 ). but it may actuall y be a sink convenience, this group may be arbitrarily divided in basalt talus like the nearby Ice Sprin o' (49, as fo ll ows: 109) . 1. Glaciercs in fi ss ures and sinks. 2. Talus and/or gorge glacieres. N umerou. ice caves are reported in \\'ashing 3. Fissure or talus glaciere, too poorly known to to n, but onl y in one area are any known to be true class ify. ca \·es . T hese are Ice Cave. twenty-five miles north It should be recogni zed at the onset that this o f \Vhite Salmon, just wes t of GuI er and T rout class ifi cati on is. of necessity, arbitrary and sub Lake, and south of Mt. Adams, and some other j ect to the inaccuracies imposed by incomplete less well known nearby tubes. T he main cave is data. Others may well place a pecifi c cave in immortali zed on maps of the area by the overlying another group on the basis of their own experi Ice Cave Forest Campgrol1nd . It IS a cla ssical ence. Nevertheless. it will at least serve as a sat lava tube. divided by co ll apse into four sections. is factory guide if it is reinembered that the sub- BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 21 groups tend to considerable overlap and combina 14. O'Brien Ice Cave, N. D. (29) 15. Si nk at Summit, P enna. ( 11 ) tion, and that great accuracy in differentiation has 16. Sink at Coaldale, Penna. (11) 17. Sink in Sullivan Co., P enn a. ( 11 ) not been desired in this study. IS. Sink in Lycoming Co., Penn a. (11) 19. Hell 's Half Acre, S. D. (29, 119) FISSURE AND SINK G L ACIERES 20. Sinks in Bear River Range, Utah. (124) 21. Ice Sprin g, Utah. (49, 109) Permanent or semi-permanent ice deposits in 22. Cave of the W inds, Mt. Mansfi eld, Vt. (73) fissures and sinks include a heterogenous group. 23. Sink at Crowder Cave, W. Va. (31) In some cases, they are barely distinguishable T AL U S A N D GORGE GLACIERES from those in gorges, talus, and even lava tubes. On theoretical grounds, it would seem better to \iVithout exception, they occur at a high eleva separate the talus from the gorge glacieres, and tion, with the usual protective factors compensat ing for their somewhat exposed circulation. The subdivide the talus glacieres into those in which follow ing are currently included in this group: the cold air settles to an impermeable layer and stops, in contrast to those in which settling occurs 1. Cow Mountain Ice Cave, Colo. (111, 112) along an inclined barrier, with the "ice cave" at 2. \,y illiams' F reezing Cave, \~r illi a m stow n, Mass. or near the lower egress . This, however, is be ( 11 ) 3. Mt. Toby Ice Cave, Sunderland, Mass. (104) yond the scope of this paper, and probably of 4. Northfield Ice Cave, Mass. (73) 5. Little Bitterroot Canyon Ice Cave, Mont. (6S, 69) speleology in general. Perhaps it will be attempted 6. Johnson Mesa Ice Cave, N . M. ( 1lS, 121) by some future investigator more interested in 7. Sierra Negras Ice Cave, T. M. (42, 53) S. Syracuse Ice Caves, N. Y. (66) the ice than the cave. It is probable that thi s type 9. Chimney Mountain Ice Caves, N. Y. (79) of glaciere is actuall y widely distributed, but is 10. Snow Hole, N. Y. (11) 11. E ll enville Crevice, N. Y. (44) taken for granted in most sections of the United 12. Cherry Vall ey Ice Cave, N. Y. (45) States. The talus and gorge glacieres which have 13. Snow Cave, N. D. (29) been reported to date are the foll owi ng : 1. Ice Cave, Palmer Lake, Colo. 2. Sali sbury Ice Gorge, Conn. (74) 3. Meriden Ice Go rge, Conn. (74) 4. Northford Ice Gorge, Conn. (74) 5. Talus at Mt. Abraham, Main e. ( 11 ) 6. Icy Glen, Stockbridge, Mass. ( 11, 102) 7. Icy Gulch, Great Barrington, Mass. ( 11 , 102) S. Polar Caves, Mt. Woodstock, N. H. ( 11 ) 9. Talus at Carter Notch, N. H. (S9) 10. Talus at Mt. Garfi eld, N. H . (1 1) 11. Randolph Ice Gulch, N. H . ( 11 , 102) 12. Rumney Ice Gulch, N. H . ( 11 ) 13. Talus in K in g's Ravine, :Mt. Adams, N . H. ( 11 ) 14. Ice Hole, Dixville Notch, N. H . (11,102) 15. Van Horn Ice Cave, N. J. (71) 16. Bonticou Point Ice Caves, N. Y. (4, 103) 17. E ll ensv ille Freezing Gorge, N. Y. ( 11 ) IS. Ice Cave Mountain Cave, Old Forge, N. Y. (103) 19. Stony Clove, N. Y. (103 ) 20. Deep Holl ow, Lexington, N. Y. ( 103 ) 21. H ell H oll ow, P utnam Co., N . Y. ( 103) 22. Haines Falls Ice Gorge, N. Y. ( 11 ) 23. Ice Caves, Lower Ausable P ond, N. Y. ( 11 ) 24. T alus at Giant of the Vall ey, N. Y. ( 11 ) 25. Talus at Indian Pass, N. Y. (1 1, 103) 26. Talus at Avalanche Pass, N. Y. (1 1) 27. Talus at Panama Rocks, Chautauqua, N. Y. (1 1) 2S. Talus at Glen Park, Watertown, N. Y. (11) 29. Ice Cave, Luzerne Co., P enna. ( 11 ) 30. Sweden Vall ey Ice M in e, P enna. (2, 11, 101 ) 31. Paradise Furnace Ice Cave, P enna. (101, 117 ) 32. Pittsford Ice Cave, Vt. (65, 74) 33. Pownal Snow Hole, Vt. ('74 ) 34. Wallingford Ice Bed, Vt. (11 , 4S) 35. Talus at Mt. Horrid, Vt. ( 102) 36. Chelan Ice Cave, \,yash. Photo by U. S. Forest Servi ce 37. Smyrna Ice Cave, Wash. (47, 94 ) 3S. Lake Lena Ice Cave, Wash. (94) Fig. 8. Six-foot ice stalagmites in Badger Tunnel near 39. Ice Cave, D roop Mtn., W. Va. (31) Ophir, Colorado. 40. Talus at Ice Mountai n, W. Va. (11,74) 22 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY UNCLASSIFIED NATU RAL GLACIERES of ice was found on the wall of several such cavi \i\TH ICI-I ARE NOT TR UE CAVES ti es in May 1953, and a thick fl oor of ice was A few obvi ously natural glacieres are so little reported in one in Sept., 1952. known that attempted classification would only be Cave of the \iVinds, Vt., is a partially talus futile. Those which seem to be safely excluded fill ed, narrow fi ssure about a hundred feet deep, from the limestone or lava groups are as follows : containing much snow in its upper portion until July ( 73, 102 ) . At the bottom, a sloping ice fl oor 1. Ice Cave north of Hayden, Colo. ( 110 ) 2. John Burroughs' Icc Cave, Sli de Mtn., N. Y. (22, about 200 feet long, 2 feet wide and 12 feet thick 103 ) was observed in the summer of 1933. The descent 3. Mt. Pisgah Ice Cave, Wyo. (43) -to Corall s Caves, Wyo. (43) is one of the most difficult in New England, and has been made only a few times. DESCRIPTION OF F ISSURE GLACIERES Although the present status of the cave is un A SPECIFIC T YPE OF FISSU RE GL ACIERE certain, the hi story of Cow Mountain Ice Cave is The Montana, New Mexico and North Dakota an interesting footnote to the hi story of Colorado sites appear to have been formed as long fi ssures as well as an interesting contribution to speleo parallel to a canyon or mesa wall, by slumping of meteorology. Reference to the original accounts the rimrock. They therefore resemble talus caves ( 111 , 112 ), recently reprinted ( 57) , is well worth in many ways. The Montana cave is in sandstone ·while. It appears to be a fi ssure cave, probably on (68) . In some ways, its morphology is unusual, a rhyolite-granite contact. Discovered in 1897, and reference to the source material is advised for the mine shaft which opened the cave apparently the speleometeorologist. The ice is present on the established a circulation which melted much or all surface of walls, and intermediate ledges, but of the ice in about 3 years. If it is ever possibl e apparently not in the lowest portions, which, how to reopen the cave, it will be of real interest to ever, are so difficult and dangerous of access that observe the degree of re-establi shment of the full exploration has not been accomplished (69) . deposit. It is suspected that the main cave circulation by \ i\T illiams' Freezing Cave and the Snow H ole. passes the entrance area. just across the state line in New York, are un The Sierra Negras Cave is somewhat similarly usual fis sures in a dark grey slate. The former open to wind currents in its upper portions, so consists of a narrow slope, half covered by an tha t no ice was found at a depth of 50 feet (53) im perfect roof. After a steep 50 foot descent. whil e it is reliably reported at a depth of 110 feet holes at the bottom of the passage are said to lead in the mid portion of the fi ssure (42,124) . J ohn to a lower chamber where the ice is found ( 11 ). son Mesa Ice Cave is somewhat differen t, posses Snow Hole is a sim ple unroofed fi ssure ( II ) . sing major openings at each end. with a protected These sites appear to be classical pit glacieres, the central region. The upper entrance is some 50 feet former complex, the latter, simple. above the lower, and is so arranged that consider The "Ice Cave" of Sunderland, Mass., is a par able snow accummulates in its sink-like mouth tially closed fi ssure in conglomerate. Each spring. each winter ( 121 ) . A deep sheet of ice, banded fine ice speleothems are reported formed in a with seasonal surface debri s, has developed along small protected grotto within the fi ssure ( 104). the slope. reaching a thickness of 8 feet. This is That at Northfi eld seems similar. 1 ut perhaps locally known a the "Talmadge Glacier", after should be classifi ed as a talu s cave. Described as Dr. . n. Talmadge, formerly of the New Mexico "a vertical crevice in tumbled conglomerate rock. chool of Mines, who first noted evidence of its about 2 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 12 feet long" , pia ti ity and flow ( 118) . \ i\T hil e unusual , this is it contained a foot of cl ear ice on July 1, 1930 by n means a unique phenomena. being common (73 ). It is well shaded by evergreens and the to 51 pi ng depo its with an active source, such as slope of the hillside. . rnold lce Cave, Little Bitterroot Canyon I ce The Ellenville Crevice is a fi ssure in siliceous (1 \ ' and others. The fact that consid erable melt conglomerate about one-half mil e long and up to ing occurs each year ( 118) enhances the process. 120 feet deep (44). Divided into a seri es of pit Snow Cave. T. D. , appears to be a neigiere caves by talus accumulations, an 8 inch thickncs rather than a glaciere, but i typical of this group B U LLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 23 T he entrance measures about 3 by 5 feet, and is about 15 feet above the level of the ice (29) . Hell 's Half Acre seems to be a imilar type of glaciere, but its rugged nature and the isolated terrain have prevented satisfactory study. Danehy reports it to be somewhat like O'Brien Ice Cave, but on a much greater scale. He noted no ice in its upper portions in September, 1953, but felt that it might well exist in the depths below (29) . It is locally reputed to be a glaciere ( 119) . The exact status of the Ice Caves near Syra cuse, N. Y., is not completely cl ear. Some, at least, seem to be open fi ssures in Onondaga lime stone. acting as pit glaci eres. T he onl y known reference is the foll owi ng (66) : "Some of these fi ssures are open enough at the Phot o by Basil Hritsco top to permit large quantities of snow to enter them during the winter months, and remain in the Fig. 9. Crystal gratta behind Falls, Crystal Falls Cave. form of snow and ice during the greater part of although one of .the smallest. "T he cave is a fi s the summer, forming what is locall y known as the sure caused by a mass breaking away from the "Ice Caves". These occur in the cliffs around Blue rimrock cliff of Black Butte, the hi ghest point in Lake and at the Split Rock quarries". 1 orth Dakota. The entrance is near the top of There has long been di scussion of the exact the cliff in the Illiddle of the southeast si de of the nature of the ice caves on Chimney Rock Moun butte, and is partly roofed by blocks of talus. It tain, I . Y . They have been variously considered is about 40 feet deep, 60 feet long at the top, and as limestone, talus, fi ssure and gorge caves. Lo 20 feet long at the bottom. The width varies from cated as they are in the highl y mi xed beds of the 4 to 10 feet. The rimrock is hard, fin e-grained Grenville formation ( 79) , detailed studies reveal sandstone of the W hite River formation (Oli go them to be deep fi ssures irregularly fi ll ed with cene). It i continental in origin , and is mostly talus (79). T he studies describe " large joints, crossbed ded with occasional strealll channels. some of which are 60 feet in depth and 30 feet "T he cave onl y reaches twilight. It is known wide across the top, extend ( ing) for 200 to 600 fo r the accumulation of winter snow which per feet along the strike. They are frequently fi ll ed sists roughly until July according to local infor with ice and snow the year round and are also mation. T hi s roughly depend s upon the amount partiall y filled with . . . bl ocks which have fall en of snow trapped in the fi ssure. last winter was into them". very mi ld, and this year (1953) it contained little SINK GLACIERES ice. Its position on the cliff and many openings 1 eve persists, and ice fo rms and persists in the all ow air to circul ate through it freely" (29). deepe. t, most sheltered part of many sinks, re O'Bri en Ice Cave is sim il arly "formed by block gardless of their origin. Volcanic funnels and fracturing and breaking away of rock from a 60 other blind pits have a very similar form. The foot cliff of hard, calcareous buff sandstone (Sen fi rst two Pennsylvania sites li sted ,""ere formed by tinel Butte member of the paleocene Fort U nion the collapse of coal mine tunnels. The second ha fo rmation). T he depression leading into the cave ceased to be an important glaciere by 1900 ( 11 ). acts to accumulate and funnel snow and meltwater T he next two reported in that state are typical inside. T he sheltered position of the entrailce, limestone sinks in which ice persists for an inde which faces west, serves to preserve the ice" (29). terminate period ( 11 ), and that in \iVest Virginia O n September 6, 1953, Danehy found a 3 foot (31) is apparently quite similar. Cherry Vall ey th ick Aoor deposit of ice within the cave, which is Ice Cave contains about two feet of clear ice at onl y 4 feet wide, 8 feet hi gh and 25 feet long. the bottom of fis sures averagi ng 20 feet wide 24 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIET Y and 13 feet deep at the bottom of its 90 foot Aoor of the pass for such a short time of the day olution sink hole in O nondaga limestone. " Due that the Aora is similar to that 2000 feet higher to the extremely hot and wet spring this year on the nearby mountains. Labrador tea and yel ( 1952) , this and two other ice caves in New York low c1 intonia were in bloom there on July 21 st. state lost their i::e in early July. The other caves "Between and uncl er many of these large usualy hold ice until late August and sometimes boulders are caves. Ice is found in several of these the year rounel. T hat leads me to beli eve that this caves in July and August. I \'i sited the caves on would hold ice until late summer in a normal July 21. 1953. Ice was found in six places in year" (45 ). A small crawl way 42 feet long lead about half an hour. T im e was too short to make ing from the base of the sink is said to contain a a thorough search. In one case, the sloping open few stalactites but no ice. T he two U tah reports, in er of the cave was about 5 b\· 6 feet and faced near Tony Grove Lake and Beaver Summit, are b . _ . northeast. About 7 feet down was a Aoor 6 by 18 unauthenticated. A ll of this group occur hi gh in feet covered by ice which appeared to be about a the mountains and act sim ply as pits into which foot thick. T he air temperature in a co rner about cold settles. The Ice Spring west of Fillmore, 6 inches below the top of the ice was 60 °C. An Utah, occurs in a lava Aow containing tubes. but other cave had a small entrance leading about 8 descriptions suggest that it is a sink-like depres feet down into a small room about 4 by 6 feet. sIon instead ( 49, 109). A crack about a foot wide and .5 feet high ex DESCRIPTION OF TALUS AND G ORGE tended about 20 feet from this room. T he Aoor of this crack was cuvered with ice on top of whi ch GLA CfER ES lay about 5 inches of water." \ iV hile many of the caves in the talt:s-gorge gn;)lIp contain major ice deposits. in many others, It is neither worthwhile nor desirable to full y the ice and snow linger only brieAy after their descri be all the glacieres in this group. \Vorthy of di sappearance outside. Perhaps most of this gl'oup bri ef mention are Palmer Lake and P ittsford Ice Cayes, which consist of talus fi lling gorges. O f are worthy of speleologists' or spelunkers' \· isits. the gorges in the li st. onl y the three in Connecti Nevertheless, the prim e reason for their inclusion cut and the Snow H ole appear to Ice unassociated in this paper is to spare the caver disillusionment with some talus. S \y eden Vall ey Ice Mine and the if he is expecting typical limestone caves. Ice Cave west of Smyrna. \Nash .. are locall y no Chelan Ice Cave, \Vash., has already been de table artificial excavati ons into cold-bearing talus, scribed. A typical example of the other type of or perhaps fi ssures in the case o f the latter ( ...j.7 . talus cave is that of the "ice caves" in Indian 9...j.. 101 ) . . Pass. N . Y . (96) : Van Horn Ice Caye. a depression in talus be " Indian Pass is located in the central part of neath a cli ff. may be identical with either or both / the Adirondacks at lati tude ...j....j. 0 8 N. longitude the "Ice H ole ~ n Dlue lvlountain" or the " Ice 74° 2/\;V. It is a narrow defil e between \ I\T allface Cave in Sussex Co . on P eter Feather's farm", Mountain and the MacIntyre Range. A::cording rumors o f which were recorded by Balch ( 11 ). to K emp. Geology of the 1\lt. March Q uad rangle. Of the natural glacieres 1\ hich have not been New York State Museum Bull etin :?29-230, 192 1, classifi ed due to the lack o f data. the Ice Cave it is one of a group o f parall el depressions formed north of HaYden. Colo., is included as a non-lime by bl ock faulting. T he trend of the pass is north stone glaciel:e cl ue to regional geology. Jol1 n Bur east to southwest. The northwest side o f the pass roughs' .Lee Ca\'e is probably talu s. The first \\'yo is the sheer southeast face of \Va ll face l\lountain. ming site i- describe I (...j.' ) as .. -ubterranean pas T he pass is notable for th e profu sion of large sages ... cO IHain ( in o') ice throughout the year", bl ocks o f anorthosite which appear to have fa ll en the second as "tTe\'i::e - in the cl iffs ... retain from the cli ffs of \iVa ll face. Some o f these blocks ( ing-) ,; nO\\' and ice until midsu111m er". The are 20 or 30 feet in diameter. The blocks are chance of either being a true caye seems remote. hea\'il y coated with moss ancl trees g row from the tops of many o f them. T he ele\'ation is about G LA C IERE MI NES 2900 feet above sea level. T he sun reaches the Ice-forming mines and tunnel are probably B U LLETIN NUMBER 16, D ECEMBER 1954 qui te common in cold climates, but are li ttle known Perhaps the most spectacular of this group is and rarely described. P robably the best-known the Ice Palace Stope in the H ill top Mine, Colo., Ameri can study is that of McNair (86). Dozens, adorned to a depth of at least 500 feet with both perhaps hundreds, exist in Colorado alone. In fl ow ice and enormous wall and ceiling deposits general, they are deep, but not so deep as to be of huge frost crystals (87). affected by the geothermal gradient. and they es sentiall y lack an active circulati on. Meterorologi I CE- FoRMI NG VlELLS call y, two types exist. I n the fi rst type, the bed Ice-forming wells have been reported 111 seven ro::k never thaws, and ice deposits consist of frost localities: crystals on the ceilings and upper walls, formed l. Decorah Townshi p, Iowa ( 11 ) 2. Ware, Mass. ( 11 , 48) directly from atmospheric moisture. T he other 3. Horse P lains, Mont. ( 11 ) type is actually a pit glaciere, trapping cold air so 4. Lyman, N. H . (48) 5. Owego, T ioga Co., N. Y. ( ll, 48) that moisture tri ckling from the bedrock is frozen G. P rattsburg. N. Y. (1 1) into typical speleothems. In such mines, thermo 7. Brando n, Vt. ( 11 , 48) strati ficati on is often evident, so that onl y stalag T he Owego well has long been fi lled ( 11 ). mites and f rozen lakes are present. T he best Nothing is known of that reported at Prattsburg. known sites appear to be the following: All the others occur in gravel through whi ch cold can percolate much as in the manner of talus 1. H ill top M in es, Colo. (86, 87) caves. In some cases, cold air may enter the sha ft 2. Other Fairplay and Leadvill e area mines, Colo. (86, 87 ) directl y, but the well at ' !\Ta re is benealh a buuse. 3. M ines in Montezuma area, Colo. (87, 124) Many others probably exist but have not been 4. Sunnyside Mine, Colo. (87) J . Min es on Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Bross and Mt. Cameron, regarded as curiosities. Colo. (87) 6. Hagerman Pass T unnel, Colo. ( 11 ) ICE CAVES No LONGER I N EXISTENCE 7. Mt. McClell an Tce Cave, Colo. (1 1) 8. T unnel near Ophi r, Colo. (108) I n view of the many changes made by man in 9. Mines at V ictor, Colo. (124) 10. Icy lVfin e. L ittle Wolf Mtns. Mont. ( 11 ) the surface of the globe, it is inev itable that a few II. Grafton M ill e, N. H. (5) caves will be destroyed. Ice caves are not immune. 12. Port H enry M ines, N. Y. (7,74) 13. :Mill e at Graphi te, N. Y. (72) and mention of a few examples has already been 1-1- . Bull M ine, Monroe, N. Y. (44) made. T he following ice caves, previously re 15. E lle nville M in es, N. Y. (103, 104) 16. Rosendale Cement Quarry, N. Y. (103, 10-1) corded . no longer exist : 17. Englewood Tce Cave Min e, S. D. (29) 18. M ines at A lta. Utah (124) I . Lake Mary Ice Cave, 19. S il ver Mi ne, Brandon, Vt. (1 1) Ari z. (I I , 107) F looded (26) 20. "Min e near Big Four Inn, \iVa h. ( 124) 2. Tce Cave, Perryvill e, 21. F reezing Mi ne. Wyo. (1 1) Penna. ( 100) F illed ( 11 6) 3. Ice Cave, La n sford, T he Vermont site is an uncon fi rmed rumor and Penn a. ( 11 ) Destroyed (24, 11 7) 4. F reezing Cave, Far may not exist. A ll the others are located at high randsvill e, P enna. ( 11 ) Quarried away ( 11 7) elevations. T he Montana site, whi ch seem qui te 5. Map le t on I ce Cave, Penna. ( 11 ) F illed ( 11 ) typical, is protected by the elevation. a heavy fo r G. Spruce Creek Ice Cave, Nearby excavations altered est cover. "volcanic ash" and much loose rock. Penn a. ( 11 ) ci rculation ( II ) 7. Icy vVi nd Cave, Wash. F ill ed (124) T he Mt. lVlcClell an site apparentl y diffe rs in that water works its way in to minute fiss ures and is U NTDENTlFIED REPORTS f rozen ill sitll rather than in the passages ( 11 ) . A few ice caves, while reported by reasonably Several mines southwest of Shoe Basin , in the authentic sources, have defied all attempts at clas l\Iontezuma area of Co lorado, resemble the Ha sification or study. T he existence of a few is german Pass tunnel. in that they \-ve re completely doubtful. T he ice in others may be a myth. Any fi lled by clear concentri :: hexagol' al ice deposits in fo rmation on the fo ll ow ing. or on caves not for distances in the hundreds of feet after they mentioned, or those imperfectl y described in this were abandoned fo r about 25 years ( 11, 124) . study wou ld indeed be welcome. "Engle\\'ocd Ice Cave" is an in teresting mine 1. Ca ldwcll Ice Cave, \""a n'en Co., N. Y. (75) whi ch is also locall y known as "Icebox Cave". 2. fc c Cave. Brandon. Vt. ( II ) 3. Spokane Ice Cave. Wash. (16) A hri ef hut interes tin g study by Danehy i on fi le. 4. Ice Cave Mountain , \'Vyo. (88) 26 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY The New York cave has escaped recogmtlOn in 15. BISCHOFF, E. """l. Twin Buttes Cave. BI/Il. N .S.S. 5 :45, 1943. a nest of cavers. U nfortunately, it was reported 16. ibid. Newsletter No.1, etc. BlIll. N.S.S. 5 :36, 1943. by too excellent an authority to dismiss it. It may 17. ibid. (attributed). List of Caves. BlIll. N .S.S. 4 :54, 1942. well be no longer in existence. The Vermont site 18. BLOCH, DON. Notes on Porcupine (Ice) Cave. Bllli. is a third hand report, without confirmation by N .S.S., 8 :44, 1946. 19. ibid. Montana Caves. B!tll. N .S.S. 7 :53, 1945. any authority. It may have been a confused 20. BO RSC H, E LLA. pers. cOlllm. rumor of the icy well or mine of that area. Spo 21. BROGA N, P HIL. Central Oregon Lava Caves. Calif. Cave,', 3 (4) :4, April, 195 1. kane Ice Cave is a small cave in a non-speleoli fer 22. BURROUGH S, J OHN. Riverby. H ougiltoll, Miff/in & Co., New York, 1894. ous basalti c region, in which hi storic relics were 23. Canada, D ept. of Ihe Inle,'io,., Nakimu Caves. Re found ( 16). This seems unlike a glaci ere. T he port of the Surveyor-General ( 1906), 1907. 24. Cm'bon CO llnty (P enna.) H islorical Society. Un \iVyoming site is an obscure name kn own onl y publi shed fi les. from a map of a remote area. 25. CLA IU<, J. M. (attributed). Refrigeration in N ew Mexico. Calif. Cave?', 2 (2) :1, F eb., 1950. LOOKING FORWARD 26. COLTON, H AROLD S. pers. comm. 27. Craters of the Moon National Monument staff. pel's. H itherto un reported ice caves undoubtedly ex comm. ist, and more will be di scovered in the future. Yet 28. D AKE, H. C. Curious Stalagmites in a ' Vestern Cave. The Mine'I'Giogist, 4 ( 9) :5, Sept., 1936. others may be discovered by additional study of 29. D ANE HY, EDWARD A . pel's. comm. cm'es already known. T hi s article has barely men 30. D AUGs, Do ' ALD. pel' s. comm. 31. DAVIES, \V~!. L. Caverns of ",,rest Virginia. W . Va. ti oned the types of ice speleothem , which resem Ceol. SlI'rv., Vol. 19, 1949. bl e those of calcium carbonate both in morphology 32. Deschules Nalional Forest. Unpublished fi les. 3.1 . D REW!':S, H ,\ RAT.D. pers. Olllm. and multipli city ( 58) . It is obvious that here is a 34. ECHO, M. VV. pel's. comm. great, nearly virgin field for the meteorologist 35. ERH ARD, A. E . Idaho Group Explores New Cave near Teton National Park. N .S.S. News, 11 ( 12 ) :11, and the speleologist, working together, to open Dec., 1953. new realms of science. Inl1lU11erable problems of 36. FEATH!':RSTONHAUGH, DUANE. pel's. comm. 37. Federal W,'iler's P?·oject. California, A Guide to ice caves must await a better understanding of the Golden State. Haslillgs H Ollse, New York, 1939. cave meteorology in general. The members of the 38. ibid. Colorado, A Guide to the State, 1939. 39. ibid. Idaho, A Guide to the State, 1939. National Speleological Society should be prepared 40. ib id. Iowa, A Guide to the State. 1939. to take a maj or part in uch investigations. Let 41. ·ibid. Montana, A Guide to the State, 1939. 42. ·ibid. New Mex ico, A Guide to the State, 1939. th em be not long delayed! 43. ibid. Wyoming, A Guide to the State, 1939. 44. FISHER, J OHN J. pel's. comm. RI': FEREKCES CITED 45. FOR]'!AK . CLIFFORD. JR. pel's. comm. 46. FREomICK. R . D. pel's. comm. I. AA BERG , M. C .. et a!. ex Custer National Forest. 47. FRITZ. B. J. (United) . Rocl?s alld Millerals, Caves of the Pryor Mountain A rea, Montana. T ech. 16 :325, Sept, 1941. Note No. 20, alt Lake Grotto, N at. Speleo l. Soc., 48. CeologJl 0/ Ver1ll01l 1, Vol. 1, 186 1. Sept., 1954. 49. GrLB!':RT. G. K .. in \~ heeler's Geographic and Ge 2. ANDRE WS, M. O. The Sweden Vall ey Ice M in e. ologic Surveys \1,1est of the 100th feridian,"" 01. 3. Pop. Sci. Mo II I Iz/y, 82:280, 1913. c.p.a., \iVash ington, 1875. 3. Anon. Lava Caves of St. H elens. llfa::a/lla, 2(3) : 2, 50. GORI N, STA ND IFORD. pel's. comm. 1897-1906. 51. GREGORY, HERBERT E. Geology of Eastern I ron 4. A non. Cave Index of Met, North J ersey & E.D.S. County, Utah. Utah Ceol. & Mill. SIII'VI!)1 BIII/. 37, Grotto Areas. ~ I e tr opo li tan New York Grotto, 1950 . ( Plate 2) N.S.S ., 1954. 5. A non. (Unti tled ). R ocks alld M ill erals, 15 :238, July, 52. H ALLI DAY, ' VILLI A?I R. Lava Caves of Central Ore 1940 . gon. B III/ . N .S .S. 14 :47, 1952. 6. ,~ 11 0 11 . (Untitl ed). Roc /~s alld Mill era/s, 15 :410,1940. 53. ibid. Field Trip R eport: Trinidad area. 1\ cws & 7. A non. (Untitled). Rocb alld Mill erals, 16 :292, Aug., Notes, Colorado C rol/o, N .S.S .. 1(5) :24. June, 1952. 1941. 54. ibid. The Baker Creek Caves, Nevada: Preliminary 8. BA ILEY, T . L. Caves of the Eastern Highland Rim, Investigati ons. Techllical Nair ~ o. 3, Salt Lake etc. R esollrces of T ellll cssee. 8: 11 6, 1918. Crol/o, N .S. ., Jan .. 1954. 9. BALCH, E. S. Ice Caves and the Causes of Subter 55 . ibid. Speleological Potentialities of the U inta Moun ranean Ice . ./ 0 111' . Fra'llklill Ill st .. 143(3) :1 61, Nov., tains, Utah. T ecllllica l Nole No.7, S.L.C .. N .S.S .. 1897. Feb., 1954. 10. ibid. Subterranean I ce Deposits in Ameri ca. JOII/,. 56. ibid. Speleological R econnaissance of the Bear River Frall/{Iill IlI sl. , 147(4) :286, Apr .. 1899. Rano'e, Idaho. Tecllllical ole .\'0. 9. .L.C.. N. 11. ibid. Glacieres, or Freezin g Caverns. A I/ I'll. Lalle & Apr. , 1954. Scott, P hiladelphia, 1900. 57 . ibid. T he Story of Co,,' Mountain Icc Cave, 010. 12. BARR. THOMAS C. pers. comlll. Ne'ws & Noles. Colorado Crol/o. ~ ..... in press. 13. BECKIW. FRED. Climber's Gu ide to the Cascade and 58. ibid. Noncrystalline Ice peleothems. D. peieo- Olympic Mountai ns of \Vashington. .,-) /11. A l pine graph. 8(7) :1 , July, 19-3. CII/ b, 1949. 59. ibid. H ell's E ntrance Frozen ver. Cascade Cave 14. BECKW ITH, FRANK. M illard and Nearby. Al'l Cily Report No.7. in press. P ll bl. Co., Springville, U tah, 1947. 60 . ibid. Unpublished observations. B U LLETIN NUMBER 16, D ECEMBER 1954 27 61. H ,\RD,\W AY , H OWARD VlT. pel's. comm. 95. MOWAT, G .. L AN GE, A., a nd IJESA USS URE, E . E eport 62. Harney N ational F o rest. U npublished fi les. of the Cali fornia-Nevada Speleological S urvey. 63. HARRI 2\'G TO :-l, E. R. The Orig in of Ice Caves. l a'll?'. T ec h. Repl. No.2, W cslcl'II Spcleol. IlI sl., 1953. Crol .. 42 (4) :433, 1934. 96. lvl u lw i\Y , J OHX 'vV. pers. comm. 64. H EN DRJX, CH1\RLE S. pel' s. comm. 97. N ational S peleolog ical Society. U npublished fi les. 65. HITCHCOCK, HAROLD. pe l' s. comm. 66. H OP KI KS . T. C. Geolog y of t he Syracuse Quad 98. N EIGHBOR , FRA NK. L imestone Caverns of the B lack rang le. N .Y . Slalr Mils. BIIII. 171, 19 14. Hill s E eg ion, S . D. Master's Thesis, UlIi. of Colo 67. H OUG H, FRAN KLI N B. H istory of J efferson County rado , 1940 . .'\ Iso in: Coll ected N otes on Additi onal ( N.Y. ) , A lbany, 1854. B lack Hills Caves. T echllical Nole No. 27, S alt 68. HHIT SCO. BA SIL. N ew Discovery in Montana. N .S.S. Lal?e (,'1'0 11 0 , N .S .S .. Nov. , 1954. Nl'ws, 11 (6) :4, June, 1953. 99. Pahasapa Quarterl y. ( Rla c /~ Hills E ll g ill ec1) . 69. i/J id. pers. com. 4 ( 3 ) :37, Apr., 1915. 70. H L: IlRICHT, LESLIE. pe rs. comm. 100. P ennsylvania Geological Sur vey, Vol. 1 1856. 71. H ULSTllUN K, AL. pers. comm. 101. ibid. lee M ines in Pennsylvania. U npublished man 72. J E:\ SEX , D . E . pers. comm. u script. 73. J 0 11" SON, H.OGER. pe rs. comm. 102. PERRY. C LAY. N ew E ng land's B uried Treasure. 74. 1< I :- rIJALL. H. H. Ice Caves and Frozen W ells as Step!t.1' 1I Da.\' e Press, N ew Y o rk 1946. ~vt e t eo ro l og i c a l P henomena. 1110111 II I'J' vVeathel' R ev. 103. ibid. Unde rg round E mpire. Stephen Da3,e Press, 29 :366, 1901. N ew Yo rk, 1948. 75 . ibid. ( Untitled). MOll lhiy W ealher R ev., 29:509, 104. ibid. pers. comm. 1901. 105. PETRTE , 'vV"r. pe rs. COI11I11. 76. 1(:-10:\. R. G. Land of the Burned Out Fires. The 106. POTT S, MERLI K K. Mount E a inier's Greatest lee Caves of California. CaNf. Bureall of M ines. ( in Ca vern. Pacif ic Disc07.'cr.\', 111 (3 ) :5, 1950. press) 107. RENOE, Euz. (Untitled ) . M all 11th, W eather R ev, 77 . ibid. pers. comm. 29:54, 190 1. . 78. h:o\·A RI CK. A . F. The D eco rah Ice Cave. Sci. A ll le'r. 108. E ock y Moun tain R egional Foreste r, U . S. Forest S II/,/>/ .. 11 95 :19158, Nov. 26. 1898. S (' r7 'ice. Unpubl ished fil es. 79. K I UE ~ ;E H. M. H . Geology of the 13th Lake Quad 109. EOGEH S. \11/ . T. I ce Spring in Central Uta h. R oclls rangle. N .Y. Siaic JVJIIS. BII /I. 308, M ay, 1937. UIlt! Millreu/s, 17 :10, Jail .. 1942. 80. L.~ XG E. ARTH UR L. The V/hite Chief Caves Near 110. Routt National Forest. U npublished fil es. ~ Ifin e r a l King. }.If olllhiy R rport, Stanfol'd C1'OttO, 111. S I. L Ollis P osi-Dispaleh. Icc Cave Neat· C reed e, .V .S.S. 2(1) :1, Oct., 195 1. July 13, 1897, p. 10. 81. ibid. pers. comll1. 11 2. ibid, Sept. 5, 1897, Sunday :Mag. sec. 3. page I. 82. L ov!:. H. H. pel's. comm. 11 3. S hasta N ationa l F o rest. Unpubli shed fil es. 83. ~{ i \ C Y, PRE STON P. pers. comm. 114. STEARX S, H . T. Cr a ters of t he M oon. C cog. R ev., 84. ~ ' r.HTHE S . F. E. M ount Eaini e r a nd Its G laciers. 14 :326, 1924. C .P .O .. Washington, 1928. li S. STEPHE:\ SON , \ oV . J. pers. COl11tl1. 85. ~[c C l o ud D istrict of S hasta N ationa l F or est. Un publi shed file s. 11 6. STO NE, EALPJ[ V. Caves of P ennsylvania. ..1 '1>1 1'1'. 86. ~{ CNA IR. A WI'l'IUR J. Icc P alaces U nder Colorado's Cm ler ( Bul!. N .S .S .) No. 15, Dec., 1953. ~1 0 un t a in s. Trail alld Tilll be'rlillc, July, 1949. 117. ibid. pers. comm. 87. ibid. pel's. comm. 11 8. TAUIJ\IlGE, STERLt :\G B. et a l. J ohnson M esa Ice 88. "\if edicin e Bow N ational F orest. OHicial Map, 19-11. Caves, N . M . Calif. Caver, 6 (3) :2, A ug ., 1954. 89. MERRTA" I. PATR ICI A. Tee Caves. B IIII. N.S.S . 12 :32, 11 9. THOM SON . FRA NK. pe rs. comm. 1950. 120. THRAILKiLl" JOH :\. Clear Cr eek Caves, Colo. N.S.S. 90. M II.LE Il . A. lvf. Icc Caves. S ciell ce , 37 :981, 19 13. News, 8 (10) :4, Oct .. 1950. 9 1. M rsclI , P. Lower Challenge r Glacie r (photo). 121. ibid. J ohnson "Mesa Ice Caves. N .S .S . N rws, J!oltlilaili err , 45(13 ) :84, 1952. 10( 12 ) :8, D ec .. 195 2. 92. ~1 0 d oc N ational F orest. U npublsih ed fil es. 122. TH O,\ll lI-:, FEL I:\ . E xtract in Fralls. e mie Res('u rch 93. "\.[ O:\ TOHI OL P .. J. M eteorologia Hipogea. U rallia C rOll/>, 1 (2 ) :14. No. 238. Tarragona , S pa in. 1951. 123. \N T'IITE, C. .'\. Geo!. R epor ts o f t he S ta te of Iowa, 9-1. \ loH(;A:\ . N EIl. (United ) . Cascade Cave R epm·t 1 :80. 1870. 'vo. ·1. F eb. II , 1952. 12-1. L ocal in te r view, bel ieved r ei iable. 2R NATION AL SPELEO LOGI CAL S OCIETY Pleistocene Ecology of Cumberland Bone Cave By BROTHER G. NICHOLAS, F.S.C. All Photos by the Author LaSall e High School, C'1Imberlamd, Ma1"yland Additional diggillg at the site of a famous bone cave has yielded "ich results in adding to our knowledge of ancient life. The a1.tthor, widely lmown in scieni'ijic circles, -is V ice Presidellt for R esea1'Ch of the National Speleological Society. Most of the knowledge of Pleistocene forms were found in it and it is said to have been a hide comes from fossil deposits found in caves and out for early settlers during Indian raids. crevices where the bones would be trapped and Another entrance to the cave was a sinkhole protected from the influences of weathering and situated on top of the ridge. A vertical shaft led erosion . O ne of the outstanding deposits of Pleis down to several small chambers and thence down tocene remains is the Cumberland Bone Cave, to the main room of the cave, approximately 100 located three miles northwest of Cumberland, feet below the surface. The limestone strata are Maryland and directly south of the small town of vertical so that the lines of cleavage are in a Corrigansville. The cave is situated on the north nearly perpendicular position. T hi s gave access ern spur of a limestone ridge on the south side of to surface waters which then caused the develop ' iV ill s Creek Vall ey. Structurally, the limestone is ment of a typical fiss ure cave. a part of the deeply dipping west fl ank of the W ill Mountain anticline. It is in the Keyser EARLY EXCAVATIONS OF BONE CAVE member of the Helderberg formation of rock In 1912 the Western Maryland Railway, in ex which is Devonian in age. cavating for a cut while pushing their tracks A lthough several taxonomi c studies have been through Cash Valley to Connelsville, exposed the made of the Cumberland remains, no attempt has cave at its lower level. U nfortunately, dynamite yet been made to correlate them with the sur was used to loosen the layers of rock down to the rounding country in order to determine what their level of the roadbed, which was at the same level habitat must have been. Such a study was under. as the main room of the cave. An amateur natu taken sin ce the area of western Maryland has rali st. Raymond Armbruster of Cumberland, no been neglected, paleontologically speaking, and a ticed quantities of bones being removed in the knowledge of P leistocene ecology can be used to rubble and notified J. W. Gidley of the United supplement simil ar studies made of the Great States National Museum. All the bones exhumed Lake. region and the Mississippi vall ey. before this time were lost except fo r some skulls retained by curious wo rlG11 en. From 1912 to 1916 DESCRIPTION OF BONE CAVE Gidley accumulated one of the laro'est collections A correct perspective of the Cumberl and Cave of P leistocene mammalian fossils found in thi s is rather difficult to obtain today because of three ,' ection of the country. Early results of Gidley's man-made changes in the area during the past studies of the fauna were published in two papers fifty year. Before 1900 there were apparently in 1913. one describing an eland! and the other a two entrances to the cave. O ne entrance, running new species of wolf and black bear.2 In later about 200 feet south. led into the cave at a level papers3,4 Gidley li sted the remains fo und and de 100 feet below the top of the ridge. This entrance scribed the peccary remains. Dr. Alexander Wet and passageway was destroyed at the turn of the more described the remains of a ruffed grouse. century when a quarry started operations at the A her Gidley's death in 1931, C. Lewis Gazin . base of the ridge and continued working intermit curator of vertebrate paleontology at the U nited tently until 1908. The cave must have been known States Museum, continued the classification of to the local residents ince remains of old rifl es remains and published6 a revised li st of the forms BULLETIN JUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 29 SECTION VIEW 01 GENERAL AREA _ Cumber/and_ -= "Bone"Cove = CUM8ERLANO,MAR~ANO Drawn by J .F isher Fig. 1. Drawing af Cumberland Bane Cave showing relationship with the surrounding terrain and the excavations now in progress. encountered together with descriptions of seven sageway known before 1900 should open out on new species of mammals. Later, Gazin published the north side of the cut. A search of the cliff a rev iew of all the vertebrate fauna fO lU1d in the soon revealed a small opening which did indeed Cumberland Cave, merely describing remains co l lead back to a room almost fi ll ed to the ceiling lected by Gidley. with debris but fossils were immediately found in In 1916 Gidley was forced to stop work at the this fi ll. Bone Cave when it was blocked by the 'Western F urther exploration of this room revealed that Maryland Railway. As was proven later, many it was about twenty feet deep, ten feet wide and bones still remained but loose rocks had made fur two feet hi gh. Careful digging operations were ther in vestigation too precarious. It should be initiated in the dirt fl oor and other bones soon noted that the railroad did a wise thing in closing were exposed. An immediate probl em arose as to the cave sin ce it had become rather popular and the disposal of the dirt. Conditions were crowded there was the imminent danger of tourists being and the narrow entrance made shoveli ng of the seri ously hurt either by fall ing rocks or passin g di rt im possibl e. A second opening was then dug, train s. connecting to the remnants of a chimney-like for L ATER E XCAVATIONS AT B ONE CAVE mation. This afforded ati entrance into the actual In 1950 the cave was vi sited by the author and site of most of the fi ndi ngs. As a result of this. it became apparent that no further access to the mud and rocks were graduall y shoved toward the cave was avai lable after several days were spent front entrance while access was obtained through in futil e attempts to re-open it. It was noted how the top of the chamber. By 1951 parts of the room ever that numerous weathered stalactiti es, stalag had been excavated to a depth of two feet but mites and Aowstone could be di scerned on the ex work progressed slowly as each shovelful of di rt posed side of the cut. This indicated the fortner had to be sifted. After getting below the first foot position of the cave and it seemed that the pas- of fi ll , bones occurred with an enco uraging fre- 30 NATION AL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY quency. Some of these were obviously recent but from the Appalachian Vall ey on the east. Since many others were heavy with mineral impreg the average elevation of the Plateau region is 2100 nation. feet whi le the average elevati on of the Appala In 1952 operations had to be halted as there chian Valley is 900 feet the fl ora and fauna have was danger of undermining the whole cliff. In signifi cant differences. Some of the ridges of the addition, ventilation was so poor that respirators Vall ey area attain a height of 2000 feet but on the had to be worn and goggles were needed as a other hand some of the mountains of the P lateau result of the clust. H owever, through the interest area reach a height of 2900 feet. shown by George Haworth, vice-president of the vVestern :r.,·iaryland Raihvay, an agreement was reached whereby the railroad would remove the upper strata of rock down to the cave level, thus eliminating the danger of coll apse and also open ing the cave to light so that the problem of venti lation was thereby solved. In December, 1952. work resumed with the re moval of approxim ately 2,000 cubic feet of rock to reach the fl oor of the cave. Then the wall s were carefully removed, the debris being con tantly searched for bones. Because so many remai ns were lodged in the crevices, dynamite had to be used sparingly to preserve the fossil s. The exca vated rock and dirt were removed by placing a work train in the cut below and scooping up the material with a railroad crane. Actually, there is sli ght resemblance to a cave now. Rather, there is a cut forty feet deep, twenty feet wide and about sixty feet long at the bottom of which li es more clay yet to be investigated. In the summer of 1953 Dr. LeRoy Kay invited the writer to use the faci lities of the Carnegie Museum for the cl eaning and identifyin g of the Fig. 2. View of Cumberland Bone Cave. Figure is at en remains found since 1950 and by the end of that trance which was widened during first phase of excava summer some 200 different bones had been cata tion. Western Maryland Railway tracks in foreground. logued. T he majority of these are now in the , Carnegie Museum whi le the bones coll ected by The present altitude of the cave is 837 feet Gidley are in the National Museum . In further whil e t he sink hole which originally opened into di scussion of the remain s no di tincti on will be the cave is at an elevati on of 898 feet. Today, made between these two collections. vVi ll s Creek is at an elevation of 640 feet directly below the level of the cave and about one-half PALEONTOLOGICAL SIGNIFICAN E mile to the east. However, there is consid erabl e T he cave itself is uniquely situated for the evidence of a P leistocene terrace at an altitude of preservation of different remains since it is on the 900 feet all through the vVi lls Creek and Potomac border line of two distinct physiographic prov Vall ey near CumberJand. 9 "\iV ell rounded boulders inces. vVestern Maryland is in the Appalachian and gravel of quartzite and conglomerate on the P rovince which has been divided into three ub hill ides near the cave give evidence of this. Such provinces: 1) the All egany P lateau, 2) the Greater tream terrace indicate former positions of the A ppalachian Vall ey and 3) the Blue Ridge or tream bed and show that its vertical cutting may Catoctin di strict.s T he Bone Cave is located on have been interrupted for a wh il e. Another stream the ridge known as the All egany Front whi ch terrace has been found between an elevation of separates the Allegany P lateau region on the west 700-750 feet indicating a ti ll later level of \!" ill s B U LLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 31 Creek. Since the spur on which the cave is located from Saltvill e. Smyth County, Virginia and the leads down from a ridge some 1300 feet high it same species has been noted from remain s fo und makes a sllitable trail from the hill down to the whil e digging the Brunswick canal in Georgia. water level althouo'h today this is not evident as a N umerous amphibian remains have been removed resul t of the many changes in topography li sted from the CWl1b erland Bone Cave but this was to above. During -the third interglacial peri od the be expected as a result of the environment. ll tream would have been much broacler. perhaps OTHER PLEISTOCENE BONE D EPOSITS one-half mile wide from the evidence of gravels fo und on both sides of the present vall ey . and at If the remains from the Cumberland Bone Cave just about the same level as the sinkhole. It is are to be studied with the purpose of determining easy to visualize the an imals of the region using the ecology of Vhe area, notice should be taken of the slope of the ridge as a trail between the prin other P leistocene remains found within the region. cipal source of water and the higher portions of T hose found in some of these other sites substan the mountain . T he proximity t o water would al so tiate controversial ' descriptions of Cumberland explain the number of aquatic forms found in the material and also give a clearer picture of the fossil remain s. E ,'en at the time of the lower specimen being considered. stream bed the cave was only about fi fty feet I n 1908 twenty-five vertebrate species were de above the ·stream and animals coming down from scribecl fo r Bushey Cavern near Cavetown, Mary the upper terraces wo ul d occasionall y fall into the landY Twenty of the speci es are similar to re sink and, because of its depth, were unable to get mains from Cumberland which is not too surpri s out. Since the sink was right on the line of the ing since Cavetown is approximately seventy trail it is not unusual to fin d so many animals 111 mil es east of Cum berland and the geological strata the cave. are simil ar. T he most important deposit of P leis DESCRIPTION OF REMAINS tocene vertebrates in the state of Pennsylvania As originall y found there were literall y thou is the Port Kennedy Bone Cave, Montgomery County. T hi s cave is now obliterated as the result sands of bones. mainl y fragmented, intermingled with the clay and breccia of the cave. Although of mining operations in the area but fi fty-one broken, the b nes . how no sia n of being water species . of whi ch eighteen are new, were recov ered from this cave before 1900.13 Over half of wo rn and there is an absence of sand or gravel thus indicating that the bones were not washed in. the Port Kennedy remains are identical with the The bones must have been intermixed as the re- Cumberland remains. In Frankstown Quarry, ul t of carcasses bein g caught in the crevices near Blair County. workmen uncovered a bone filled the surface and graduall y falling apart until the fiss ure in 1907. T hirty-seven species were recov disjointed bones eventuall y worked their way to ered before the cave was quarried away. 14 F ifteen the bottom of the cave. Some of the smaller car of the Frankstown species are similar to Cumber ni vores and rodents could ' have survived in the land. Durham Cave, near Riegelsville, Bucks cave by feed ing on the remain s of the larger ani County yielded twenty-one vertebrate species, mals. T he bats could have easily escaped so that seven of whi ch are similar to Cumberland re ls their death co ul d have been natural. It is a rather main s. Hartman Cave, Stroudsburg, Monroe common sight to ee dead bats in the nearby caves County was excavated in 1880 and produced of Maryland and 'West Virginia. twenty-eight vertebrate species of which exactl y half are known from the Cumberland Cave.16 Forty-five different species of mammals have been recorded from the Cumberland Bone Cave.lo Another deposit worth noting here is the Con Of these. 28 are now extinct and many of the rad F issure remain s from A rkansas. Although others are not present day natives of the region. these remains were discovered far from Cumber Beside mammali an remain s, a type of ruffed land, of the fi fty species located, alm ost forty are groll se has been descri bed and reptilian remains either of the same species or genus as the Cum have been fo und including ophi dian and croco berland remain sY Other deposits of P leistocene dyli d bones. T he snake remains are to be expected verteb rates are known from throughout the east but the crocod il e tooth is most unusual. However, ern U nited States but do not contain the quantity remain s of CTocodyl'lls indet have been reported of fossil s in the above coll ecti ons. 32 N ATIONAL S PELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY AGE OF Cl.i ~rI3 ERLAKD REMA1NS stage although Gazin J9 belie\·es that these remains The presence of ro rms such as the tapi r, pec are younger than those fr0111 Cumberland. Hay cary and eland indicate that the remains of the places the Stroudsburg remains as late Pleistocene Cumberland Bone Cave are at least pre-W iscon although he adlllits that the cave was formed dur sin in age fo r since the advance of the last ice in g the early P leistocene. Since thi s cave is situ -heet there have been no telllperatures consist ated five or six miles north of the \Visconsin mo ently warlll enough for these creature to live in raine it is understandable that many of the species the region of Cumberland. The Cavetown asselll would be relati vely recent forms. The remains blage is reaarded as belonging to the Sangalllon f rom Durham ca\·e would also seelll to be late interglacial period so that the species indigenous P leistocene. There being no extinct ·pecies f r0111 to telllperate climate Illay be suppo ed to have either the Durhalll or Stroudsburg sites they are li ved during the warlll Sangamon stage with the considered to be younger than the Cumberland A rctic forlllS at a sO lll ewhat earli er or later tillle remains. Another piece of evidence pointing to when the climate was cool. the Sanga1l1 0n stage as the age of the C uml ~ erland relllains are the stream terraces that would have Most writer. consider the Port Kennedy de been formed during that time. posits to be earl y P leistoCfne but sin ce it has thirty-seve n extinct pecies it is un doubtedly old er DrSTRI BUTTO.· OF MA)I)r ALS FRO)! than the CUlll berl and site. HaylS li sts peccari es BOKE CAYE tapirs. elands and ma tadons as amona the c har ~ acteristic genera of the angalll on period. H e It is difficult to place an animal in a certain places the Conrad F issure remains in the Illinoian eculugical ni che and then presume it is found no where else. No mammal is sessil e and eyen though their range is limited they are apt to be found in locations removed from their normal hahitat. H ence. in drawing up a cheme for the distribu ti on of the mammal from the CU l11 berland Bone Cave it is frequently necessary to list the same animal for several habitats. Since some mammals are known to exi st in wi dely yarying environ ments there is no ,,·ay of deducing from the bones of the specimen the preci e habitat of it. Skunks. for instance. are found in dry areas with sparse vegetation as \\·ell a in thickly wooded forests. The c1il11atic conditions around the Bone Cave have been far from static and the anil11 al in ques ti on could have li ved near the Bone Cave during both peri od. N ot\\·ithstanding these difficul ties, the large number of remains permit us to li st the distribution of mammals to be used as a basis fo r determining the ecology of the region. FORESTS Tropical ralll lorrst. The majority of animals in a tropical forest are arboreal and the ungul ates are usuall y small because of the dense gro\\·th whi ch makes mo\·e ment by animals with large bodie difficult. Speci mens from the Bone Cave which coul d have ex iste I in this habitat are the eland. peccary, tapir Fig. 3. New Bone Cave in foreground; entrance to orig inal cave in background across trocks. This view is on BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 33 D ec£d lf ons, temperate f orest. More animals from the Cumberland Bone Cave are adaptable to this environment than any other. T hese may be divided according to their usual ni che in this habitat: a) subterranean dens: fox, skunk, chipmunk, long-tailed shrew, short-tailed shrew and deer mouse. b) near streams and lakes: muskrat, beaver, otter and mink. c) arboreal: porcupine, squirrel, fl ying squirrel, opossum and bat. d) forest margin: woodland jumping mouse, Fig. 4. Passageway opened as result of removing upper woodchuck and raccoon. 40 feet of rock. Flowstone above entrance to passage. e) mi scellaneous localities: d ee r, l e mming mouse, white footed mouse and wildcat. prai ries with the rodents abundant in the subter ranean strata. The badger, lemming mouse and Coniferous forest. muskrat are found in areas such as this. Found at a higher altitude or closer to the poles T Ulldra. than the deciduous forest, a forest of conifers T he only specimen from the Cumberl and Bone provides food the year round and more shelter for Cave that is li able to be found in the tundra is the those animals li ving in it. 'Wi llows and birch are lemming mouse which inhabits the sphagnum bogs common along the banks of streams and various of the far north. types of berries are to be found in openinas. As in the case of the deciduous forest, the specimens SWA}'{PS AND MARSHES from the Cumberland Bone Cave may be found Aquatic mammals are represented in the Cum in the following niches: berland Bone Cave by the beaver, muskrat and a) subterranean dens : wolverine and skunk. otter while the mink may be considered as senu- b) near streams and lakes: mink and otter. c) arboreal : fi sher and porcupine. d ) forest margin : varying hare. e) mi scell aneous localities: bear. deer and elk. GRASSLANDS T1'opical saval1l1as . T he eland is the only mammal indigenous to thi s habitat found in the Bone Cave although the mastadon and li on could possibly be found here. S hort grass pla,i ll s. T hese include areas with a sparse vegetation but with an annual rainy season. T he short grass plains may be considered as open terrain with a Fig. 5. Looking down on excavated bone cave. Hole on sub-humid and semi-arid climate. This type of left leads into passage where most bones were found. domain , sometimes referred to as steppes,_i s pre aquati c. Many of the rodents found in the Bone dom inately populated with reptiles but the coyote, Cave use the banks of swamps and the hi gh spots skunk, thirteen-lined ground squirrel, pocket go of marshes for bu rrows and dens. The tapir, pec pher and horse are representatives from the Bone cary and eiand with their wid e, spreading hoofs Cave fo und in such areas. for support on so ft ground are found in the High grass f>laills. swamps of tropi cal and semi-tropical areas. T here H erb ivo res predominate on these temperate is little ev idence of any swamps or marshes near 34 NAT IONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCTETY the Bone Cave today but when \ iVills Creek was Following this stage appeared the deciduous nearer the elevation of the caye its course could fo rests and grasslands with moderate rainfall. have been a meandering one with wide stretches This was a period similar to conditions about of sha l1 0w water. If the amount of water fl owing Cumberland at the present time. Almost 75 per along the stream bed was much greater, consider cent of the remains belong to this type of environ able areas of land could have been inundated and ment. \ iVildlife was abundant with the hardier resulted in a marsh on either side of the main forms adapting themselves to the next stage in stream. this gradual decline of temperature-the advent of the conife rous forest. MOUNTATNS The coniferous or boreal forest stage presents T here are no true alpine forms found among a difficulty in that remains from the envirolUnent the remains from the Cumberland Bone Cave. could have been deposited after the advance of the Thi is to be expected since the altitude of the last ice sheet as wel1 as before it. Evidence that surrounding mountains has not changed to any supports the inclusion of remains from the coni considerable degree sin ce the initiation of the ferous period before the la t ice sheets comes P leistocene period. However, forms which inhabit from the degree of fossilization of the bones rocky hil1 sides have been found and include the themselves. A I1 the bones removed from the cave pika. cave rat, meadow mouse and wolverine. In are 0 thoroughly impregnated with silicon or cal al1 probabili ty they li ved in an area too rugged for ci um phosphate that a length of time longer than the growth of the forests but not too far removed the most recent coni ferous stage is necessary to f rom them. Today thi condition exists in the allow fo r their mineralization. Also, many of the reO'ion of the Bone Cave where steep cliffs strewn bones were covered with fl owstone and other types with rocky boulders afford little opportunity for of percipitated crystallized calcium compounds. plant growth yet overl ook stands of timber. A lthough the exact rate of deposition of cave for PLEISTOCE E CLIMATIC CONDITIONS mations varies with the amount of water present The succession of the different climatic condi and the humidity of the cave, a length of time in ti ons as indicated by the wide range of species exce s of that si nce the ice sheet receded would from the Bone Cave must have begun with a semi be necessary to account for the thick layers of cal tropical phase. No temperatures in the region of ci um carbonate found on some of the bones be the Bone Cave since the last glacial age have longing to the coni ferous period. approached those necessary for such forms as the At the extreme advance of the last or \iViscon tapir, peccary and eland. Obviously this tropical sin ice sheet the site of the Cumberland Bone environment could not have existed immediately Cave was several hundred miles south of the gla preceding the last glacial age but in all probability cier and climatic conditions would have been simi at a period midway during the last interglacial or lar to the far north of today. The arctic tundra, Sangamon period. The paucity of remains from frozen in winter and resembling a bog in SlU11mer this tropical period is al 0 an indication of its an would have existed with perhaps sparse stands o~ tiquity. On the other hand, the proximity of the pine interspersed through the land. The grizzly tropical remains to the others demonstrates that bear and lemming mouse would be types that they are not so ancient as to ha\'e been deposited would find these conditions suitable to existence. during the fi rst or second interglacial period. If Needless to say, other animals were present in that had been the case a large amount of fi ll would cluding probably the mammoth but these have not have separated the remains of the two periods. been found in the Bone Cave. As the temperature decreased with the initiation \iV ith the rise in temperature fol1owing thi of the la t glacial period the humidity would have stage and the corresponding meltino' of the ice been reduced and a semi-arid, dry, grassy prairie sheet and snow on the mountains the stream were would succeed the tropical rain forest and semi fl owing swiftly and the stream bed of \\ ill reek tropical grassland. This short grass plain har wa lowered qui ckly. reaching almo t to its pres bored uch species a the coyote. badger, pocket ent le\·eI. As a result the sinkhole leadinO' into the gopher, thirteen-lined ground sq uirrel and wood Bone Cave was ituated in a rather inacces ible chuck. location on a cliff overlook il1 O' the stream. Thus, BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 35 FOREST FLOOR AQUATIC HABITAT I'-- WOLVERINE MINK ~ SKUNK ( BEAVER) CHIPMUNK OTTER GROUND SQUIRREL-:: W DEER MOUSE-~ FIS t SALAMA:D:RS I t INSE CTS I PLANTS TREES AQUATIC PLANTS LICHENS SPRUCE ALGAE MOSSES FIR PONDWEED SHRUBS PINE WATER LILIES BERRIES BALSAM ETC. GRASS ETC. ETC. INSECTS ARBOREAL FOREST MARGIN FISHER '---- -.. VARYING HARE t L-- . .. ( RABBIT) PORCUPINE_" ~ '-...... - ---~ L....---+ BEAR ELK- DEER ( MOOSE) --I- ( LYNX)--- ( WOLF) --- Fig. 6. Web-af-life diagram. 36 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY II FOREST FLOOR AQUATIC HABITAT ( FOX 1 MUSKRAT / SKUNK r---- . BEAVER CHIPMUNK OTTER ,-- SHREW MINK t DEER MOUSE LEMMING MOUSE I-- FISH- t1 SNA ILS r'ISH-FROGS - I HERBACEOUS PLANTS TREES AQUATIC PLANTS FERNS OAK ALGAE SHRUBS CHESTNUT DUCKWEED COMPOSITES BEECH WATER LILIES ~ BERRIES MAPLE ETC. ETC. MAGNOLIA ETC. INS ECTS . ~ - - II . - - - - -. ARBOREAL FOREST MARGIN BATS L WOODLAND JUMPING MOUSE PORCUPINE- WOODCHUCK 1- FLYING SQUIRREL I<- ( RACOON) ( OPOSSUM) --~ ( RABBIT) ~~A~~~~OJ (BISON) PUMA ( WOLF) Fig. 7. Web-of-life diagram. B U LLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 37 fewer animals would fall into the cave which ac For a true understanding of the P leistocene counts for the small amount of -recent material ecology of the Cumberland area the relationship fo und there. of each animal to the community should be recog ni zed. Apart from the li fe cycle of each form T he climate stages as represented by the re there is a definite stratificati on in the environment mains from the Bone Cave may be summarized as wherein each general type of creature is found. fo ll ows: Every animal has a specifi c niche in its particular Present mixed mesophytic forest strata. There is a continual intermingling among l' these different strata yet each maintains a certain Boreal spruce-fir forest degree of independence. In portraying the associ l' ati ons among the various species not only are the Arctic tundra stratas of the community shown but the relation l' ship of each member with other members of its Boreal coni f erous forest own strata and with members of the same strata. l' Deciduous forest and grasslands O nl y by this method can a clear comprehension l' be obtained of the web-of-life o f a particular zone. Semi-tropical grasslands There are so few forms present in the remains l' T ropi cal rain forest. from the Cumberl and Bone Cave from either the tropical or arctic environment that it would be too speculative to attempt to draw up a web-of-life RELATION OF MAMMALS FROM for them. The evid ence from other areas points CUMBERL AND CAVE to the existence of a typical tropical fl ora and In drawing up a di agram of the theoretical re fauna at one time as far north as Penn sylvania. lations that existed between the vari ous specimens Arctic forms are also widespread in P leistocene fo und in the Cumberland Bone Cave two factors fossi l deposits. although because of the migration must be consid ered. F irst, because the climate forced upon them by the advance of the ice sheets vari ed from tropical to arctic. no di agram can it is doubtful if the relationshi ps were as similar how all the relations since many of the forms as they are in a stable environment. were not contemporaneous. Second, all the ani mals present in the area at any given time are not T he remaining forms may be considered as be represented. E ither the remains were not intro longing either to the temperate deciduous forest duced into the Bone Cave or their remains have community or the boreal coniferous forest com not as yet been detected. Few avi an remains have munity. No pl ant or tree fo ssil s have been located been found yet the bird li fe would have I;een in the Cumberland Bone Cave but the paleobotany abundant during the presence of the vari ous fo r of the area has been studied20 so that it is possibl e e t stages. to obtain a general idea of the plants present. In the web-of-life diagrams all the mammals are grouped according to their habitat with the excepti on of the larger carnivores and herbivores which range throughout the entire community. No attempt has been made to li st all the various types of in sects. arachnids and other in ve rtebrates pres ent since this would involve the production of a diagram whose complexity would be beyond the bound of thi s article. Rather, an attempt has been made to place each mammal in its proper perspec ti ve and show that it did not exist as an isolated organi sm but as an integral part 0 f a community Fig. 8. View from top of ridge. Excavation in center of picture is 45 feet below camero. existing perhaps 50.000 years ago. 38 NAT IONAL SPELEOLOGI CAL SOCIETY RUERENCES CITED IlNICHOLA S, BROTHER G., "Cave Biology as a Unit of l G IDLEY, JAM ES W" "An Extinct American Eland" Study," A mericall Bio1093' T cac li el', vol. 14, No.6, S lIIitlisoliian Mis, Call" vol. 60, No, 27, p, 3, (1913)' p. 145. ( 1952 ) 2G lDLEY, JA MES VV" "Preliminary Report on a R eccntly 12PEAUODY, CHARLES, "Exploration of Bushey Cavern," Discoyered P leistocene Cave D eposit near Cumber Bull. 4, D ept. Arch., Philips Acad., p. 1. ( 1908) land, Md," Proc, U , S, Nat, Mus" vol. 46, pp, 93 -102. ( 1913 ) 13CoPE, EDWARD D., " Preliminary R eport on the Verte brates Discovered in the P ort Kennedy Bone Cave," 3"A P leistocene Cave Deposit of vV estern i\ifaryland," P mc. A mel'. Pliil. Soc., vol. 12, pp. 73-102. ( 1871) A IInlla/ Repo·rt Smithsonian Institute for 1918, pp. 281-287. ( 1920) 14HoLLAND, VV. J ., "A Preliminary Account of the Pleis 4"Pleistocene P eccaries from Cumberland Bone Cave tocene Fauna Discovered tin a Cave Opened a Dcposit," Pl'OC. U. S. Nat, MilS., vol. 57, pp. 65 1-678 Frankstown, Pennsylvania in A pril and May, 1893," (1920 ) A IIII. Carnegie M us., vol. 4, p. 228. (1908) 5 VV'ETMORE, ALEXANDER, "A R ecord of the Ruffed 15MmcER, HENRY C , "An Exploration of Durham Cave, Grouse from the P leistocene of Maryland," Auk, vol. Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1893," U lliv . Pe",w. 44, p. 56 1. ( 1927) Publ. Sel·. Phil" Lit., A rch., vol. 6, p. 149. (1897) GG IIlLEY, JAME S vV. and GAZIN , CHARLES L., "New 16L E1DY, J OSEPH, "Notes and D escriptions of F ossil s in Mammalia in the P leistocene Fauna from Cumber Caves and Crevices of the Limestone Rocks in P enn land Caye," i Ollrlw/ of Mallllll ology, vol. 14, pp, 343- sylvania," A 1111 . R eport Pell 11 (/.. C eo. Surv{' 3' Jar 1887, 357. ( 1933) vol. I, pp. 1-1 8. ( 1889) 7G IDLEY, JA MES vV' . and GAZI N, CHARLES L., "The 17BROWN, BARNUM, "The Conrad F issure, a P leistocene Pleistocene Vertebrate Fauna from Cumberland Cave, Bone Deposit _in Northern Arkansas," J11elll . Allier. Maryland," U. S. Nat. M ilS., B lllletin 171 , pp. 1-99. M ilS. N at. Hist., vol. 9, pp. 158-208. ( 1908) (1938 ) SA UUE , CLEV ELA ND, JR., "The Physiography of Allegany ISHAY, O LIVER PERRY, "The Pleistocene of North Amer County," Marylalld Ceo. SlIrve'y A llegany Co., pp, ican and Its Vertebrated Animals for the States east of the Mississippi River and from the Canadian P rov 27-28. (1900 ) inces east of Long itude 95 °," Carll cgic Publ., vV'a sh 90'HARllA, CnoPHAs C , " Geology of A ll egany County," ington, p. 5. (1923 ) Jl!Ja ry /alid Ceo. S1I1've3' A llegallY Co., p. 130. (1900) ION ICHOLA S, BROTHER G., "Recent Paleont ological Dis 190p. cit., p. 9 coyeries from Cumberland Bone Cave," Scil'lIt ijic 20BRA UN, E. L ucy, Deciduolls Forests of Nortli A lll er MO lltlz/y, vol. 76, p. 304. (1 953) ica .. pp. 458-459, Phil adelphia. ( 1950 ) BULLETIN Nu MBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 39 Caves and Karst of the U.S.S.R. By MARYANN B. SHELLEY T he geology of the ul1believabl-y vast land area of the U nion of Socialisl Sm'iet R epublics is not well 1,' n07c 1n 10 11l0st A I/l ericans but it has trel/l endous speleo logical interest. The au thor here presents a scholarly study of the ca~le areas of th e U.S.S.R. gleaned f rol/l a studious a,nd exactin g Q.1wlysis of a.'i.'ailab/e litera ture on the subjec t. ],arst with its negative relief is the phenom based on Soviet studies of mineralized karsts. enon of di ssolution of rocks from within. It is limestone soil s. and on eng ineering probl ems in underground a rchitecture, adhering to its own limestone areas. particular law of processes. Existing generall y Karst owes its recognition as a f ull fl edged unseen. it is onl y reflected upon the surface where branch of the earth sciences and a serious field of it shows as peculiar topography and unique vege research in the USSR to the col lapse of the K izel tation. In essence it is a region of solution often coal mine in 19.11. D uring the development of referred to as limestone terrain. this mine engineers had not known that deep be I n addition to subterranean forms karst mani neath the earth but above the coal seams lay fests itself upon the surface of the earth not onl y water-bearing karst beds. U nwittingly the main in gaping holes but in valleys, lakes which remain sha ft was driven straight through fifty-one karst or disappear seasonall y or become bogs and caviti es with little understanding of engineering swamplands. undulating softened relief with costs involved. No planned economy. especiall y rounded knoll s or bleak dessicated surfaces one on so rig id a schedul e as the N E P of the bereft of soil and vegetati on. T hese diverse as early '30's, coul d withstand the shock and reper pe ~ t:; of ka rst reflect. and a re affected by. alter cussions of the three-year loss o f coal production atiuns in climatic conditi ons, the soil p rocesses, that resulted. petrological basis. and tectonic structures. Earl y recognition o f karst as a terrestrial an Soviet geologists o f late have g reatly expanded noyance came during the last years of the past both the concept and signifi cance of karst. To the century when the R ussian railroads were bei ng idea of the space factor they have emphasized the built. A catastrophic cave-in occurred on the factors of time. clynamics and state in karst de Samara-Zlatoust lin e in the Southern U ra ls where velopment. Soviet definitions of karst range from the roadbed hugs the Iwsorog (as the steep north the 1932 descri ption 0 f A. A. Vasil'ev. " the sum ern bank of the Belaya R iver is known ) in uf a ll dismembering rel ief". to that of V. A. Ap which karst, in the form of ponors, was eating rodov ( 1948): "the geomorphological process of into the K ungur gypsum. O n a rail r O<1d in west joint development of the reli ef and dissolution of ern U kraine the Polesski y Express was forced to the rock of the lithosphere as a result of inter slow to a four-mile per hour crawl in certain acti on and throug h the agency of undergrounci sections as karst funnels were opening beneath waters under the influence of the ear th's fi eld of the roadbed. On the other hand, karst ponors and g ra\'itational fo rce". \t\i ithin the limits o f these cavities were utilized in part for sections o f the definiti ons there has g rown a vast body of em I\f uscow subway. pirical and theoretical knowledge which is pro Explorati on f or fOllndations of dams and the g ressively becoming absolute. water supply for hydro-electric projects has re T he Soviets have stressed the principle of ve r vealed karst regions, hitherto lInnoti cecl. The tical in teraction of p roceses rather than the M ag-nitogorsk (Southern U rals), the M ingechaur cyclic ur radial development of karst. T hi s idea in Eastern Georg ia of the Caucasus, the Beloretsk is in contradistincti on to the broad cycli cal theor ancl the Vashkur in the Centra l U rals, as well as ies proposed by \V. lVI. Davis and Pe ncJ,~. It is the Barkhatovsk on the Angara River near Lake 40 NATION AL S PELEO LOG I CAL SOCIETY Baikal, and the Zhigul evsk on the great bend of below the local level at which water moves later the Volga are all large hydro-electric develop ally to surface drainage. ments that have had seri ous construction problem Karst in relati on to vegetative cover has been and req uired con tant repair because of the prox elaborated in to a theory by A. A. Grigoriev; to imi ty of karst. Karst has also attracted co nsider wit. that the de\'elopment of karst ph en menon able interest as a source of water supply in many under the given conditi ons of a gypsum bed in a areas o f the USSR. continental climate i in direct proportion to the In addition to serving as a primary source of development of the conifer growth on it. Coni water the natural openings in to recesses of the fe rs with a thick crown and extensive hori zontal earth have also saved the labor of digging graves root system reflect an intensively developed for dead cattle and human beings. It is likely karst ; low-growing conifers and bushes reflect that an even more modern exploitation may have a moderately developed karst. and fina ll y a parse been employed in the USSR as it was in the growth is related to old age karst that is nearly Carso during \i\forld vVar II. There the "foiba", obliterated. From this wo rk Grigoriev ha con the erbian name for karst funnel, became ex cluded that the extent of the development of panded into the Italian word "infoibato"-to karst in gypsum i determined by the fore t vege liquidate and di pose of most effecti vely and effi tation and the angle of slope which control the ciently. with eternal obli vion of the crime and distribution of the meteoric precipitation on the anonymity of the perpetrator. earth' surface. Deforesti ng inhibits the subter ranean development of karst but accelerates sur Karst is dependent on water, either meteoric face erosion that produces ravines and gulleys. precipitation descending from the atmosphere and Such conditions exi st in the U krain e, the andy seeping into the rocks. or solutions percolating steppe of the southern \ olga Vall ey and the vast expanse of the P ri pet marshes south of Minsk. upward from the bowels of the earth through fiss ures and channels either developed in the rock Various conclusions have been proffered by thel Soyi ets to relate climate to karst but as yet with by karst processes or from faults and joints. out positi ve definiti on. It has been establi hed Corresponding to directi on and the nature of the that the intensity of the karst processes apparently surrounding petrology. these waters take on dif has no direct dependence upon temperature but ferent chemi cal properti es whi ch in turn react in is related to the amount and tate of precipita differing degrees upon the rocks through which tion, i.e., liquid or solid. they pass. Because of this the development of karst from yo uth, through maturity and old age Reflecting the Soviet trend to reduce science to is sharply at yariance with the concept of the a catalogue ystem. karst phenomenon is placed cycle of normal surface erosion. The karst cycle in three categori e- according to the extent of de is not dependent upon the po ition of the base velopment : crypto-, micro-, and macro- ; each level of eros ion but rather upon the base level grading into the other, and each mutually inter of circulation of the underground waters and the related and integrated. A precis of thi s as form condition bf solu bility of the rocks along which ulated by V . A . Aprodov i presented: these karst waters circulate. Many Soviet theo Cr ),plo-Iwrsf is the elemental form made up of ries have been evolved concerning the vertical mi croscopic pores. in which onl y water reacts po iti on in which karst develops. One geologist upon the surrounding rock. T hi s is the embryo relates the zone of greatest activity to the interval fo r later physico-chemical and chemical reactions. ( vado e) between the earth's surface and the Development of the pores is not everywhere uni level of the ground waters, the consequence of form in intensity. Three steps occur in the pore weak minerali zation and relatively rapid move growth : 1) isolated original pore and beginning ment 0 E waters. In this zone the karst is pri of exchange reaction between rock and water ; marily vertical in direction. Below this li es a zo ne: 2) transition of concave pore wall s to convex. of diminished undera rOl1l1d fl ow with karst cavi with beginning of deposition. and 3) converaence ti e' horizontal and elongated in fo rm. and be of pore into fis urings and beginning of trans neath this a zone of little fl ow. which is at a point port of elements and transit of waters. BULLETIN N MBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 41 Nlicl'o-ka.rst IS the stage at which volume has certain regions the development is such as to earn become suffici ent for the establishment of transit for the region the term "classic limestone" and movement of water but not enough for erosion. "classic gypsum" terrain : T he Crimean "IAily", Rock corrosion and transference of the di ssolved the high mountain pastures in the mountain materials are characteristic of this stage. Forms ranges extending along the southern coast are are irregular smaIl cavern passages, smaIl dome of the first type. T hi s pastureland, a limestone pits, funnels, descending and ascending pulsating region formed of three mountain ridge·s, affords springs. a seeming paradox . In the U SSR it is most I n ma.cro-fwrst phenomenon mechanical erosion famed as typical karst with all the bleakness and res ults from karst waters, redistribution of min waterlessness that this implies, and yet the area erals in the rocks and the transport of karstified furnishes some of the best pasturage. Soil ri ch particles through water transit. The karst shows in humus clings to the sid es and bottoms of the distinct surface fo rms with the di sappearance of do lines which as a rule are not of great depth, ri vers, formation of karst vall eys, sinks, merger and in this grow grasses, bushes and even trees. of funnels into gull eys and the fo rmati on of All forms of karst are present with dolines dis bauxite, kaolin and other karstgene mineral de tributed unevenly, some in clusters and some in posits. dense concentrations, extensive karren fi elds and P racticaIl y speaking, the Soviet concept of lapiez. In the mi ddle and southern sections of the karst includes not only the " negative" relief on karst mountain Chatyr-dag, the number of sinks the earth's surface-refl ected as depressions solu approaches 30 to SO in a square kilometer and tion sinks, funnels, chimneys, pit holes, lapiez, the earth is so pitted that it is impossible to tra uvalas, dolines . pocket-valleys. hums- and be verse in a straight line. Diameters of these neath, in the earth's crust as pipes, dome pits, dolines reach 800 feet and their depths 130 feet. solution canal s, cave and cavern formati ons, but T he majority have a vertical western wall, the also the conditions and factors acting upon and other sid es being inclined. On the northern slope controlling the solution activi ty in the rock, the of the mountain is a well developed system of fo rmation of concomitant mineral deposits, the polj es and dolines. Large springs are common. resultant chemistry of the precipi tates and solu T he water supplying the city of Simferopol' rises tions fro111 karst waters, the paragenesis of min through a vertical karst shaft and carries away erals and gases and the rhythm of their occur such a vo lume of lime that the cavernosity of the rence and disappearance. mountain is increasing at the rate of 7,260 cubic Stati stics, an indispensable tool of evaluation, meters a year. have been gathered by Soviet karst enthusiasts, Crimean caves have three di stinct regionaliza perhaps to sell the idea of a karst di scipline. tions according to origin: ( 1) Karst caves of T hey arrived at the fi gure of 18,000,000 square three mountain ranges from Balaklava to Feodo kil ometers of potential karstification within the siya in U pper Jurassic limestone; (2 ) Cave cities USSR. T hi s sum considers onl y exposed and in Cretaceous and Tertiary of second mountain buried carbonate rocks so that the other forma range; (3) Sea coast caves. Almost all the karst tions subject to karst processes-gypsum , salt, caves of the Upper Jurassic limestone open at loess and chalk-are not incl uded in this formid more than 300 meters above sea level, higher than able fig ure. whi ch leaves onl y some 4,000,000 all the other cave openings. T hey belong to both square kil ometers of the USSR that are not sub ve rtical and hori zontal types, with depths to 200 jected to thi s dissolvi ng activity. Although most meters, which is the thickn ess of the limestone of the intensely kal:sti fied areas lie full y within beds; some have amaz ing dripstone fo rmations the confines of the U ni on, the coin cid ence cannot and se veral have permanent ice. In the second escape the geological eye that the directi on of her mountain ridge and at a considerab ly lower level poli tical strikes has often fo ll owed the lin e of are to be found the great cave cities of the Iron karst across her international borders. Age and the habitati ons of Paleolithi c man. For LIMESTONE AND GYPSUM KARST the most part these are : ituated in rock benches Although limestone and gypsum karst are ex adjacent to the ri vers. tensively distri buted throughout the USSR, in T he U rals are a long range of moun tains 42 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGI CAL S OCIET Y trending north-south in eastern E uropean USSR, ized a scientific expedition to study the caves of formed of parallel fold s of Paleozoic rocks. Later the area and applied the theo ri es of karst forma deformation in the Mesozoic altered the align tion to locate them. In the following year m'er ment of the Paleozoic folds and induced exten 40 were discovered and inYestigated. sive fracturing. On the west side of the moun Near Sterlitamak, wh ere oil is found in lime tains the rocks range from Lower Devonian to stone pockets under the surface, are three small Lower Pe.rmian and include thick Middl e Devon karst domes, in one of which is the famed "Crys ian limestones. On the western side where an tal Cave" known abroad in tl~e Soviet movie " The overlap of Mesozoic sed iments exists. the karst Stone Flower". lies often deep beneath the surface or on river In the region of Voronezh and K ursk karst is benches in which funnels have frequently devel profuse in a very fine white breccia clay of oped to the depth that tall trees are concealed. Upper Cretaceous age. In the head streams of Some sinks are seasonall y filled with water and rivers and in the sides of gull eys where the chalk others show secondary funnels forniing in the has been recrystallized into limestone the karst bottom 0 f the old. features. mainly funnel s. are best developed. Ural karst is represented by all forms of which the so-call ed "Paleo" karst. that buried beneath a Although karst in gypsum is extensive over the cover of glacial deposits. affords the most dra USSR, the country of "Bashkiria" in the South matic di splay. At K izel, the surface manifesta ern U rals has been accorded the title of "classic". tions are onl y soft undulations covered with thick Here the density of dolines often reaches several taiga (forest ) growth. Shallow cavern develop hundred per quare kilometers. In this gypsum ment is minimal but from Molotov southward lies an ice cave world known in literature since there are numerous caves with clear indications 1730, the famous Kungur Ca\·e. celebrated for it ~ of pre-glacial habitati on. beauty and variety of underground structures. The cave has over 100 grottoes and passages in O n the eastern slopes of the Urals deep karst the 4.6 kilometers so far explored and 36 lakes.: in :Mesozoic and Paleozoic limestone are com the largest of which is 600 square feet in surface bined with surficial solution effects. F rom Chel and 18 feet in depth. The cave temperature is yabin sk eastward in the Turgai Corridor the land 4.5 to 5 degree Centigrade. In a study of the is decked with saucer-shaped lakes and hollows, cave-now a State laboratory for ice studies resembling karst lakes in every detail. In the Soyi et politics entered speleology-as in other limestones of S ll1 0lina and the marbles of IVIiass sciences-and besmirched the scientific and schol karst is intensely developed. In the Chelyabinsk arly integrity of the professor in charge of the section of the Ufim P lateau the density of fun investigations. T he political editor of the Acad nels was found to be 11.5 per square kilometer, emy of Science inserted in the professor's article and in the Chusovoi region, between Molotov a glaring statement to the effect that the first lit and K izel on the western side of the Urals. an erary note of ice caves \\'as made in the land of approximate density of sinks with underground the USSR in 1730. In doing so the editor merely connections is 35 to a square kil ometer. displayed hi s own zealotry--or lack of knowledge T he caves of the Urals are fabul ous in beauty. -for he failed to delete from the bibliography Those in the middle section of the mountains the professor's mention of Balch's book "Glacieres have long been known, serving as habitation and or Freezing Caverns", in which credit is giyen to refuge for human beings. In the Southern Urals, the F renchman Poissenot for the first mention of the caves are difficult of access, and are fre cave ice in 1586. quently in high cliffs in the river banks, affording Other regions of gypsum karst are in the Inder more often feats for the intrepid and harbors region north of the Caspian Sea where two com for the hunted rather than casual abodes. U ntil plete karst cycles, one ancient and the other cur 1937 all studies of the South U ral caves had been rent. are reflected on the surface with all forms concerned with peleology rather than archeology. developed in each. But with the discovery in that year of the large T he \ngara Shield i a broad area of pre Ust"-Katev Cave the Chelyabinsk :M useum organ- Cambrian rocks in east central Siberia. The BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 43 western part of the A ngara Shi eld is a tableland north and east by the Irkutsk amphitheater in monotonously level save fo r a range formed of which the Lena ri ses and which is cut through Jurassic rocks in the center. The Siberian High by the mighty Angara as it fl ows out of Lake lands li e east of the Lena and consist of folded Baikal. In these three sections karst is active and rocks forming a very poorly drained upland. has cut into the Cambrian rocks west of Lake South of the highlands are broad folds of pre Baikal along whose shores caves are frequent, at Cambrian limestones forming another poorly times in high cliffs and again at lake level. drained plateau. Thermokarst (karsti c terrain The Minusinsk Basin, an ancient arm of the developed in areas of permanently frozen Upper Paleozoic Sea, is composed of massive ground ) is widely developed throughout the lev Cambrian limestones which have been intruded eler parts of these regions while solution karst is by large bodies of igneous rock. Today there re extensive in the bedrock. Along the Aldan River main islands of limestones deeply eroded by the solution karst has eaten into the highest of karst. This is an old cycle of karst with dry the river terraces and is extensively developed caves. sink holes, pits, sloping fissures and some around the Maya in the forms of funnels, dolines, underground ri vel'. This region of karst li es in underground rivers, blind gulleys and uvalas. The the mountain taiga zone. great Balaganskaya ice cave on the Angara River Caves in the Altay of south-central Siberia li es in thick Cambrian gypsum and limestone. It abound in paleontological and archeological ma is remarkable in having a temperature below zero terial. The K inderlinskaya on the northern Centigrade and a unique and magnificent fOl'lT~ slopes near the famous spa of Chemal is noted of crystal s, like a sixplaned Auted rosette. for the size of its passages (some that are 300 Along the hi gh 400-foot terrace of the Amur in square meters and height of 10 to 15 meters), the delta region, ovel-shaped depressions without and the difficulty of access. Overl ooking the outlet occur with marked frequency. The bottoms entire Katun' valley from the top of a crater bf these depressions are onl y several meters high at 1327 meters above sea level. an uneq ualled er than the modern river valleys and the direc panorama sweeps before the entrance of this ti on of these cauldron-like formati ons is regularly cave. Not far away is the Ardunskaya Cave northeast. I n this region the rivers form numer which harboured the Oiroty during the invasions ous meanders but upon emerging from the area of the K ara-K irghi z in the XIV and XV cen of sinks the rivers recover their characteristic of turies . according to local legend . In the Salair mountain torrents with numerous cataracts. The Plateau between the O b' and the middle branch age of these depressions is quite old for Tertiary of the Tom' is a region of karst with caves. In continental deposits are in the kettles and the the limestones of Middle Cambrian in the Tay large cauldron-shape valleys of the Amur. shet Basin karst is widely developed in the form In the Cambrian limestones along the River of collapse sinks, funnels, corridors in valley Maya in eastern Siberia is an interesting karst ice slopes, numerous springs and freq uent karst land cave holding two ice lakes which, according to slides. Loess karst has fill ed the lake depressions the natives, extend for a considerable distance around the Biryusa River and the surface of the into the earth. Numerous sinks and funnels near basin is a network of shall ow. waterless. cl osed the entrance, congested with fragments of lime depressions, some 50 feet in diameter and 8 in stone on the bottom and overgrown with moss depth. The rate 0 f karstificati on is slow : a maxi attest the karst character of this region. In some mum of four centimeters subsid ence per year. of these pits bushes have taken root with graceful F rom the Tian' Shan' Mountains westward birches appearing over the rims but in other run an almost unbroken series of mountain stretches not onl y the funnel but the entire area ranges either in parallel ridges separated by high is devoid of even a blade of grass. Near the gulf mountain pamirs (meadows), or as massifs. of Vladimir on the Sea of Japan is a cavern area T hese include the high Pamirs extending to the amid a typical karst landscape. Kopet Dag on the lran ian border. the Caucasian Mountain s on the Archean Shi eld of southern Range across the Caspian Sea. and the tiny pen Siberia swi ng southward and westward culminat insula of Crimea. T he lim estones in the ranges ing in the Sayan Ranges which are flanked to the are upper Paleozoic and Cretaceous in age and 44 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY were folded in the Tertiary. In these mountains and against the Russians and the Soviets. The the predominant karst development is in the form ancient city of Vardzia, including 366 caves, se of caves. One of the be t known is the Kon-i cures the Kura Gorge and controls access from gut. famous si nce the tenth century as the "Mine the south. of the Doomed". Into its labyrinths prisoners THERMoKARST sentenced to death were sent with the reward of mercy promised if they extracted some prec In the va t regions of the USSR underlain ious metal. with permafrost, a stratum of ground which does The karst of the Caucasus has many unique not thaw, depressions are cOl11l1lon and form a features. On the summit of the Gagry Range landscape known as thermokarst. formerly classi the French speleologi t, Martel found the high fied as "pseudo-karst". A complex of natural est location of karst gull eys in the world. The conditions give rise to these karst forms, alter rivers of the Main Caucasian Range fl ow swiftly ations in surface temperature and in the peri off the mountains or parall el them in deep nar phery of the block of permafrost and the type row canyons with rapids and waterfalls to dis of adjacent rock. are a few. Complicating these appear underground into sinks along their lower conditions i the combination of thermokarst in courses. E normous si nks, large funnels and dis areas of the usual karst of soluble carbonate appearing rivers mark the heavily karstified rocks. T. 1. Tolstikhin, calls this combination of mountains of west central Caucasus. Here the karst the "living link" betw'een the surface and Upper Jurassic beds of strongly dolomitized lime the sub-frozen zone of fiss ured karst waters. stones are heavil y karstified. The circulating Fissures, sinks, and basins, ranging in circum waters of this area are high in sulphates, espe ference from saucers to great uvalas and long cially where the gypsum-bearing layers are con lake-filled hollows, are the predominant forms of centrated beneath the limestones, but even where thermokarst. The phenomenon of "sag" or there is no gypsum abundant sulphate waters settling, similar to the dry form in desert condi abound. Such are the springs in the Assy Vall ey tions, creates thousands of lakes, bogs and and the curious karst sha ft of 258 meters depth swamplands. Enormous stretches of the USSR, now fi ll ed with water. Lake Tserik-kel', an un lying in cold climatic regimes, are subject to thi usual example of karst formed by ascending condition. The northern parts of European Rus rather than descending waters. The many regions sia and Siberia and in the lands along the south of mineral waters of the Caucasus, Kislovodsk, ern boundary of the SSR where altitudes and Pskup, N aJchik and Pyatigorsk are of karst elevations are high and mean annual temperatures origin . below freezing are subject to thermo-karst. aves in the Caucasus, for the most part hori In the mountain ranges of Eastern Siberia the zontal in extent, have large underground galleries thermokarst processes have developed extended through which fl ows abundant water. Formation basins. as in the basin in which the Yana River are abundant in the passages. The Tertiary lime flows. Along the Tuostakh and Adycha Rivers it stones of the adjacent area along the southern is in the process of forming isolated young de spurs of the Caucasian Range are subject to a pressions and connecting them into mature forms. lesser degree of karstification. Although individ In the mountain s east of Baikal, the summits of ual sinks and funnel are almost absent. the caves which are bare rock, thermokarst is active in the are of remarkable length (from a half to 3 terraces along the lower slopes where there is an miles). with large. relatively traight galleries, abundance of mineral springs. The exten ive dis large quantities of water and well developed tribution of permafrost in the mountainous region longitudinal profil e of the fl oor with pronounced of the Pamirs is checkered in spots by thaw areas evidences of mechanical erosion. as a result of the presence of thermal springs. In concentration of cave cities, fortresses, mon In some stretches the waters penetrating' the asteri es and retreats outhern Georgia exceeds perma frost form peat bog , at other times onl y any other section of the Caucasus or the USSR. muddy and pebbly marshes or quagmires. Sev From these caves the Georgians defended them- eral entire river valleys and passes are karst land eh·es . vall ey against vall ey, tri be against tribe scaped where in winter the surface icing from BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 45 springs reaches a height of six feet. The building ing action of the atmospheric waters which have of the new highway recently through the high entered the little pits and merged them into sau mountain chain of the Pamirs was complicated cers. These forms are to be found around the more by the thermokarst than the extreme eleva karst lakes of Inder, E lton and Baskunchak. tions, severe climatic conditions, and rock forma 3. Salt furrows: Usually in the littoral strip. tions. In length, up to 25 meters and from 10 to 25 SALT KARST centimeters in width. Formed by the action of In the vicinity of many mineral and salt lakes fresh surface waters or shore springs. formations have been found so identical with 4. Salt windows: Usually round, one to two those of usual karst that they have been taken and a half meters in diameter ; depth s vary; sides into the geomorphological classifi cation as karst. are vertical or with a slight slope; wails usually In many instances these forms refl ect characteris are covered with large and small crystals and a tics of ancient karst developed under different mud-like coating. In dry weather they are cov climatic and hydrogeological conditions. Others ered with a many-layered crust of white small are contemporary and the result of more recent crystal salt. T hese are the so-called "blue gar climatic changes and frequent alterations of the net", a salt mass without definite texture but a terrain brought about by man's own handiwork greyish and milk-white crystal. Such is the karst indifferent to the needs of the earth. This type product of the Lake Sultan Sandzhar near the of karst is known as salt karst, differing from the Amu Dar'ya and also of the north shore of Lake karst of rock salt only in greater intensification Baskunchak, in the Volga steppe. and acceleration of all the surface processes. 5. Salt burrows: similar to salt windows. One outstanding characteristic of _th e salt differing onl y by the presence of small exit canals. karsts is that their waters are very high in bro Usually these are found on the lake surface in l~lin e salts. other valuable chemicals and rare groups. gases. T he areas especially subject to this type 6. Salt gulls : on the white surface of new de o E karst are those either now submerged or for posits which from a di stance resemble sea gull s merl y submeraed but now saltpans. The general resting on the surface of a lake. regions of salt karst in the USRR are the vast 7. Salt mushrooms: exactly like their name; desert regions of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, found in the Perskopskie Lakes of the Crimea. lands once bedding the ancient Caspian, Turan the Volga Region and throughout Central Asia. ian. or Hercyni an Seas, the region between the Another type of salt karst widely di stributed Volga and Ural R ivers, the northern line through throughout desert stretches is that existing on the the entral Siberian P lateau and the vicinity of bottom of lakes now covered with sand. th e Lake Kara-Kul' in the high Pamirs. The sculpturing of karst in rock salt, closely A specifi c and picturesque nomenclature has connected with gypsum, approaches the magnifi been coin ed fo r the fantasies of salt karst: cence and can exceed that of limestone. T hi s 1. Salt ripple: N umerous little pits and be form of karst has its particular nomenclature, tween them li ttle mounds on the surface of the closely analagous to that of limestone: salt moss, karsted salt. not covered with brine or ooze. salt teeth, salt karren or massive teeth; salt tabl es Depth of the pits is from 5 to 25 millimeters; the and mushroom which in this in. tance often are mounds vary in height from 5 to 35 centimeters. call ed "salt penitents", since they resemble a These formations result as the secondary crystal humble man in varying degrees of remorse fo r li zation of salt. hi s sin s. A ll the usual karst forms, funnels, 2. alt saucers: Shal low saucer-shaped depres ponors, caves, save the great depression shapes, sions on the alt crust. During rain they are are also found in this rock salt. The salt dome usuall y filled with brine; in dry peri ods they be karst has been found to contain minerali zation come decked with mall snow-white crystals on and freq uently to have rare ga es such as helium . the bottoms and sides. Diameters vary ·from 0.1 In Tadzhiki stan salt domes dominate the land to 0.75 meters ' and in depths from 0.05 to a half scape in majestic splendor. At the top of a great a meter. T hese are formed as a result of di solv- terraced stairway in one of the domes a giant 46 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGI CAL SOCIETY shaft plunges 450 feet into its depths. The the natives and those requiring transit as " bad Taimyr Penin sula in the , rctic is rich in karst lands" . formations in the salt domes with funnels ponors In Ukrainia loess, fir st deposited in Lower and caves abounding. Mindelian when it fi ltered in the deep cracks of F or centuries the salt domes of I1ets in the the crystalline shi eld , fi lling the vall eys and soft foothill s of the Southern U rals have been worked ening the reli ef and later partiall y eroded during and since 1754 the mines have been a State the R iss glaciation. is an area with karst forms. monopoly. 'With the collapse of the roof of the Two belts of loess in E uropean Russia follow the " Great Chamber" as a result of karst action, salt moraines of Pleistocene glaciers and rivers. H ere tectonics and karstifi cation became a subject of the fine white dusty silt li es beneath later laClls serious study in the 1930's. The wanton di s trine deposits and is often covered with the \'ast regard in hewing out the salt had produced basins bogs and marshes. Locally the surface is covered for collecting rainfall , with di sastrous results by quicksands and barchan dunes . singly, or in upon the mines. high chains. KARST TN L OESS In Asia the loess belt. generally characteristic of regions of fla sh fl oods, forms steep cliffs. im K arst formed in loe s is called by Sov iet geolo passable gulleys. caves and deep depressions with gists "clayey" or "little" karst because the surface relictual deposits. Around the Fergana Vall ey in forms are much shallower than those developed the hl e B U LLETIN N U MBE R 16, D ECEMBER 1954 47 TABLE (See Figure 1 for Location) Geological Fo rmation Rocl~s Karst Forms P leist.-Pleistocene C- Conglomerate f-funnel. eI-eloline Mio.-Miocene L-Limestone s-shaft. p-poll or Tert.-T ertiary G- GYPS UIll pj-polj e, u- uva la C ret .--Cretaceous An-Anhydrite l- lapiez ( karrell ). c- cave J ur.- Jurassic D-Dolollli te ud-underground cl rai nage Tri.- Triassic Lo-Loess bk-buried karst Mes.-Mesozoic M-Marl mk- mineral karst Perlll .-Permian P-Permafrost th-thermoka rst Carb.-Carboniferous or Permian l~ S- Roc k Salt kg-karst gulleys Dev.-Devonian S-Sandstone kl- karst lakes Sil.-Silurian sk-suffus ion karst Calll b.-Cambrian spr-springs Paleo.-Paleozoic h-hums Arch.- Archean Areal di stribution: lim- limited. con-<:onsiderable. ext-extensiv e. Degree of development : ,,·-weak. 11l- moderate. i- intensive. M,ap Geographical Geolog·ical [\-arst A real No. L oca tioJl F orllla.tio n R ocks F orlll S Distriblltio'JI EUROPEAN RUSSIA 1 O nega-Dvina Sil. D.G.L LeI.u.uel. con. 2 Valel ai Dev. S fs.s.d.u.pj .kl.l1d. ext. m 3 Leni ngrad Sil. L.D Lud.d. ext. 111 4 Tikl1\'in Carb o L f.u.eI .mk. ext. 5 Ust' U kra De\!. G,L.P f,u.d .h.spr. ext. 6 Vologela P leist. Lo f .s.d,hogs con. \V 7 'Moscow ohlast Ca rbo &: Pleist. L.M.Lo f. c. u.uel.kl , kg,bk.ll1k. con. \\' 8 I vanovo oblast Perm. L f .s.p.ud.kl.mk,bk. ext. 9 Tula Carbo L Ls, kl,ucl. ext. \\' 10 Go r'ki ohlast Perm. G.L Ls.d.kg.bk. ext. ] I Ryazan Carb. ( ?) L Ls.d.pj.ud. ext. 12 Samara Luka Perm & Paleo. L.D.G f .eI. s.c.kg, u,bk,I1lk . ext. 13 'Maria oblast Perlll . L.s.~VI f .5. kl.ud.badland s ext. ]4 Oka-Volga Basin Perm. Tri. L f.. ,p.uel,tl. ext. III ]5 K inel-Buguruslan Perm. G f.s.eI. ext. ]6 K hazan Perlll . G f ,sk.ucl.cl . ext. ]7 Lower Volga Region Penn. G,S,L f .s. p,d,c,u,h. con. IV,l 18 llaskunchak Perlll. G f. s.p.c.eI.kg.mk. ext. 1 19 Saratov Perlll . D f,bk. con. i UKR AINE 20 Voronezh-K ursk Cret. Lo f.s.c, hk .11lk. con. \V 21 Dnestr-P ru t Mio. &: P leist. G.L.Lo f.cI .c.p.s, con. III 22 Podolsk P lateau Arch. L Ls.d.u.s.c. lim . t11 23 Oskol' Paleo. L.Lo f.s.d. s. lllk. con. m 24 E lenovsk L. Carbo L £,c,m k,s. hk. co n. 111 25 Lower Dnepr Tert. L,T.o ..M f .c. ucl .s. l.kg.d. ext. III 48 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOC I ETY to C t-< t-< t:'l >-l H Q 't>•• -$io ~I / :: " d o I / J\:::'''.~'' t:'l ) .:;: () . t:'l ~ " /-- I:;:j ... ,-~" T II I It III OIliAIt" O[\'u. o,[O t:'l ~\. 'OCALLT~ i:::l .,'.. .' ..... / , \0 // 1 VI 0, C:O_TlIIUOUI "."".0. ..j::...... ~r .,." .0 ,. J ~.o,. '" ( ,. ~ , ~ .o 4'0 '. , 1: ' ~. u~ ," ~~. ~I .. ./"'--'- ,/ " •• ~.~ ___ -->~'"'» ...... /' ... ,,,~" ijt7~ .______(/ .... "':.::: .::.. p~:.~.,.... __ " ::':'<:}/~:~'f;'~~:':':'~' '.. ;" ...... ,' r-~, ~.. J'.,',',' :/::';...... ____ , / '>!>i,; .:', ..c '\ ../;""'" • .i _--' ('~' ;~ ~~,\)~ .." " ...... ,',': ....,::., '- '''V·} . ,~4a 0= r ,.J \,; .. : .:j/.t:,·} ',,;:;.; \i:' • ...." {,J ,--,S" f . r', K ARST AR ' • ,~...... ' EAS USS •.- _, I -, R ,. "". <'''' ./' ...... , , ~./ .... /""~c ;;';• ,Inlens... " t permafrost,,,0. r' " I '" , ..... " hermokotlf ______~ ~l~~~~ ~.~ Islands of _ Fig. 1. Map showing karst areas of the U.S.S.R . ..j::. \0 TABLE (continued) (See Figure 1 for Location) Map Geographical Geological Karst A real No. Location F01'mation Rocks P01"'NLS Distribution Deg'ree CRIMEA 26 Chatyr-dag Jur. L f,c,pj,1. ext. m 27 Iaily Jur. L f ,c.s,l,u,d,s,p j. ext. i 28 Baydar Valley Jur. L c,pj,d,u. con. 29 Babugan Jur. L kg,f,pj,u. ext. W,1 CAUCASUS 30 Skalisty Range Up. Jur. L,G f,u,s,d,ud,l. ext. m 31 Bol. Bergmamut P I. Jur. L l,f.s,u. ext. m 32 Min eralovodsk Cret. L,S f,c,kg,d. con. m 33 Bzyb Range Jur. L f,ud,c,s,l. con. 34 Matsestinsk Cret. L f,c,ud,spr. ext. III 35 Tserek kel ' (Kabardino) L. Cret. L f,s,s,ud ,u. ext. m 36 Chvizhepse Vall ey Up. Cret. L f,s,ud,p,u. ext. i 37 Abkhazia Up. Jur. L,M s,d,f,c,ud. ext. m 38 Megrelin Cret. L,Lo,C f,u ,ud,ll,S,S. ext. URALS 39 Inder Perm. G.RS all forms 2 complete cycles w,m,i ( 40 Orenburg Steppe Perm. G f,u,p,u,d. con. w,m 41 Ilets RS f,l.c,p,s. ext. 1.1TI 42 Sterlitamak L. Perm. L c,f,bk,mk. ext. m 43 Sverdlovsk Dev. L f .p,c,ud,111k,bk. con. W 44 Krasnaya Shapochka Up. Sil. L f .cl ,u,mk,c,ud. con . m 45 Molotov Penn. G.I .D f,d s,c,bk,u. ext. I,m 46 Kizel Dev. L c.ud,f,bk,u,mk, dry vall eys ext. m 47 Ufa Up. Carbo L,G f,ud,c.s,bk. ext. W 48 Kungur Perlll. G.An f.s,c,ud ,u. ext. m 49 Chusovaya Perm. L,G f ,5. ud ,c,p j ,u. ext. 50 Alapaevsk Carbo L f,bk. con. \V 51 I vdel' Dev. L f,d,pj ,u,mk. ext. W 52 Bela fa River Perlll. G f .ud,pj ,u,s,c. ext. 53 Severoural'sk Sil. Dev. L p.ud.mk,f. ext. 111 54 River Ik Perlll. L all forms ext. I,W' CENTRAL ASIA 55 Ust' U rt P lateau Cret. f,p ,s. ext. 56 Atrek-Sumbar River Carbo Lo f,ud,p,pj,s con. i 57 Kopet Dag Tert. L.G c,f,ud.spr. con. m 58 Maly Balkhan Cret. S,C,Lo f.s.kg,l,sk. ext. i 59 Sarykamysh Perm. L,G,S f .c,u,ud. ext. 111 60 South of Samarkand Mid. Paleo. L,G f,s, l,p,bk,u,c. ext. 61 Chimkent Mid. Camb. L,D f,c,s,ud. ext. 111 62 Kara111azar Tert. L f,c ,mk. ext. 111 63 Tyuya-Muyun Paleo. L,S f,C,111k. lim. 111 64 Zeravshan-Gissar Ranges Paleo. L f .c.ud,u. con. m 65 K ul yab Low. Cret. S,D, n,RS f,c ,l,ud. ext. III 66 Alai Range Paleo. L.S,Lo c.ud,p,kg,mk. ext. 111 67 Fergana Vall ey Camb. L,Lo f,c,s,ud.u,sk. ext. m 68 Kokand Camb. L s,f,c, pr. ext. m 50 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGTCAL SOCIETY TABL E (continued ) (See F igure 1 for Location ) Map Geographical Geological Rocks Karst Areal No. Location F orlll ation F orllls Distrib/( t-ion D egree SIBERIA 69 Minusinsk Camb. L f,c . lim. w 70 N izhneudin sk Dev. S,L c,f . con. w 71 Cheremkhovo Camb. L s, f,c. con. 72 Balagansk Camb. G,L f,c.mk. ext. 73 A ngara Camb. G s,f,u. ext. i 74 D zhon-Murina R. Camb. L f. ud.s. con. m 75 Lena-Baikal Watershed Mid. Camb. L ,D f. l.c,ud,th. ext. m 76 A ldan-V itim R. Camb. L ,P f.c,spr.ud.th. ext. nl,l 77 Chukotsh Pen. ( ?) P {,d.lI .th. ext. i 78 Noril 'sk Sil. L f,d .u.s.ud. con. m MINERAL K ARST sum rocks where the funnels are so closely The association of karst and certain minerali packed that they form a knobby or hum reli ef. zation was fir st put fo rth in R ussia in 1908* and Aside from the karst giving rise to the condi later elaborated by Soviet geologists during the ti ons for physical and chemi cal alterations of air. twenties . In 1932 a party of scientists sent to ex water and rocks, a retroacti ve process upon the tract the secrets of the rocks from the Kazaks karst itself has been observed. The size of the found the "old workings of the K antagi mine to karst is enl arged by the oxidation of pyrites it be pure mani festations of karst phenomenon". contain s and the formation of free sulphuric acid Expanding on this observati on they concluded strengthens the aggressiveness of the waters ci r that the karst hypothesis coul d apply to all poli culating through the karst canals. T he karst of metal deposits of the Kara-Tau. By the late Central Asia is almost invariably accompanied by forties this thesis was elaborated : "A knowledge thi s capacity of enlargement, which accounts for of the contemporary processes of karst gives the caves being the predominant karst form in this key to an understandi ng of the locati on of the an region. T he size of the gigantic karsts in the cient karst cavities which are not apparent on the V isim Region of the Central U rals depends on surface. T hus the theory of karst is a guide for this process whic h here occurs in connection with the prospecting of useful minerals". pyritization of the schists and the presence of pyrite-quartz veins. A mong the " useful minerals" cited as occur ring in karst in the USSR are : tin, zinc, mercury, T he theory of karst mineralization as presented arseni c, lead, copper, sul phur, fi re clays, Icelandic in 1924 by A. E. Fersman and Shcherbakov spar, oil , gold , uranium, vanadium. copper, flu or woul d seem to be a basis for the recent theory of spar, salts, barites, borates. alabaster, ba uxite and karst as developed by Aprodov. It is most graph antimony. Karsti fy ing limestones and gypsum ically represented by an old karst in the dry hills create favorable conditions fo r gases such as of Fergana south of Osh, said to be the oldest nitrogen, oxygen and the inert gases. l(arst town in the worl d because Adam came there on waters often are attended by minerali zation and hi s way f rom the Garden of Eden bringing with radioactivity. T he radioacti ve springs on the him the silk worm. Near thi s town i also the site R iver Izhma, ri se f ro111 heavil y karstified gyp- of the fi r t radium mine in the USSR. I n the semi-desert climate with low annual rainfall a *ED. NOTE: T he relation of karst and mineral accumu greyish straw colored monoli thic ridge of remark lation in the lead and zinc district of the central U niT ed ably pure Devonian and Lower Carboniferous S tates ,i'as 'given considerable attention in the latter part of the 19th century. limestone ri ses besides a small stream. Beneath BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 51 lie argill aceous and siliceous schi sts of Upper Si stant low temperature provided by the karst in the lurian and Cambrian. laminated by" fetid" lime caves of Central Asia a particularly fine optical stone and sandstones cut through by igneous rock, calcite,-the best in the USSR,-a form of "ice breccia and tuff. \Varm springs from the rock in land spar" is developed. This mineralization, the dicate a complex phreatic action. last stage in a single hydrothermal process, crys The karst forms a series of bell-shaped cham tallizes at low temperatures to form the Kul-i bers which are the enlargement of connecting kolon deposits of Tadzhikistan. Karst ill the re pipes, ome straight as an organ pipe and others gion of deposits of iceland spar takes the form of crooked as an elbow, that change their angle of caves. at times large in volume and with calcite dip in conformity with cl eavage. Cavern levels crystals adorning the walls ; or, again, small with reached nearly 350 feet beneath the openings of only incrustations of limestone tuffa, and occa the sha fts. The processes of mineralization occur sional stalactites and stalagmites. The age of the after a period of normal prolonged karst activity. mature caverns is estimated to be Paleozoic for Descending cold water is altered by ascending most of them lie beneath a buried peneplain sur mineralized solutions and accumulations of new face on which are bedded Upper Paleozoic rock. elements takes place as the first products of depo Another peculiarity to be noted is the limited sition in alkaline solutions interacting with the range of the cave formations in these areas. In calcium carbonate of the karst. the massive crenelated Upper Silurian limestones Dauxite is found in many karst hollows and of the K ul-i-kolon region caves occur only rarely funnels in the Cambrian limestones of the Eastern and are mainly in an area where the limestones Sayan, in Middle Devonian limestones of the east have been subj ected to deep hydrothermal activity ern slope of the Central Urals, and in the lime in connection wiwth magmatic intrusions. In the stones of the Upper Triassic of the Gissar Range. latter case cavern development is extensive. Lime 'Ithe Cretaceous of the Middle U rals and Jurassic stone tuffa, dripstone and other products of depo of Torthern Kazakhstan. \Vhether these deposits sition belonging to the later part of karst develop of bauxite were sedimentary or biochemical in ment are generally absent in these caves and when origin is still open to discussion but Lev Berg re they do occur they are developed over a deposit of futes the former and presents the latter on the crystalline calcite. T hus the conclusion can be basis that the marsh vegetation which once cov drawn that these caves are formed by ascending ered all these surfaces was an important factor ill calcite depositing hydrothermal waters rather than the production of bauxite. A surface manifesta descending water. tion of this is now taking place in the contempo Gold. uranium and vanadium deposits are also rary karst funnels along the K lyazma River of reported to be associated with karst. These de the I va novo Oblast' east of Moscow where baux posits are " fossil" placers and residuum that ac ite is forming in leached limestone clays beneath cumulated in ancient buried karst. The gold, a blanket of peat covered lacustrine deposits. uranium and vanadium minerals accumulated in In the genesis of bauxite karst activity seems deposits similar to those forming bauxite but in a to be involved twice ; first by forming the recep surface cover of sands rather than in residual tacle for the deposit and secondly. by subjecting clays. Over great stretches of Russia. in the A rc the bauxite to compaction by settling. In many tic regions, especiall y in polar Kolyma, and in the regions, were it not for the protection provided by Eastern U ral s, gold " bogs" can be found in the the karst formation. the bauxite would long have karst. This strip in the U rals is so distinctive it been washed away. In fact, the bauxite strips of has been dubbed a particular name "beliki " given the Southern U rals, stori ed in several layers con by the local inhabitants of the region. which is nected with the ebb and fl ow of the karst activity. used to distinguish the peculiar depositions of lie deep in the Devonian limestones. Bauxite at quartz detritus confined in an arenaceous and depths close to 1900 feet have been found indicat mealy kaolin -like mass . ing former extensive karst activity. The Mesozoic was the great accumulator of As karst provides the receptacle for accumula gold in this form, washed away from the slopes ti on and protection of bauxite. so from the con- of the U rals and lodged in the area to the east. In 52 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY the K uznets Ala-Tau the gold 1ll11l es are situated 12. EGOROV, S. F. Materialy po morfologii doli ny r. Al dana na uchastki ot r. Tommot do ust'ia r. Uchura in ancient karstified carbonate rocks in which the (Data on the morphology of the Aldan river vall ey funnels and dolines served as giant panning tubs. in the section from the Rive r Tommot to the mouth of the Uchur) : Trudy geomorf. inst., vyp. 2, 1932. 13. ERMO LE V, 1. LA. 0 vli anie vcchnoi mer zloty na rel'efe * * (Conce rning the infl uence of permafrost on the re li ef) : Izv. Gos. geog. obshch. , t. 66, vyp. 3, 193-+. No attempt has been made 111 thi s pre:entation 14. FER Si\O[ AI' , A . E. K morphologii i geokhimii Tiuia to evaluate varying opinions of different Soviet Muiuna (On the morphology and geochemistry of Tiui a-Muiun ) : Trudy po izuch. rad. i rad-nykh Rud. scientists as the purpose of the paper was not one III. Abd. Nauk. , 1928. of evaluati on but rather an empirical in vestigati on 15. GLADTSIN. I. N. Geomorfologiia SSSR i Kavkaza of the negati ve and an abstract presentation of (Geomorphology of the USSR and the Caucasus) : Ch. I , 1939. Soviet karst areas. As for reli ability, this paper 16. GR IGOR'EV. A. A. K yoprosu 0 vliianii rast itcl'nosti na has one thing in common with the descri ptions of protsessu karstoobrazovania (The question of the in tluence of vegetation on the process of karst forma India made by P tolemy and Herodotus: None of tion ) : Zemleved. , Kn. lII-IV, 1923. the three authors wrote about what he had seen. 17. GVOZDFTSK II , N. A. Karst : voprosy obshchego karsto vedenia (Karst : the problem of general karst sci In summation, it is perhaps sufficient to present ence) : 1950. 18. GVOZDETSKlI , N. A. Voprosy geograficheskogo izu th e postul ate made by Soviet engin eers in 1951 : cheniia karsta i zadachi sovetskogo geograficheskogo "For karst to form and develop. the rock shoul d karslovedeni a (The ques tion of geographic study of karst and the tasks of Soviet geographic karst sci not be monolithic but must have cracks and open ence) : Vestnik Mosk. univer., No.2, 1948. ings along whi ch waters can cricul ate ... fo r 19. IARTSEY, A. A. Sputnik bogomol'tsa peshekhoda po doroge v Troitse-Sergievu Lavru ( The pilgrim's com the movement o f water is the incli spensible con palliull fur the progress along the road to the Troit dition for the formation of karst ." ski- Sergiev Monastery): 1892. 20. l ATSKEV ICH, Z. V. Materialy k izucheniiu karsta In derskogo podni atiia (Materials fo r the study of the Non :: Two systems of transliteration have been em karst of the Inder rise) : Izv. Gos. geogr. obshch., t. ployed: for pl ace names, that of the National Geographic 69, vyp. 6, 1937. Magazill e; for bibliography and authors, that of the Library of Congress. 21. 1L'IN , S. V. i Kel'manski i, M.S. Rezul'taty rabot U ral'skoi nallchno-issledovatel'skoi karstovoi stantsii ( Resuhs of the work of the U ral Scientific Research R E.FE RE:-:CES CIT ED Karst Station ) : U ral'skii nauchnoissled. institllt geoL, razv. i issled. mineraL syr'ia. Trudy, vyp. I, 1938. l. A PR ODOV. V. A. I,arstovye nmogochl ell Y (karstopo 22. KALENOV, E. E lektricheskaia razvedka karstovykh linomy) K Ull gurskoi peschchery (Karst polynomials obrazovanii Y Donbasse (Electrical exploration of (karstopolynomes) of the K ungur Cave) : Doklady, karst formations in the Donbass): Razvedka nedr. AN SSSR. nov. ser., t. LXV, No.2, 1949. No. 7, 1938. 2. APRODOV, V . A. 0 nekotorykh voprosakh teori i karsta 23. KARZHAV IN, N. A. Priznaki neftenosli na l11 estorozh (Conce rning certain problems of a theory of karst ) : deni e boksita "Krasnaia Shapochka" (Oil-bearing I zv. AN SSSR, ser. gcog. i geofiz. , t. X II, No. 3, signs ill the K rasnaia Shapochka bauxite deposit): 1948. SOY. geol. , No. 3, 1939. 3. BARKOV, A. S. Karst Samarskoi Luki (The karst of Samara L uka) : Zemle\'ed., t. XXXIV, vyp. 1-2, 1932. 24. KH AIlA KOV , A . V. Strukturnye osobennosti rel'efa 4. BERG, L. Aral'skoe more ( The A ral Sea) : Izv. T ur O renburgskoi stepi (Structural features peculi ar to kest. otd. Russ. geog. obshch. , t. V, 1908. the rel ief of the Orenburg steppe): 1zv. Gos. geog. 5. BERG. L. 0 proiskhozhdenii ural'skikh boksitov (On obshch. , 10 111 66, vyp. 4, 1934. the origin of the U ral bauxites) : 1zv. Vsesoiuz. geog. 25. K H~IELEVSK I! , I. V. Opyt primeniia elektrorazvedki obshch. , t. 77, No. 1-2. 1945. k izucheni iu karstovykh iavlcnii (An experiment in 6. BOR lsov. A. 1. Karstovic iavlenii v 1vanovskoi oblasti the application of electrical expl oration to the study (Karst phenomcna in 1vanovo Obl ast) : Priroda, No. of karst phenomena) : Razvedka nedr, No. 13, 1936. 6, 1938. 26. KIRI KOV. A. P . Tiuia l11uiun skoc mestorozhdemie 7. BORZOV . A. A. Obshchii kharakter Ufimskogo priu radiia (The Tiuia-M uiun Radium Deposit) : Geologi ral'ia ( The gcneral character of the U rals around cheskii Komitet. Trudy. Nov. ser., vyp. 18 1. 1929. Ufa) : Zemleved. , t. XXVI, vyp. 1-2, 1924. 27. J{UZNETSOV, L G. Ozero Tserik-kel' i drugie formy 8. BU IlLEI NIKOV. F. D. i Shcherbakov. D. I. (Remark karsla v izvestniakakh Skali stogo khrebta na Sey. able geologica l ph enomena of our country) : Zamc Kavkaze (Lake T se rik-kel' and other forms of karst chatel'nye geologicheskie iavleniia nashe strany : AN in the limestones of the Skali sly Range in the North SSSR, 1941. ern Caucasus) : Izv. Gos. geog. obshch .. t. LX, vyp. 9. DU IlI ANSK II , N. IA Iskopaemy karst sredi verkhne 2, 1928. melovykh otlozhenii (Mineral karst among Upper Cretaceous depos its): Biulletin' Mosk. obshch. isp. 28. LOIlANOV. L N. Karstovi iavishcha u nizakh Ingul 'tsia prir., otd. geol. , t. XV (4) . 193 7. (Karst phenomena in the lower Ingul ets) : Uch. Zap. 10. DZENS-L ITOVS KII . A. 1. Karst soli anykh mcstorozh Kha r. Gos. U n., Kn. 6-7. 1936. denii SSSR (Karst of the sa lt deposits of the 29. MAK STMOV[CH, G. A. A ktaisko-Talitskoe meslorozh USSR) : Vse. geog. obshch., t. 72, vyp. 6, 1940. de nie boksita (The A ktai-Tali ts bauxite deposit): 11. EDEL'STETN. l Ao S. and GE R AS I ~ J OV. 1. P., editors, Permskii gos. univers. im M. Gor'kogo., tom II, vyp. Materialy po Geomorphologii U rala (Materials on 3. 1936. the Geomorphology of the Urals): Vyp. I., IMini s 30. MAK SllI IOV ICH. G. f\ . K lasifikatsia peshchernogo l'da tcrstvo Geologii SSSR. U ral'skoc Geolog. Uprav (Classification of cave icc): l zv. AN SSSR, se r. len ie, 1948. gcog. i. geofiz. tom IX, No. 5-6, 1945. BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 53 31. MAKSIMOVICH, G. A. GOL UBEVA, L. V. i GORBUNOVA, the O nego-Dvina watershed) : Izv. Russ. geog. obshch. K . A.: Karstovye provaly v s. Ust' K ishert' Molotov t, XXXV, No.5, 1899, a. skoi oblasti (Karst sinks in the village of U st' Kish 40. SUMGIN, M. I. i T olstikhin, N. I. Obshchee merz ert' in Molotov Oblast) : P riroda No.4, 1950. lotovedeni e (General permafrost science) : AN 32. Vtoraia Molotovskaia karstovaia konferentsiia (The ASSR, 1940. Second Molotov Karst Conference) : Izv. AN SSSR, 41. TOLSTlKHTNA, M. M. Materialy k geomorfologii Kiz ser. geog. i geofiz, tom XII, 1948. ilovskogo raiona na zapadnom sklone Urala (Ma 33. NATSKII, A . Geologicheskii ocherk Malgo Balkhana terials on the geomorphology of the K izel region on po issledovaniiam v 1914 i 1916 godakh (A geological the western slope of the U rals) : Izv. Gos. geog. description of the Maly Balkhan according to investi obshch., t. 68, vyp. 3, 1936. gations carried on in 1914 and 1916) : Mat. po obshch. 42. TOLSTIKHINV, M. M. i N. 1. Materialy k geomorfol i prikl. geolog. Geol. Kom. , vyp. 4, 1916. ogii Onego-Dvinskogo mezhdurech'ia (Materials on 34. N EKHOROSHEV, V. P. Denudatsiia melovogo izvest the geomorphology of the Onego-Dvina divide) : Izv. ni aka v raiona Matsestinskikh i Agurskikh se rnykh Gos. geog. obshch., t. LXVII, vyp. 3, 1935. istochnikov (Denudation of the Cretaceous limestones VASIL' EV, A. A. Karst i stroitel'stvo shakht (Karst in the region of the Matsesta and Agur sulphur 43. springs): Mat. po obshch. i prikladn geol. , Geol. and mine shaft construction ) : Vestnik, Geol. Kom., Kom., vyp. 8, 1916. Soiu zgeograzvedki No. 12, 1932. 35 . Popov, M. G. Peshchera Kon-i-Gut v Ferganskikh 44. VAS IL'EV, B. V. 0 nekotorykh zakonomernostiakh gorakh (Cave Kon-i-Gut in the Fergana Mountains) : karstoproiavlenii v basseine reki Ik ( na iugo-vostoke Izv. Turkest. otd. R uss. geog. obshch., t. XVII, 1924. T atarskoi ASSR) (On certain conformities of the 36. RVZHIKOV, D. V. 0 karste i zakonomernostiakh ego karst phenomena in the basin of the River Ik): razvitiia (Concerning karst and the conformity of its Doklady, AN SSSR, nov. ser., t. LXV, No.4, 1949. development to certain principles): Doklady AN 45 . Vi UL'F . E. V. Rastitel'nost' vostochnykh rAil K ryma SSSR, t. LVIII, TO. 6, 1947. (The vegetati on of the eastern mountain pastures of 37. RVZHIKOV, D. V. 0 priroda karsta (On the nature the Crimea) : 1925. of karst) : Doklady AN SSSR, t. LX, No.5, 1948. 46. ZHUKOV, V. A. Tolstoi, M. P. i T t'oitanskii, S. V., 38. SM IRNOV. L. N. Gidrogeologiia severoural'skogo bok A rtezianskie vody kammenougol'nykh otlozhenii pod sitovogo basseina (The hydrogeology of the Northern moskovnoi paleozoiskoi kotloviny (Artesian waters of Ural Bauxite basin ) : Gorny Zhurnal, No.2. 1946. the Carboniferous deposits of the Moscow Paleozoic 39. SOBO LE\·. N. N. Okarstovykh iavleniiakh Onezhsko basin ): Vse. nauch.-issled. in st. min. sy r'ia. Trudy, Dvinskogo vodorazdela (On the karst phenomena of vyp. 153, 1939. 54 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY CAVES OF INDIANA By GEORGE F. JACKSON While Wyandotte and Marengo caves have 1'eceived wide publicity as 111di~ ana's pTinc'ipal commercial wves little has been written about the StMe's s11uL!leT but equa'!I')1 fasc inatillg ones, The au.thor, a competent speleologiwl writer, here presents an account of some of the lesser know n caves of the Hoosier state. 'W hat might be ca ll ed the cave section of Indi and which have been personally explored by him. ana covers an area of approximately 2,000 square Omission of many is due solely to space limita miles in an irregular strip of land of varying tions. It is not meant to imply that they are lack width extending south-southeasterly from near ing in interesting features. A few caves of lesser Greencastle in P utnam County to the O hio River importance, speleologically. have been described 111 ra wford and Harrison Counties. This is the because of other interesting features such as his northern extension of the great cavernous area of tory, folklore, personal preference or as a means Kentucky, and is known as the Mitchell Plain, of comparison or to show a similarity to others because near Mitchell, Indiana the true character described. of the plain is most apparent.) In their southward extent in Indiana the lime stones reach a thickness of 575 feet and within them is found one of the largest and most com plex drainage systems in the world. In this area, characterized by underground drainage, si nkholes, sinkin O" streams, springs and resurgences are the many caves of the state. Formations involved are the Harrodsburg (vVarsaw) , Salem, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve and one or more of the Chester limestones at the top. On the northern end of the area there is consider able thinning of the limestones (where the secti on also becomes partly covered with glacial drift) in Photo by George F. Jackson Putnam and Owen Counties. Dip of the forma Fig. 1. The author (Jeft) and a guide examine one of the ti ons is westerly at approximately 30 feet to the palettes in Marengo Cave, Indiana. mil e. Some of the caves have been known since pio It is interesting to note that the massiv e deposit neer days and interesting tale and legends of at the base of the Mitchell limestone is the singu their discovery are told . Nearly everyone of the larly joint and fi ssure free Salem limestone which long-known caverns has the old tory of its ·en is quarried and has become world-famous as a trance first being noticed by a hunter. who while building material under the name "Indiana Lime trailing a wounded bear, or deer, or any such ani stone" . mal as the case may be, followed him to a place The following descriptions of several of the where the animal "di sappeared into the ground" . "wild " and commercial caves of the state include Upon investigati on there came to light an amazing some of the more than 100 known to the author underground labyrinth unequalled in the realms of ) The first systematic research in respect to this region previous knowledge. In a very few instances this was cOlld ucted, in 1837, by David Dale Owell, chi ef of the U nited States Geo logical Survey when its head may be true. but some caves have been known so quarters were at New Harmony, Illdiana. The cave long that the actual facts of their discovery have bearing st ratum, the Mitchell limestone, \I'as then call ed the "caverll" or "Ill Ll1l1tain" lilll es tolle, been forgotten, the owners merely guessing at the BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 55 truth, the most logical theory being the bear inci trance. F rom it issues one of the largest streams dent. Human nature being what it is, it is not sur of water to be found in any cave in Indiana. Lo pri sing that these same incid ents seem to have cated at the head of a deep ravine, the opening is happened with amazing regularity all through the about 22 feet hi gh, 20 feet wide and offers an ex cavernous regions of the U nited States. cellent illustration of how caves are sometimes Other than the two famous commercial caves, converted into deep vall eys. At one time, the cav Wyandotte and Marengo, perhaps the best known ern extended the full length of the gorge into cavern in Indiana is Donaldson's Cave, three miles whi ch it now opens, but excessive erosion by the from Mitchell in Lawrence County. Here, in waters wore the roof to such thinness that it col- SKETCH SHOWING AREA OF OUTCROP OF MISSISSIPPIAN LIMESTONE AND KARST FEATURES IN SOUTHERN INDIANA SCALE OF MILES CLYDE A. MALOTT o 10 20 30 40 1944 Fig. 2. Mop showing area of outcrop of Mississippian limestone and karst features in southern Indiana (after Malott). Spring Mill State Park, is fo und a completely re lapsed and the continued breaking down has ex constructed pioneer village, along with gri st mills tended the gorge to its present length. and restorations of every other activity that was Early in the 19th century saltpeter was made pursued in settlements on the outskirts of civili za on a small scale from the ni trous dirt in one of tion earl y in the 19th century. the dry passages near the entrance, but long be Donald son's, formerl y known as Shawnee Cave fore this the region about the cave attracted prim from its proximity to the hunting grounds of that iti ve man. T he Delaware, Shawnee ancl P ianke Indian tribe, has an unusuall y picturesque en- shaw Indians all li ved in ad jacent secti ons at vari- 56 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ous times and numerous traces of them have been T he other two passageways are dry, and have found along nearby streams. Although early geol no formations worthy of more than passing inter ogists have reported the cave as showing signs of est, the only speleothems being a few dirty-colored prehistoric occupation "as flints, stone axes, and " tobacco-leaf" deposits. bones have been found in and around the mouth It was at Donaldson's Cave that Dr. Carl H. in great numbers" ( P rof. John Collett, Indiana E igemann did the research for hi s elaborate and Geological Survey, 1873) these were probably not authoritative volume on the cave vertebrates of prehistori c at all, but were accumulations left by North America. For 12 years he conducted ex the tribes mentioned above, and the earl y salt periments at the mouth of the ca\·e, using specially peter miners. built culture basin s and studying the A1nblyopsis, T here are only three pa sage ways of note in which he called the " blind fi sh par excellence". Donaldson's Cave, all opening into the vestibule. Today, eyeless fi h and blind crayfish are plentiful The center one is high and narrow with rough, in the cave stream but they are probably not as jagged wall s. Some hundred feet within a small plenti ful as Dr. E igemann claimed when he said waterfall drops with great force. and during the the place contained "more blind fi sh than all other rain y . eason may be plainly hea rd at the entrance. localities put together". V isitors are now taken for a short boat ride on "'" ithin the boundaries of Spring Mill State this uncl erground " ri ver". but former expl orati ons Park are several other caves, notably Hamer' were made by the highl y exciting method of wad Cave, Twin Caves, \Vind Caves. Bronson Cave in g the cold creek. or in ching along the narrow and \iVhi stling Cave. Each of these has been ledges 20 feet above the water. I either method fo rmed by the same river system which still flow s of travel is recommended for com fort. through all of them. In Twin Caves the river which averages about four feet in depth and twelve feet in width-fills almost every available niche. On a recent trip we found only one spot of earth large enough to stand upon. The entire trip wa made by boat. T he entrance to Twin Caves is an excell ent ex ample of what the late P rofessor Clyde A. Malott referred to as a '·karst window" . a sinkhole de pression prod uced by co ll apse over an under ground tream all owing the cavern and stream to show . and permitting an entrance to caverns both upstream and downstream. The brook issuing from I-Iamer·s Cave furnishes the water supply. carried by a quarter-mile-long flum e, which turn the huge mill wh eel in the re constructed pi oneer village of Spring Mill. Al though greatl y exaggerated by many of the earl y explorers. the cave is extensive and contains sev eral waterfall s and cascades. Since explorati on is not permitted by the State of Indiana it will not be descri bed here. One of the most beauti ful of Indiana's wil d caves is Richard's Cave. located on the Richard Smoots farm in Harrison County, about three miles from \Vhi te Cloud. It is reached via the Bl ue River bri dge and two miles of county road. Discovered just a few years ago by M r. Smoots, Photo by Roy Dovis who is an avid spelunker, it contain a splendid array of formati ons of varying size and color. Fig. 3. Speleothems in Boone's Mill Cove, Indiana. BULLETIN N U MBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 57 Noteworthy among them is a large group of straw Below this the walls recede and the cave ex stalactites. ranging up to two or more feet in pands into a large room. with the result that climb length, which literall y cover the cei lings of some ing ropes hang free, adding to the thrills of a rooms. descent. The entrance is a memorable one in the It was the good fortune 0 f the author to be author's mind because it once conveyed quite able to explore and photograph Richard's Cave forceably the serious difficulties that even experi shortly after its discovery. T he delicate and deli enced spelunkers ca n get into when all avail able cately-colored formations, a fi oor of comparative climbing ropes get covered with sli ppery mud! smoothness for a wild cave, and the possibility of T here are many spelothems in the cave, varying finding still more rooms and passageways, coupled from small stalactites to massive stalagmites and with the thrilling sensation that comes with being fi owstone wall depos its. Most are highl y colored "one of the fir st" combined to make it a delight and offer a fine di splay for the color photogra ful underground experience. pher. Perhaps because Borden's is rather difficult The foll owing quotations about the cave are of entrance. it has not been visited by spelunkers from a letter written to a speleologist-friend 1111- as often as some of the more accessible caves and mediately a h er the exploration trip while the there are few broken fo rmations and for the same beauty of the cave was still fresh in the author's reason, the chances of finding more cave are prob- mind : "One of the things that interested me was a room, the ceiling of which was literally covered with thousands of white, brown, red and reddish brown stalactites, none any larger in diameter than a pencil and from one to three feet long. So many and so colorful! In an area of about 100 square feet it was impossible to touch any part of the ceiling without breaking dozens of them. For tunately the roo f is just high enough that it can not be reached easily. Like many others, the cave was di scovered quite by accid ent and required very little digging to ad mit a man. T he whole thing is very clean, and from one end to the other- about 2,000 feet-is formation fill ed. F ormations range from the type mentioned to lily-pads, draperies, pi llars, peculiar rough stalagmites and just about every type of cavernous formation except helectites and gyp sunl." On a later explorati on trip we managed to dig and chi sel our way into a mall room at the very end of the main passage, but if there are any other lead in the cave they are well hidden. Photo by George F. Jackson Borden's Cave in the same general area is of Fig. 4. Entrance to Donaldson's Cave in Spring Mill State Park, Indiana. This is one of the largest streams of much more interest to adventurous spelunkers for water issuing from any Indiana cave. it is entered through a shee r pit. Like many an other cavernous hole the depth is frequently exag abl y better here than in some of the nea rby gerat d and various accounts have it anywhere caverns. from 65 to 125 feet deep, but it actually is not In a round, dome-like room at the far end of more than 45 feet. T he fir st few feet of the drop the cave is the only large eroded stalagmite to be are through an elli ptical hole in the solid limestone found in any Indiana cave. A t one time the for r ughl y eight feet in diameter. mati on was probably six to eight feet high and 15 58 NATIOr AL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY feet in circumference, but streams of water from Perhaps one-hal f mil e di stant is Mauck's Cave, above have etched three and four inch channels full of fantasti call y-shaped formations and plenty down all sides until the greater part of its bulk is of crawl ways on several levels. Since many of gone. These channels, or grooves, go all the way these tunnels are wet and muddy and twist and around the stalagmite and their edges are sharp turn in all directions, making it difficult to explore enough to inAict a severe cut on a hand placed completely, this cave ha not received the atten ca relessly against them. Yell owish-white with thin ti on some of its more accessible neighbors have. hori zontal brown streaks here and there on its A short di stance south of Corydon is Bussa sides, the formation wo ul d make an interesting barger's Cave, containing an immense room with color photograph but is unfortunately located in an intriguing lake at one end. Visiting this cave such a position that a good camera angle is almost searching for that rarest of eyeless fi sh-T'yphli impossible. ca thys fiVya,udotfe-we entered through a shallow At the time of the author·s fir st trip to Borden's sinkhole-like depression and found ourselves at Cave a four-foot black snake was found sunning the top of a tremendous breakdown. Clambering itself in a shaft of sunlight on one of the ledges down over huge broken rocks, old tin cans, dis near the bottom of the entrance pit. Assuming carded farm implements and the refuse of years that it had fallen in we attempted to capture it from a nearby farmhouse we marveled at the size and return it to the surface where it coul d lead a of the room. Once, it had been a mighty cavern, more normal li fe. but were unable to do so for now it was simply a smell y hole in the ground. the ledge was higher than a man's head and far About 200 feet down we passed out of the "dump too narrow to walk upon. Although there was an area·' and came to a steep slope of sli ppery mud. abundance of bat and a trace of mice nearby T hi s led directly to a "lake", perhaps 30 feet wide which indicated that the snake might have food and the same di stance across. On all sides, except for a considerable length of time, whether or not where we stood, the walls came down sheer, offer it survived is a matter of conjecture. It was not in a not the slightest toe or fin ger hold . The mud seen on later vi sits to the cave and it would be slope below us continued down into the muddy interesting to know how long it managed to li ve water for an unknown distance. T he steepness of on the ledges which were warmed by the sun for the bank made it extremely hard to move around onl y a few hours f! ach day during the summer without slipping into the water, and the author months. e\·en tried this-quite unintentionally, however. In an open level field 300 feet from the en ince he had several hundred dollars worth of trance to Borden's Cave. and possibly once con camera equipment in one hand at the time. vVe nected wi th it. is a vertical shaft which extends captured no eyeless fi sh (possibly due to the fact downwards for at least 120 feet. There are no that they prefer not to associate with photogra side passageways and nothing of particular inter phers !) but did spend many minute gazing at est in the cave. but it does offer an excell ent spot the far wall s wondering what might lie beyond. to practice rope climbing techniques. The entrance In that direction there is space for a mighty cav is neither covered nor fenced and in a less iso ern- does such a cavity li e just beyond those lated spot woul d be dangerous. mooth rocks, we wondered? I f so. then how to Nearby Langdon's Cave in Harrison County get into it ? vVe finally left the underground lake tate Forest is much ea ier of entrance than Bor and cl imbed back up the mountain of rocks mak den's but is of the same general type and forma ing plans to return and full y explore the vast ti on. It, too, has many spelothems, and is longer reaion on the other ide. T o this day we have not with one high and narrow main passageway. T hi s yet returned . Perhaps in the future .. . is "undercut" to a height of two or three feet Another Indiana cave with an interesting river along its entire length and both here and on some of unknown source is \ Vildcat Cave (sometimes of the many ledges, 20 to 50 feet above the fi oor, known as Sheep Cave) one and one-half miles there seem to be definite leads to virgin passages. northeast of the entrance to VI yandotte Cave. In The breakdown in the large room at the end also a heavi ly wooded section aptly named ·'Tangle offers possibilities for finding more cave but little wooer· this cave has been the scene of extensive yste1l1 atic work has ever been done here. explorative work. but no man ha yet seen the BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 59 huge cavern which most Hoosier speleologists tance away. The \ i\T ildcat Cave stream is more agree li es beneath the ridge in back of it. likely the one that issues from a rocky hillside on the Sharp farm and which is known for miles It is entered through a four-foot hole half way around as " Sharp's Spring". up a lOO-f oot cliff. A short passageway leads to the top of an old breakdown in a very large room. Sibert's \i\Tell Cave contains nothing of interest At the base of thi s great pile of rocks-about 200 other than the usual aquatic subterranean fauna. feet from the top-is a room fl oored with fine It was freq uently visited in the past by scientists sand and mud. A few feet away is the "river", for specimens and several well known naturalists [our to fiv e feet wide and three feet deep and of the last century cred ited specimens of blind fish crystal clear. The author has been in this cave from this cave. in error, to nearby \ i\T yandotte. many times and has always found the water cl ear, Two other Indiana underground rivers deserve which would seem to indicate that it has been mention here : the famous Lost River of Orange fl owing underground some di stance and has de County where a whole river suddenly leaves the posited its mud and impurities far from this spot. surface and fl ows underground, and the rise-In:t of the great Harrison karst spring in Harrison Downstream the watercourse may be followed County. some six mil es west of Corydon, which some 40 feet to where it di sappears through a erupts into an open field. This spring, or ca vern mass of broken rocks. Roof and walls come to stream resurgence. is 85 feet wide, 115 feet long gether here in such a manner as to make further and of co nsiderable depth. During dry periods it progress almost impossibl e even after a consider is fi lled with crystal clear water, but folluwing able amount of work. heavy rain s it becomes greatly swollen with muddy Upstream 50 feet, the walls curve around the waters whi ch boil vigorously upwards. To ob- water in a semi-circl e. Here. just below the sur face is an opening the width of the stream. This is the extent of man's penetration. It is an in triguing spot fo r an adventurous speleologist. Does the stream fl ow through a siphon, and if so, is it long or short ? Does a vast unknown cavern full of fantastic wo nders lie just on the other side of the smoo th rock wall? A ny spelunker desiring ~om e real-and wet-exploration is welcome to try and find out. 1n this cave we once had the unusual experi ence or having a mouse (probably a deer mouse) move a specim en bag several feet and place it under a great pil e of winter-stored nuts, wil d grapes, etc. T hi s happened during a period of about an hour whil e we were trying to capture eyeless fi sh in the caye stream, having left the bag near the mouse's nest to pick up on our return trip (desc ribed in the January, 1951 NSS Tews). Some Indiana speleologists are of the opinion that the stream fl owing through the cavern is the same one that is found in Sibert's Vlell Cave. lo cated 800 feet so uth of the entrance to Little \ \ ' yandotte Cave, and at least one and one-q uarter mil es {rom \ i\T ildcat Cave. O bservations by the author. too detailed to go into here. do not bear out thi s statement. whi ch probably arose because Photo by George F. Jackson the natural fl ow of both streams is in the same Fig. 5. Unusual and highly colored speleothems in O'e neral directi on : towards Blue R iver a short di s- Richord's Cave. 60 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY server can doubt but that below is a large water Searching for these stones, the author was told filled cavern which drains the higher sinkhole they had been built into a farmer's porch and cov plain to the northeast. This natural artesian "well " ered over with concrete. Like the hero whose is, incidentally, below the local drainage level of handiwork they were, they have passed into the Blue River valley. realm of forgotten hi story. Two caves in Harrison County bear the name In 1815 when Squire Boone died it was hi s re of "Boone", both named a fter the brother of the quest that he be buried in the cave and his body famous pioneer, Daniel: Sq uire Boone's Cave and rested there undisturbed until about 40 years ago Boone's Mill Cave. when the stone caping was removed and vandals Squire Boone's Cave is in a wild , almost im broke open the coffin and scattered hi s bones. passibl e region near Mauckport and is not much Boone's Mill Cave "just over the ridge". with of a caye, speleologically, but it has an interesting its four le\'els, waterfall s, and many formations is and little known history. It was here. so legend rated by many as Indiana' most spectacular wild has it, that Squire Boone swung ac ross a ravine ca ve. Exploration is somewhat complicated by the on a wild grape vine and hid in a cave while a band fact that ladders are necessary to accomplish some of bloodthirsty Indians searched for him. W hile of the falls but this is onl y a minor hinderance to the grape vine tale may not be true, it is fact that a determined spelunker. P lenty of color, a fair he di scovered the cave entrance while on a hunt sized running stream that often plunges over un ing trip with hi s brother Daniel. Few people know expected drops, large pillars and unusual fl o\V today that the famous frontiersman knew and stone effects make thi s a paradise for a spell.1nker loved this section of Indiana and that in hi s later photographer. years he erected a mill and li ved near the cavern T here are at least three "Saltpeter" caves in which later became hi s grave. Indiana and one "Salt" Cave. T he latter is located Born in North Carolina in 1744, nine years after in Lawrence County ; the other in Lawrence, his now better-known hrother, Squire Boone helped Monroe and Crawford Counties. Crawford Coun Daniel explore and map the wild "Dark and ty's Saltpeter Cave is the best known and prob Bloody Ground" that was later to become J.':en ably the most interesting. It is one half mile north mcky. It was on a hunting expedition into the un west of the entrance to \ Vyandotte Cave and is known section north of the O hi o River that he mentioned here principally becau e of its hi stori found the cave which supposedly saved hi s life. cal connection and its fa una which includes sev Years later he settled with hi s family at the eral species of bats, cave crickets, spiders. moths, "Station at the Fall s" ( Loui sv ill e) where he harvestmen, crustaceans and just about every hoped to spend the last few years of hi s life. \"' ell other kin d of cave dwelling in ect and animal. liked by the backwoods fo lk , he wa s elected to T he entrance is six feet high and 20 feet wide. represent them in Virginia Territory, and for a Just inside a gigantic room expands about 250 feet number of years did so ably. long, 75 feet wide and 10 to 60 feet in height, Suddenl y, almost overnight it seemed, he found with a smooth ceiling and a floor composed of himself " broke". U nsc rupulous land sharks fleeced alternating smooth dirt and huge chunks of fallen him out 0 f every penny of hi s modest fortune. rock. During the \Va r of 1812 this cave was Disillusioned and bitter he took hi s family to the "mined" for saltpeter as was nea rby \"'yandotte Harrison County retreat he had found many years and enormous quantities of the then nmch-needed before, and erected the structure later known as chemical were taken from thi s single room. Until Boone's Mill. There, with hi s four sons, he at recent years the remains of many old wooden hop tempted to repair hi s fortunes , even usinO' his pers, troughs, pipes, vats and furnaces were still spare time in mending firearms for hi s neighbors. to be fo und in and around the mouth. It is said that it was hi s hand that carved the \IVith the exception of a short side passage of in sc ription, "The Traveler's Rest. Consecrated by great height, the one room compri es the kno\yn Squire Boone, 1809" over one of the doorways. part of the cm·ern. Located in a different "ridge" Another inscription read: "I sit and sing my than the vast vVyandotte Cave system and not part Soul's salvation, and pl edge the God of my Cre of it. there is little doubt but what an enormous ation" . cave li es beyond the entrance room of Saltpeter. BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 61 Getting into this suspected immense cavern has H otel. A lthough very small when compared with intrigued Hoosier spelunkers for well over a hun the huge cavernous giant nearby, the ease with dred years. It is doubtful if any wild cave in the which it may be visited and the elaborate indirect midwest has had as much actual digging done in lighting system which brings out aU of its beau it as th is one cavity. For example, one team of ti es, make it a top attracti on for those who do not "explorers" worked peri odi call y here fo r one have the time fo r a more lengthy trip under whole year, but all they had to show fo r their ground. efforts at the end was a tremendous pile of rocks Just when it was discovered is not defi nitely they had dug and chi seled from the back of the known . T he earliest date fo und scratched on its cave. Along with two others, the author once waUs is 1856. For some years it was occasionally moved enough rock "bare handed" to "completely exhi bited along with 'Wyandotte Cave, but since cover a house" as one spelunker put it. Dynamite it was not then on property owned by the \Vyan and even bu lldozers have been used in an effort dotte estate, disputes arose and the entrance was to get to the unknown regions but all to no avail. closed about 40 years ago. F rom then until 1947, Saltpeter Cave keeps its secret passageways well when the small cave was purchased by Mr. F rank hi dden. Noone doubts that they are there- it is M . Rothrock. principal owner of the " big" cave, just getting into them that drives explorers no one entered L ittle vVyandotte Cave. frantic! In the old days a trip through the cavern was a T here are three commercial caves in Indiana : spelunker's delight, for it was necessary to cross \Vyandotte, L ittle 'Wyandotte and Marengo Caves. pits. climb steep walls, and crawl through low As one of the largest and best known caverns in tunnels. Now, however, it has been completely the country, the former has been written about "modernized" with steel bridges, concrete steps, and pictured so frequently in many ISS publica iron railings and an excellent indirect lighting tions that it wil1 be passed over in this article in system. order that more space may be devoted to those E ntering through an artific ial opening the vis caverns which are not as weU known to readers itor steps almost at once into a room the ceiling of the American Caver. of which is covered with dozens of stalactites T he entrance to Little 'Wyandotte Cave is lo whi ch fl ash and sparkle in the light of the fl ood cated 1,000 feet south of the 'Wyandotte Cave lamps. F rom here it is a short distance to what was formerly known as the "Doubl e P it", a thrill ing spot where two pits are separated by a narrow ridge of sli ppery stone. T he route now crosses the shallower of these by means of a steel bridge, cer tain ly a far cry from earlier days when it was necessary to inch careful1 y along a muddy parti ti on of rock only a foot or so wide. T hen, prog ress was further compl icated by a larger fall en stalactite, about four feet in diameter, which lay di rectly across the narrow pathway. Now this cl anger is just a memory to the older speleologists and visitors see onl y the top of the deepest pit, whi ch is about 75 feet in depth. Despite rumors there is absolutely no accessibl e passage leading from the bottom of either pit, both of whi ch have been thoroughly explored by the author many times. Beyoncl the pits the path leads on to a higher Photo by George F. J ockson level, past an enormous Auted pill ar and fantasti c Fig. 6 . One end of the "rive r" in Wildcat Cave, Indiana. and curi ous groupings of stalactites and stalag The men in the picture are scientists who, with the mites to a spring-feci pool with water of extreme author, were searching for rare specimens of eye less fi sh in the cave stream. clearne . 62 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY The route once ended in a spot known as "Peri's Fortunately the owners of the land were \\'ise P ri son", where one passacreway is separated from enough to prevent breaking of the formations by the main channel by a row of slender pillars, each souvenir-seekers and the cave may be seen today but a few inches from its neighbor. T hi s lovely much as it was when found. It is now entered little grotto was the extent of exploration, and through an artificial opening and the two routes h om here it was necessary to retrace one's steps, shown to visitors, when combined, require in the back acro s the perilous pits, to the entrance, neighborhood of two hours to traverse. However, shortly after the cave was opened to the Marengo is the only large cave known to the publi c in 1947 it was felt that another opening to author which has a naturally smooth fl oor, there the . urface at thi s point wou ld be of benefit. and being an almost complete absence of breakdown in exploring and excavating more cave was opened in the entire part shown to touri ts. Its fl oor is and the whole is now exhibited to visitors. The also unique in that a large area of the main pas new exit makes unnecessary any retracing of sageway shows definite "ripple" marks which were steps, thus saving considerable time, left by the origin al cave river. Jam-packed as it is with formations of many Profe sor Clyde A. Malott of Indiana U niver- co lors, Little \IVyandotte is indeed a delightful ity devoted considerable study to these marks and "show" cave. The average visitor is usually sur reported that there was no doubt in hi mind but pri sed, upon leaving the cave, to find himself still what they were actually " ripples left in the solid within sight of the \i\ ' yandotte Cave hotel. It seems rock by the stream which formed the cave". inco nceivabl e that so much underground beauty Like all other commercial caves Marengo ha can be contained within such a small area. many fanci fully named rooms, passageways and De pite their proximity, there is absolutely no formations. T here are few hel ectites or gypsum connection between Little vVyandotte and "big" but the stalactites and talagmites certainly are \Vyandotte Cave. Many speleologi ts-inc1uding many and varied. the author- have looked long and arduously hop Possibl y the largest room is Mammoth Hall, ing to find such a conn ec ti on, but there is none. some 300 feet in length and 70 feet wide with a T he little cave is on a much higher level and of smooth ceiling and containing grotesquely shaped much more recent origin , geologicall y, than the speleothems, all pointed out and explained by the \'a t and far-flung reaches of the big cavern. guides. An interesting spot is Cave Hill Cemetery, Located also in Crawford Coun ty, one-third of where there are a number of beautiful stalagmites a mil e from the tow n of the same name is NIa and pillars, with, surprisingly, only a fe\\' very rengo Cave. Although probably the second largest short stalactites above them. Many of these for cave in I ndiana, it i much shorter than \ i\fyan mations are translucent, the most strikin O' being dotte and has no great pi les of fallen rock, or dubbed "\i\fashington's lVIonument". Composed of rugged pa 'sageways which seem to be character clear, sparkling calcium carbonate, standing five istic of that cave. Lying wholl y on one level with feet high and onl y two feet in circumference it is no pits or domes, its lack of great size is more - in the author's mind-the most beauti ful ight than made up for in the number, beauty and e-'\: in this part of the cave. ce ll ence of its formations, which literally fill some An unusual object along the ame route is a passageways and rooms. thin slab of limestone jutting out from under a It was discovered in September, 1883 when two ledge. When li ghtly tapped it gives out a holl ow children playing in a sinkhole spied an 01 enin cr sound not unlike that of a o-Cc1. lled 'jungle in the bottom. Consumed by the age-old curio ity drum" . If one happen to be in another part of that an unknown spot arouse, they peered down the cave when the slab is tapped it is one of the into the clark hole. To their awe-struck eye the eeriest sounds imaginable. ince it i in a 10nO' limits of the place seemed lost in infinity and they and open passageway the ound re\'erberates all hurried home to tell of their discoven·. T heir up and dO\\'n the channel, echoin O' and re-echoing, ·tory was repeated and within a fe w week neigh seemingly louder and louder ulltil one is almost bors had explored the cave almost to its present tempted to pull in hi s ears and da h for safety known limits. from the 1 ursuit of blood-thir ty savage. BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 63 By far the most wonderful room in Marengo through this part of the cave, none had eyer no and one of the mo. t beautiful rooms to be found ti ced the pa ll ettes until they were spied by :M. in any cave is Crystal Palace. This is a commer Seroni e-V ivian. a leading F rench speleologist to cial cave operator's dream : a room filled with all Wh0111 the author was showing some of the ] ndi manner of colorful cavernous formations. A l ana caves. \1I/e found a number of the unusual though the rest of the ca\'e is lighted by gasoline fl owstone formations all within an area of about lanterns carried by the guides. this part is shown ten feet. A s far as is known these are the only by an elaborate system of indirect li ghting and by pall ettes in any cave in .Lndi a na. a giant sea rchlight with different colored lenses. T here a re few fo rms of a nimal Ii fe in l\1a rengo :From the ceiling. about twenty-five feet high, Cave, possibly due to the fact that there has heen hang literall y thousands of straight, needle-like a door at its entrance since shortly a fter its cli s stalactites of varying lengths and colors. all so cO\·ery. This, and the continual passage of visit cl ose together that it seems impossibl e to fi nd an ors. may have prevented many animals f rOI11 en open space between them. N inety f eet in front tering a nd li ving therein . A lthough the guides across the far end of the room- is a huge mass report a f ew bats and mi ce none have been seen of .. tobacco lea f" pillars extendi ng from ceiling to by the author on hi s many trips into the cavern. fl oor. :\Jatmall )' this is cal led the "Pipe O rgan" . T he side wa ll s a re covered with fo rmations of T here a re many other caves in southern .Lndi all sizes. f rom tiny. feather-like stalactites to large ana. A mong them are the caves with the legends and rounded dome-like stalagmites. A ll sparkle of buried Indian sil ver, whi ch still persist to thi s brilliantly in the colored li ghts that a re fla shed on day in two wid ely separated parts o f th e caye them and on the vari ous ni ches of the room. Tt is area. caves like Dann er 's with a profusion o f fo r a wonderful di splay of underground beauty. mati ons. Trinkle Cavern. which P rofessor Malott Nearby P illared Palace is almost completely explored while searching fo r the answer to some fi ll ed with stalactites, stalagll1i tes and vari ed forms perplexing underground water prolJl ems . .l ug H ole of fl o\\' stone, all lovely to look upon, but \\· hose Ca ve rns \\'ith a 160-foot drop. caves \\'ith lakes beauty is dimll1ed by the much more lovely Crys and streams in them, dry caves. ca \'es \\'ith pos tal Palace. It \\'as in this part of :\[arengo that we sibl e prehi stori c rel11 ain s. caves namecl ancl un discovered the pall ettes as described in the Octo namecl. Each has peculi ar attractions of its o\\·n. ber. 19j3 NSS Ne\\·s . A lthough thousands o f vis each o ff ers dilTerent and exciting subterranean itors. many of them speleologists. had gone pruhlems to the speleological enthusiast. 6-J. .0JA TI ON;\ I, S I'ELEO L OG I CA L SOC I ETY Origin and Development of Caverns in the Beech Creek Limestone in Indiana By PRESTON McGRAIN1 and ORVILLE L. BANDY2 This detailed geological study of a portion of 11Idiana's lim estolle terwin is paired w ith another article herein 0 '11 that State's caves in all effort to sho'w that both th e technical a,lI d nO li -technical appl'oach to cave st/ldy IS 11 ecessary to a. proper evaluation of its 111 any-sided 'IIatnre. I NTRODUCTION and Clay Counties to Harri son, Crawford, and The purpose of this paper is to describe four Perry Counties al ong the Ohio River. Along the ca\'e1'll S de\'eloped in the Beech Creek limestone Ohi o R iver the Beech Creek limestone extends in Indiana. to discuss theori es as to their origin from western Harrison County, where it is pres and development, and point out some of their ent on the higher ridges and hills, to ea tern Perry characteristics . The caverns cl escribed herein are \.ounty. At the town of Derby, Perry County, located in O range, Martin, and Greene Counties, the Beech Creek may be viewed continuou ly for Indiana ( fi g. 1). T he investigati ons of these cav ern systems included primarily the maj or map pable portion of each cavern system and did not encompass all of the remote and generally inac cessible passageways. Cave traverses were accom pli shed by means of a Brunton compass and steel tape. Other cavernous openings in the Beech Creek limestone ha\'e been entered but not mapped in detail. They are located in Martin County east of Shoals and nea r Newark in northeastern Greene County. They exhibit the patterns and character isti cs or those described below. The Beech Creek limestone is the eighth mem ber of the Chester Series. U pper Mississippian, in Indiana. T he name Beech Creek was proposed by Malott (19]9. p, 11 ) from its excell ent expo sures along Beech Creek in Greene County, Indi ana. Its position with respect to the overlyi ng .HUNTINGBURG Cypress 3 sandstone makes it a conspicuous litho logic and stratigraphic unit and an e-,cell ent hori zon fo r mapping structure. The physical features of the Beech reek lime stone. as described by Malott (1919, p. 11 ). are present from its most northerl y outcrops ill Owen I Kcntucky Gcological Survey. 2U nivcrsity of Southern California, .1T he correlation of this formation with the Cypress Fig. 1. Geolographic and stratigraphic location of the 'sandstone of Illinois is in doubt. For the purpose of this caves described in this report. Stratigraphic section vaper the Indiana outcrop nomencl ature is being' used. adopted from Malatt et al (1948). BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 65 a di stance o f approximately one-fourth of a mile syh'ania System. None of the area under discus al ong the O hi o River when that stream is at low sion has been subj ected to glacial action. H ow stage. The fo rmation consists of two or more ever, blocking of drainage lines in the "American massi\'e- to thin-bedded ledges with a total thick Bottoms" region in P leistocene times has caused ness of 8 to 24 feet, and an average thickness of the valleys to be fill ed a great many feet with silts about 15 feet. The formation is invariably mas and clays. For details of the physiography in the sive appearing on the outcrop. It is the thickest "American Bottoms" region the reader is referred in Greene and Owen Counties and graduall y thins to Malott (191 9). to the south. One of the most striking fea tures T he geologic structure of the area is relatively of the Beech Creek is the presence of two con simple. T he region is welI down the gently dip spi cuous sets of joints. O ne set of joints runs in ping western fl ank of the Cin cinnati Arch adja a general north-south directi cn : th e second set o f cent to the broad structural Illinois Basin. T he joints, aligned approximately normal to the first, normal dip o f the strata is sli ghtly south of west, runs east and west. Both sets of join t planes are about 35 feet to the mil e. T he structure is usuall y essentiall y vertical. T hi s jointing characteristi c quite simple. though it does possess small irregu all y causes the formation to break up into cubical larities o f dip and changes of directi on of dip. blocks where it is exposed in weathered outcrops. T erraces and slight fJ extures have been found. T he stone is gray, hard. compact to sub-oolitic, T he Beech Creek limestone forms the most im and contain s large 1ll1111hf' rs of foss il s. principall y pOl·tant spring bearing hori zon of any of the brachi opods. The most conspi cuous faunal fea Chester formations. Locally openings have been tu re of the Beech Creek is the presence of large, enl arged until they have reached cavernous pro white crinoid stems whi ch protrude from the portions. The lithologic and structural features weathered surface in a very striking manner. In of the Beech Creek, combined with the character Indiana these large crinoid stems serve to distin istic features of the overlyin g and underl yin g for gui sh the Beech Creek from all other Chester fo r mations. produce a condition particul arl y favor mations. Prod1f.cllls il/f latlls is also present in able for the development of these karst features . g reat numbers. T he Cypress fo rmation, whi ch overlies the Beech O ne of the best datum planes for use in draw Creek limestone. is characteri stically a thick, mas ing structural contours is the contact between the sive, and porous sandstone whi ch co llects precipi Beech Creek limestone and the overlying Cypress tation, runoff, and subsurface waters. T hese wa sandstone. T he extreme regul a ri ty in thickness ters move freely in the sandstone until they reach of the Beech Creek, the presence 0 f bold springs the massive Beech Creek lim estone, where the below, the massive character of the sandstone in downward percolating waters are concentrated in connection with its pos ition immed iately overly streams al ong the pronollnced joint planes and in g the limestone, render the contact easy to rec bedding planes. T he upper strata or the subjacent ogni ze and serve readil y to di stingui sh it frolll E lwren formation are characteri sticall y gray shale other limestone co ntacts in the Chester. or sil tstone. ]~J ere th e downward mO\'ement of th e water is obstructed. and it then moves laterall y to Physiographicall y, the area of ex posure of the the surface. Thus, it is at the contact of the Beech Deech Creek limestone is located entirely within Creek limes tone and E lwren shale that springs the Crawford U pland. T he region is an upland are most common. Many o f these springs are area composed of diverse bed rock strata in a fairly large and di scharge yolumes of water in the highl y dissected state. Stream eros ion has prac magnitude o f 10,000 gall ons per day. 'W here so ticall y everywhere cut deeply into or through the lu tion has been carried on to a greater degree. Illany geological units. and ex posures are very caverns have been fo rmed. C01ll11l 0n. especially in the case of the massive sandstones. T he Chester Series , consisting o f DESCRII"r JO NS OF 'I'll E C\VES aiternating sa ndstones or shales and limestones, Caves have long excited interest in Indiana. a comprises the greater pa rt o f the strata o f the state possessing an abunclance of karst features. Crawford upland. T he hi ghest hills and ridges However, little attention has been given to cayerns are capped with Mansfi eld sandstone of the Penn- developed in the Beech Creek limestone. lioth 66 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Ray's Cave and American Bottoms caves were upper 3 or 4 feet. The characteristic fossil ele mentioned by Malott ( 1919, p. 15) in connection ments of the upper zone are an abundance of with hi s discussion of the physical characteristics large crinoid stems and large specimens of Pro and physiographic importance of the Beech Creek du ctus inflatus. U nderl ying the upper zone is a limestone in the "American Bottoms" region. layer of gray- to brown, thin-bedded limestone Esarey's (1939. p. 3) report of Indiana caverns 2.6 feet thick, the individual layers of which includes a brief description of American Bottoms range from 3 to 4 inches in thickness. Beneath Cave. Neither of the abO\'e reports includes maps the thin-bedded zone is a basal section of massive, nor detailed descriptions of these caves. To the coarsely crystalline limestone 5 feet thick. The writer's knowledge, neither Bear Cave nor T ow cave entrance is 7.2 feet high and 9.2 feet wide. Cave have been described in Indiana literature. At the entrance, 2 sets of joints are visible, in Although the latter caverns are not as large nor addition to the set along which the passageway is as well-known as the former, they exhibit the developed. One set strikes N. 82° E. and the same joint control pattern which characterize other N. 13 ° W. Beech Creek limestone caverns. In general, the main body of the cave is devel Bear Cave.- The southernmost of the caves in oped at or near the base of the Beech Creek. The vesti gated in this study is Bear Cave which is roof is generally flat with only occasional sculp located in the southeast corner of sec. 5. T. 1 N., turing and fluting ; there is an absence of deposi R. 2 vV., on the east side of a co unty road, 1% ti onal features. Three prominent sets of joints mil es north of the F rench Lick Country Club, occur in the lower portion of the Beech Creek and about 1 ~ mil es west of the center of French limestone, one set striking roughly S. 82-83° E., Lick ( fig . 2). A spring discharges from the cave a second set S. 14-1 6° E .. and a third set N. at all times. 82-84° E. As one proceeds past Point A ( fi g. 2). The Beech Creek limestone, exposed at the the cave becomes rapidly lower and wider indicat mouth of the cave, is 14.5 feet thick. Overlying ing a change from predominantly joint control to the Beech Creek is the thin, shaly, and fla ggy bedding plane control, and this trend culminates Cypress sandstone, whi le underneath about 2 feet beyond Point B where the passageway is 20 feet of the upper part of the E lwren shal e is exposed. wide and about 2 feet high. The end of the cave Here the Beech Creek lim estone may be subdi appears to be in the base of the massive upper vided 1nto three zones. ;-\ n upper zo ne, 7 feet zone, and it is undoubtedly due to the massive thick, is composed of massi\'e, coarsely crystalline character of such stratum that the upper reaches limestone with an abundance of fossi ls in the of the cave are expansive along the bedding plane. TOLCI c;ave.-Tow Cave is located in the north N. east corner of sec. 21 , T. 3 N., R. 3 \N. The entrance is near an abandoned quarry east of a bridge across a tributal'Y of Beaver Creek, ap \ \ ".,," ... " •• •• ,,,. proximately 1/ 4 mile north of former U . S. ~<,;;~ enf'ance fa fhls~ pa inf Highway 50, which is about 3/ 4 mile west of the entrance to Martin County State Forest (fig. 3). The secti on exposed at the entrance to T ow BEAR CAVE Cave consists of 11 feet of Cypress sandstone 100 I overl ying about 15 feet of Beech Creek limestone. Scole in feel The upper 10 feet of the ypress is massive, the lower one foot is composed of a thin-bedded, Aaggy sandstone. The upper 8 feet of Beech Fig. 2. Sketch map of Bear Cave near French lick, Creek limestone is massive. somewhat crystalline Orange County, Indiana. A spring emerges from the cave and fossi li ferous in character. whereas the lower mouth. South of this locality caverns are not well devel 7 feet of exposed Beech Creek is thin to medium oped in the Beech Creek because of the thinning of the bedded and massive appearing limestone, also limestone interval. BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 67 crystalline and somewhat fossiliferous in part. There is considerable etching, fluting, and sculp The excellent joint-controlled system of Tow turing present, caused by the downward moving Cave is readily apparent, as seen in figure 3. There waters. The main accessible passage is terminated appears to be a highly complicated joint system at a moderate sized room full of collapsed ma with about 5 sets indicated in the cave diagram. terial ; the ceiling is in the Cypress sandstone. In The micaceous Cypress sandstone forms the ceil- general, there is pronounced joint-control through out with local expansion laterally along bedding planes. American Bottoms Cavern.-The upstream en trance of American Bottoms Cavern, which is located in the northeast corner of section 26, T. 7 N., R. 4 W., l ;Jt,1 miles southwest of Ridge port on Indiana Highway 54, is a cave-inlet for the storm waters of Bridge Creek. The initial opening is in massive Cypress sandstone just a few feet above the Beech Creek limestone. Tim ber and other debris blocks much of the opening. The water.s of Bridge Creek come to the surface N. nearly two miles southwest of this point (Malott, 1919, fig. 8 ) . This cavern is hazardous and difficult to tra verse and should be entered only during dry pe t riods. Storm waters deposit mud on all surfaces. Downstream portions of the system contains nu merous deep pools of water. The present mapping was pursued only in the more accessible upper portion in order to record the magnificent joint control governing development of the passages. TOW CAVE Access to passages beyond the mapped area (fig. 4) may be gained by descending a rope or a lad o 100 , , , , der to a level 10 feet below. Scale In feet Except for the entrance to cavern, which is a low crawl way, the mapped passages are narrow, the height being several times as great as the width. \iV here the Cypress sandstone forms the roo f it may exhibit the same joint pattern as the underl ying limestone. Evidences of great quantities of waters cours in g the passages are on all sides. Decorative cave Fig . 3 . Sketch map af Tow Cave east of Shoals, Martin deposits are lacking. It is a great cavern in youth County, Indiana. A spring emerges fram the cave mouth. ful stage of development. The main passageway is terminated by collapse material. Ra.y's Cav e.-Ray's Cave is located in the cen ing along much of the route and is probably pres tral portion of the northern 1/ 2 of Sec. 13, T. 7 ent at the upper termination of narrow joints N., R. 4 \lIl ., about 1/ 4 mil e north of Ridgeport along most of the passageways. At Point A (fig. on Indiana State Highway 54. The town of 3) there is a room approximately 10 feet long in Bloomfield, county seat of Greene County. li es a northwest-southeast direction and 5 feet wide. about 7 miles west of the cave and Beech Creek T he cei ling of the room is formed by the Cypress is about 1/2 mile to the north. A large spring di s sandstone, about 15 or 16 feet above the floor. charges water from a gaping cave openin o·. 68 NATION AL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY The Beech Creek lim estone at the entrance to running water is dominant just within the en Ray's Cave is 24 feet thiclc It is overlain by mas trance to the cave but is present in other passages. sive Cypress sandstone and underl ain by argilla Small amounts of dripstone are present locally in ceous and sandy E lwren strata. As described by the form of rather poorly developed stalactites. C. A. Malott ( 1919, p. 12 ) the Beech Creek lime T he main portion of the cave maintains a rather stone approached its maximum thickn ess in this uniform height and width, and is conspicuously joint controlled. ntrance SUMMARY (Waters of Bridoe Creek enter her• . ) Ca verns developed in the Beech Creek lime - stone of Indiana strikingly reAect the physical characteristics of this formation. T he main pas N. sages are joint controlled ; they are narrow, tall, and turn frequently at abrupt angles. Side pas sages at intersecting right angles are common. These caverns are in youthful stage of develop 1 ment. Streams course the main arteri es at all sea sons. Decorative dripstone and Aowstone forma tions are rare. Rockfalls and collapse features are also rare except where the surface cover is thin. The outcrop of the Beech Creek limestone "AMERICAN BOTTOMS" CAVE forms the 111 0st important spring-bearing hori zon o b lIfO Sc~'. in f;'t CoiloPMd material Fig. 4. Sketch map of portion of "American Bottoms" Cave on Bridge Creek in eastern Greene County, Indi ana. The waters of Bridge Creek disappear into the en trance of this cavern and reappear two miles to the southwest of this point. The cave is characterized by RAY'S CAVE narrow passages and high ceilings. '00, SColf in ffel vici nity. T he limestone exposed at the entrance i grayish, compact, crys talline and fossili ferous. The characteri stic large, well -preserved crinoid Fig. 5 . Sketch map of Ray's Cave near Ridgeport, Greene stems stand out prominently on weathered sur County, Indiana. The main passage is terminated by a faces both in the cavern passages and along the mass of fallen rock. The amount of water which emerges va ll ey wall. from beneath this collapse material suggests the pres ence of considerable additional cave beyond this point. T he entrance to Ray's Cave is about IS feet Opportunity for cavern development in the Beach Creek wiel e and 11 feet high. Apparently three sets of in the northern part of Owen County, the next county ta joints entered into the development of the major the north, decreases appreciably because only a part of the Lower Chester series is present here below the Penn- portion of the cave. Facetting and sculpturing by sylvanian overlap. BULLETI N NUlVIBER 16, D ECEMBER 1954 69 of any of the Chester formations. Locally open and cle\'e!opment of Bear, Ray's, ancl Tow Caves ings have been enlarged until they reach cavern can be explained in this manner. E nl argement is ous proportions described above. The Cypress still continuing. Modification clue to collapse and formation, which overlies the Beech Creek lime diversion of surface waters through sinkholes is stone, is characteristically a thick, massive, jointed, m1110 r. and porous sandstone which collects precipitation, The initial openings in the American Bottoms runoff, and subsurface waters. In the highly di s cavern system were fo rmed in the same manner. sected Crawford Upland physiographic region. E nlargement has taken place, ancl is taking place, where major drainage lines have cut through these as a result of the invasion of waters from Bri dge Chester formations. waters move freely in the Creek. Cypress sandstone until they reach the massive REFERENCES C IT ED Beech Creek limestone, where downward perco ESAREY, R. E . (1939) Gllide 10 Illdialla Caverll s, I nd. lating waters are concentrated in streams along Dept. Conservation, Div. Geo!. , mimeo., 16 pp. MALOTT, C. A. (1919) The "American Bottollls" "egioll the pronounced joint planes and bedding planes. of eastern G,'eclle CO llllt )/, 11ldialla, Ind. Univ. Studies, The upper strata of the subjacent Elwren are vol. VI, Study No. 40, 61 pp. MALOTT, C. A., ESAREY, R. E., and BIEIlERMAN, D. F. characteristicall y gray shale or siltstone. H ere the ( 1948) G ll idl!/;oo/~ : Upper alld M~ ·iddl e Mississippiall downward movement of water is obstructed, and fonllot iolls of Sou.th em 11ldiolla. Second Annual Indi ana Geologic Field Conference, B loomington, Ind., it then moves laterall y to the surface. The origin mimeo., 26 pp. 70 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Origin and Development of Sea Caves By DAVI 0 G. MOORE1 All Photos by the Author Depa1'tment of Geology, U'IIiversit)1 of Southen~ California, Los A ngeles T he cave scientist, 1110?'e fa1m: liar with limestone caverns because of their relat'£vely lm'ge areal extent, w ill find this article of especial interest bewuse it deals with al10t her ty pe of cave, less familiar, pedlaps, but equally importallt to speleology, I K TRODUCTION formation of a protective beach at its base. In recent years, considerable attention has been Assuming the above conditions to be fulfilled, gi ven to the geologic processes of shore lines, The one might expect that all sea caves would be formation and destruction of beaches, the origin formed under similar environmental conditions, of marshes, and many other related littoral phe and that the appearance of the caves would not nomena ha \'e been investigated and described. vary to a great degree. Actually this is not the Strangely enough, one of the most interesting of case. Caves at the junction of sea and land are a shore processes, the formation of sea caves, has part of the littoral environment and as such are been almost completely neglected, subject to many variables. The size and direction This paper is concerned with sea caves in gen of prevailing waves, the accessibility to storm eral, and some of the more obvi ous processes waves, the magnitude of the tides, the strength which act to create, enlarge, and destroy them. and direction of long shore currents, and currents A classifi cation of sea caves based on geologic within the cave itself, all are important factors in structures which bring about their origin is in the environment of sea caves. Other variables, cluded, and certain features of individual caves, partially dependent on those above, are the nature visited by the author, are discussed for their par of the sea bottom both off-shore and within the ticular interest. cave. "Vhether the bottom is bed rock, sand, or Field work for this paper consisted of an ex boulders; whether it is of gentle or steep slope amination of the sea caves along the southern Cal will affect the final el1\'ironmental picture. Finally i fornia coast - notably those of Palos Verdes the organisms which inhabit the cave locality and Hills, Catalina Island, Corona Del Mar, and La li ve within the cave itself will be affected by all J oll a. of the variables and may themselves play an im A thorough coverage of the geology of sea portant role in the formation and enlargement of caves is not the purpose of this article. The author caves. attempts onl y to di scuss features and problems of CAVE FORMATION caves which became apparent during hi s limited Differential E1'osion investigati on. Erosion and weathering are the basic processes ENVIRON MEN T OF SEA C AYES involved in the formation, enlargement, and de Cayes can develop on shorelines only under a struction of sea caves. These processes, howe\'er. special set of conditions. The prerequi ite concli \\·ill not in themselves form caves, as is ho\\'n by ti ons of cave formation are : ( 1) the pre ence of the many miles of exposed sea cliffs on our coa ts a sea cliff whi ch is in direct contact with the ero \\'hich are devoid of caves. In order that caves sive force of the waves and current : (2) the may result frol11 erosional proce ses on such exposed face of the cli ff must contain certain ;eo coasts. the exposed rocks of the cliff face mu_t logic structures. or textures, which will allo\\' th contain \\'ithin them zones of weaknes which ,,;ll establi .. hment of differential erosion: ,~ ) the rock be more easily eroded than the remainder of the o f which the cli ff is composed must be o f a suffi li ff. A weak zone may be caused by a yarie _' of cient! y resistant nature so as to prevent the mpid o'eolo:,;ic phenomena. For example. i may be structural such as folding. fa llting. or _iointing : J Present address : Scripps Institution of Occall og-ra!l h~ '. or tratigraphic ucll as unconformities. irr (Tular La J oll a, Calii. BULLET I N NUMBER 16, D ECEMBE R 195-+ 71 cementation, et(:. These features which bring is also removed by the hydraulic a(:tion of the about differential erosion are discussed in greater water and by the impact of materi al in suspension. detail under the classification of sea caves. Solution by sea water. In the absence of strong Erosional P,'ocesses wave action, or where the waves carry no material in suspension or traction, chemical action or solu Dynamic Erosion. By far the most powerful tion may become an important factor in the en agent of erosion which would attack an incompe largement of a zone of weakness within a sea cliff. tent zone in a sea cliff is the physical force of This is probably true, however, onl y when the cliff waves and their accompanying load of rock frag or its included zone of weakness is composed of a ments and sand particles. Fragmental material more soluble rock, such as limestone. Solution of carried in suspension by waves is of primary im carbonate rocks as a result of contact with sea portance because of the powers of abrasion which water must be a slow process even under ideal this material possesses. For this reason, the erosive conditions, because the warm surface waters of power of waves varies directly with the supply of the sea are known to be nearly saturated with cal suspended material. cium carbonate. The acti on of solution will greatl y In addition to material in suspension, waves aid in forming sea caves under certain conditions, also carry material of relatively larger sizes by however, as is illustrated by the Blue Grotto traction ( rolling and sliding). The tractional load Caves on the I sle of Capri in the Mediterranean is of great importance in the shallower waters Sea. where caves are generally formed. Evidence of The soluti un uf limestone is known to be acti the hi gh erosive power of waves with a large trac vated by pres ure (Kuenen, 1950 ) . Thus. the ti onal load is displayed by the under cut channels pressure exerted by waves as they strike a cliff which lead into the caves of Inspimtion and Port face may cause a more rapid rate of solution than uguese Points in Palos Verdes Hills, California. would be in effect du,ring periods of calm. A cross-section of these channels would reveal a greater width at the bottom where they are being CAVE ENLARGEMENT more actively cut by sliding and rolling particles. O nce an initial depression is formed in the face Storm waves, although they occur during rela of a cliff , enlargement progresses both la terall y tively small 6me intervals, are as important as and vertically. In some cases, an initial depression normall y occurring waves in the erosion of cliffs. in the form of a fissure or open joint may be The importance of storm waves results from the brought into contact with the sea after formationt tremendous pressures which they are able to exert. as a result of change in sea level. In this case. the According to K uenen ( 1950), p ressures of 132,- work of the waves is shortened and enlargemen t 300 kilograms per square meter have been meas may begin at once. Basicall y. the same forces are ured on the Scottish coasts by means of dynamo at work in the enlargement of fis sures or initial meters. K uenen believes that the small gaps of depressions as were effective in the first stages of bedding planes, joints, and other openings, which cave formation. are exposed to the great pressures of storm waves vVeathering. As the depression becomes larger, are. in effect, subjected to a wedging action result portions of it become out of reach of normal wave ing from compressed air. He further believes action. In these portions of a cave, weathering that, as the wave recedes the air is allowed to assumes importance as a factor of enlargement. es(:ape with an explosive violence which loosens Several examples of this may be cited. The caves and eventuall y ca rries with it small and large on Inspiration Point in the Palos Verde. Hill s blocks of rock. are formed in intrLl sive basalt. whi ch is exten It is reasonable to assume that this effect of sively jointed. The roofs of the caves. althougli compressed air is of fundamental importance in sel'lom touched by so li d waves of I·vater. are ex the formation of caves. and that the same C0111- posed to atmospheric weathering, aid ed by spray pres ion occurs as a result of normal wave action. from the waves. As a res ul t of this weathering HOlVel·er. it is probably onl y effecti ve in removing along the joint planes, large blocks have been particles IV hi ch have been previously loosened dur loosened and have fa ll en into the rather shall ow ing periods of 10 1V tide. Loose weathered material water belolV. P rocesses sLl ch as these are continu- 72 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY all y occurring on a much small er and less obvious water, or filling of the cave as a result of a change scale and contribute signifi cantly to the enl arge- in the equilibrium of the erosive and depositional ment of caves. . characteristics of the shore lin e. U ndoubtedly , Another example of the effecti veness of weath many other methods of destruction occur, but a ering in caves is found in Painted Cave on Santa thorough listing of all possible methods does not Cruz Island. T hi s cave is a result of differential seem essential. One example of cave 'destruction erosion of volcanic breccia (agglomerate) de by the action of rain water may be seen on the posits within the basalt cli ffs o f the northeast side beach at the southwestern edge of La J oll a, where of the I sland (Emery). The entrances to tvvo of the roofs of several cave have been cut through, the large chambers of thi s cave are only a few leaving onl y a large deep crack in the cl iff face feet above sea level, yet their ceilings are very (fig. I ) . high. Evidently the roof has been considerably C LASSIFI CATION OF SEA CAVES heightened by the weathering of the agglomerate In order to classify ea waves geologicall y, It IS matrix and the subsequent falling of particles to necessary to choose a basis fo r classificati on. A the water below. In a cave such as this, with a classifi cati on coul d be made using the li thology of small restricted opening, the air is saturated at all the sea cliff as a basis, but such a system would times with water vapor which must speed up de have several defects. For example, a single cave compositi on of the rocks. may intersect several rock types, also several kinds In a small er cave, with a relati vely large open of caves may occur within any given rock type. ing, it seems unlikely that the atmosphere 'would The physiographi c ch aracteri stics of a sea cave be at all times saturated with water vapor. H ow ever, it is possible that a higher humidity might be fo und at the back portions of even a small cave, which would aid in corrosion of ceiling and wall rocks. Solution by Ground \Vater. Another factor in the enlargement of caves is the action of percolat ing ground water. If the water tabl e within the rocks intersects any portion of a cave, the solu ti on of cementing media will loosen the rock con stituents and contribute to weathering and enlarge ment of th.e cave. Organi sms. Organi sms also have a role in the ,enl argement of caves. Certain boring organi sms 'S uch as chitons and echinoderms commonly in habit sea caves and their borings are signifi cant il"! t he weathering of the underwater and tide wetted pO I·ti ons of the caves. T hese organisms show pref ,erence for certain rock types, such as sandstone. For this reason they may be fo und in great abund ance in some caves. while in others they may be completely absent. An example of the wo rk of organi sms is found in the caves of La Joll a, Cali fornia. where chi tons have pock-marked much of t he lower portions of cave wall s. D ESTRUCTION OF S EA CAVES Destructi on of caves may result from several d ifferent pheli omena. Most obvious among these is collapse of the roof. Other methods of destruc Fig. 1. Showing the destruction of a cave roof by rain tion are erosion of the roof from above by rain wash, La Jalla, California. BULLETIN NUMBE R 16, D E CE M BER 1954 73 could be used as a basis for classification, but the open spaces. Faulting commonly forms breccias classification would be purely descriptive and or gouge which fi ll openings in the fault plane or would imply nothing as to the origin of the cave. occupy a zone between the two relatively undis Probably the most logical classification would be turbed rock masses on either side of the fault. As one which is based on the method of origin, but a result of this crushing and fracturing of rocks the method of origin of all sea caves known to the on a fault plane, and the weakening of adjacent author is differential erosion of the face of a sea rocks, faults are ideal structures for the forma cliff. Differential erosion will result, however, tion of sea caves. :Many examples of fault caves only when there are certain structures present are found along the California coast ( fi g . 2). within the cliff face. It is on these structures that the author's classifi cation is based; therefore the classification must be in reference to various structures rather than to caves themselves. It should be remembered in reading the classifica tion, however, that each structure listed is capable of forming a sea cave, if it intersects sea level and is exposed to wave action. Also, not only does the origin of sea caves depend upon these structures, but in addition the dimensions and the shape of the cave after formation are largely the result of the ori ginating structure. Structures responsible for the formation of sea caves by di fferential erosion are as foll ows: Fig. 2. A cave resulting from faulting, Inspiration Point, 1. F ractures and fracture structures resulting Palos Verdes Hills, California. Note the irregular ceil ing, developed because of complex jointing in the basalt. from deformation. A. Faults J oints. Certain cracks within rocks are ori ented B. Joints in such a way as to divide the rocks into well C. Breccias defined blocks. Such cracks are termed joints. 1. F ri ctional breccias Joints are classifi ed by Lahee ( 1941 ) on the basis 2. Volcanic breccias of their fo rmation by tension or compression. 3. Intrusion breccias Tension joints form as the result of cooling of II. O ri ginal structures resulting from deposi ingenous rocks. loss of mass. rock alteration in tion or consolidati on. sedimentary rocks, and various other processes. A. Depositional structures Compression joints include those formed by re 1. Strati fi cation gional deformation, and by expansion of rocks 2. Variations within a given stratum upon chemi cal alteration. The majority of the 3. U ni formities extensive joi nt systems in stratified rocks result B. Consolidation structures from compressi on. 1. Irregular cementation 2. Internal structures of lava Hows Joints are probably the most im portant truc tures which result in the formation of sea caves. FRACTURES AND FRACTU RE STRUCTURES T he presence of a well-developed set of large RESULTJ TG FROM DEFORMATION joints in a sea cliff allows wave action to first Faults. Faults may be defin ed as fractures enl arge the joint opening. and then to concen within rock masses along which there has been trate the attack of abrasive agents in the fi s ure. slippage. The effectiveness of a fault in forming In addition to large joints being the primary con a sea cave depends on the size of the fault, the trol of cave formation. smaller sets of joints are amount of fracturing and weakening of rocks ad very effective in speeding up the processes of en jacent to the fault, and to some extent on its age, largement of caves regard less of their primary since a recent fault is less likely than an ancient control. Sea caves formed as the result of joint- one to have strong cementing material within i"ts 1Il g arc among the most common types of south- 74 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ern Cali fo rnia. T he famous La Joll a caves among magma into sediments is often accompanied by others are primarily of this origin (fig. 3). much brecciation due to the forces of expansion Breccia. The term breccia refers to a group of and to the rapid temperature changes. This type angular fragments which have been broken by of brecciation is a margin al feature of intrusive various methods and are contained in a matrix of bodies and could possibly result in a structure the same or different compositions. Breccias as which would cause the formation of a sea cave. a result of their fragmentary nature, are more T he second process, which occurs only to a lim easily eroded than are homogenous rocks. For ited extent in certain intrusions, is the formation this reason, a brecciated zone within an exposed of li mestone dikes. Limestone dikes develop when e.1. cliff may be expected to develop into a sea in trusive bodies are implaced under a thin cover cave providing its dimen ions are withi n reason. of calcareous sediments on the sea fl oor. under F riction breccias are formed as a result of me conditions such as these, the intrusive mass will chanical stresses acting within the earth. T hese be highl y f ractured and brecciated by contact with breccias are in the form of shatter zones or fault the moist sediment . ifacdonald ( 1939) beJi eyes breccias. Shatter zones may be independent of that the limestone dikes of Palos Verdes were any faulting ; fault breccias are sometimes local formed when calcareous ooze from the sea fl oor, ized within a fault plane and for thi s reason are a short distance above the intrusion, moved down included as di stinct tructures, rather than under into t he fractures and cemented together the frag faults. ments of the breccias. Along the Palos "\ erdes H ill s coa t, there are several locations at which limestone dikes are exposed to wave action and the more rapid erosion of the dikes relative to the enclosing basalt has formed sea caves. T wo uch caves are located on Portuguese Point in Palo · Verdes Hills ( fi g. 4 ). I t i probable that sea caves of thi s origin are relatively common in shallow intrusive bodies. but they are often mi staken for fault caves. ORIGI TAL STRUCT RES RES LTIKG F ROM DEPOSITION OR CON OLIDATION Depo itional Structure. Stratification in edi mentary rocks may in some instances include a seq uence of competent and incompetent rocks. If trata of thi s nature is incl in ed relative to sea level and exposed to ero ion in a sea cliff, it foll ows th at diffe rrntial erosion would take place and ea caves would de\·elop. t Corona Del Ivlar, Cali fornia. the ea cliff are made up of Tertiary. Fig. 3 . A cave formed along joint planes, La Jolla, Cali fornia. Note the rectangular cross section. Monterey shale. which is highly fractured and jointed. Certain beds \\'ithin the formation al pear Volcanic breccias, or agglomerates, result from to be less resistant to erosion and, where the e are violent ejection by volcanic explosions and are in ("o ntact with the erosive powers of waves. small therefore associated with lava Aows. T he com caves are developed. It i uncertain whether the bination of hard resistant volcanic rock and inter formation of the caves is totall y the re ult of calated agglomerate depo its fo rms an ideal con stratification, as the enti re formati on is complexly cl ition for differential erosion. T he extensive de folded and jointed. velopment of sea caves in agglomerate is shown Variations within a given stratum may con i t of by the many caves of thi s origin on Santa ruz such sedimentary features as :' the len ing or Island. pinchina-out of a given beel. r lateral yariations I ntrusion breccia may be formed by two sepa in texture, porosity and permeabil ity. lthough ra te and distinct processes. F ir t . the intru ion of these features could re ult in ave formation, it i BULLETIN NUMBER 16, D ECEMBER 1954 75 doubtful that they are of any great importance. planes of weakness and there are conceivably U nconformities represent a period of erosion of many such structures which would form sea caves exposed rock, followed by the deposition of addi- if in the proper environment. Consolidation structures. Cementation of clastic deposits is sometimes of an irregular nature due to variations in porosity, permeability, and supply of cementing media. These irregul arities in ce mentati on may cause zones which are relatively soft and more easily eroded. Such structures are rare, however, and sea caves formed as a result of this phenomenon must be very uncommon. Internal structures of lava fl ows result from the preservation of fl ow structures and gas bubbles in cooled lava. Lava tubes also are formed by the hardening of an outer crust beneath which the less viscous lava moves. These various features cause lava fl ows to be well suited for the forma tion of sea caves. Stearns and Macdonald ( 1936) in di scussing the geology of Hawaii, state that "The clinkery beds, tubes and other internal struc tures in the late lava fl ows, where subjected to wave attack, give rise to spectacular spouting horns, caves, natural bridges, and stacks." REFERENCES CITED CLARKE, F . F., 1920, The Data of Geochemistry: U. S. Geolog ical Su.I·vey Bnll. 695, pp. 126-1 29; also in B IIIl . 770, pp. 130-133. Fig. 4. A cave formed along a limestone dike, Portu E LLI S. A. ] ., and LEE, C. H ., 1919, Geology and Ground guese Point, Palos Verdes Hills, California. This cave ",Tater of the \ Vestern Part of San Diego County, extends through the point and opens onto a cove to the Califo rnia : U. S. Geo logical Su·rvey T,Vaicl' Supply Papcr 446. pp. 22-25 . northeast. EMERY, K . 0., 1950, Perscnal communication. HANN A. :M. A., 1926, Geology of the La ] olla Quad ti onal material. If fi ssures were formed on the rangle : Ulliv. Ca lifol'1/ ia Pnu. ·in Geolog. Sc·i., vol. 16. K UENE N, PH. H., 1950, "Marine Geology," T,Vile:y & eroded surface during the period of erosion the SOliS, N ew York, pp. 221-223. superposition of additional clastic material would LHIEE, F . H., 1941, "F ield Geology," Fourth Edition, JlI{cGraw-f!·ill, III C., N ew York. form clastic dikes. T hese clastic dikes would be ST EAIl NS, H. T., and MA CDO NALD, G. A ., 1946, "Geology probable structures for the development of differ and Ground \Vater Resources of the I sland of Ha waii: Hawaii Division of Hydrology, BIIII . 9, pp. 51- ential erosion. U nconformities in general are 53. 76 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Supplelllental Report on Mineralogy of New River Cave By JOHN w. MURRAY All Photos by the Author Professor of Chemistr)', Virgillia Polytecl11lic Institute The extell t to w hich th e study of cave llIillemls req uiTes precise scientific methods of study ,is ably illustrated herewith by the author w ho ranks as oll e of the Society's most competellt ·mineralogists. Several trips to New River Cave have been bubbling the gas through a solution of Ba(OH)2 made by members of the Committee on Fortlla to test for CO~ . Only a faint turbidity was ob tions and :Mineralogy of the VPI Grotto of the tained with the quartz tube at room temperature N .S.S. since the original report on this cave was but a dense precipitate appeared on heating which written a little over a year ago. lVIore data on shows that the black deposit contain s carbon . temperatures and water composition have been The questi on remains as to how the carbon was obtained, several new obsen 'atiull s on mineral devosited, by smoke from fi res in the cave, from occurrences have been made and chemical analy es forest fires, from the railroads in the valley be of several san.lples of cave deposits have been low, or perhaps by the carbonization of organic made. matter such as the white f ungus-like material Gypsum crystals ranging up to about a centi sometimes found on Aowstone in this part of the meter in length have been founel on the ceiling of cave. 'W hich, if any, of these is the origin has yet the Attic Room. A crust of fi ne crystals of gyp to be determined. A thin secti on of a stalactite sum has been found at the north end of the Pool coated with the bl ack depos it shows that the black Room. Formerly. gypsum had been observed only material has been covered with a very thin layer in the Gypsum Room which is near the innermost of calcite. T hus the conditions which prod uced part of the cave. the black deposit may no longer exist in the cave. In the outer part of the cave. everal localiti es Two facts whi ch should be considered in any at have been noted. (e.g., the Aowstone sheet in the tempt to explain this deposit are that the black large photograph publi shed in Bull etin Thirteen) layer is found in general on upper or vertical sur where a vari ety of cave deposits have been coated faces but not on downward facing surfaces and with a thin layer of a black material. Such black that the deposit is not uniform in covering a given coatings ha\'e been ascribed in the past to ca rbon area but leaves some parts uncoated. from the smoke of torches or to oxid es of man Additional samples of water have been obtained ganese. As mentioned in the ori ginal report, a from the ca \'e and analysed. Two of these-No. black coating on the rocks above the waterfall 62 and No. 67-were coll ected with a new type was shown to contain manganese. A sample of of sampling tube designed to obtain a sample of the black coating on the Aoo r of the \ \'inter For the drop hanging from a stalactite with as little est Room. which is a few hundred feet in side :he change a possibl e. T he inl et tube is made of cave. showed no manganese on testing with peri o capill ary of less than one mm. bore and is drawn date or bi sllluthate. \ iV hen a sample of the black to a fine tip which is bent inward to the axis of layer was g round and then extracted with HCl the reservoir. The device is suspended from the and HNO:1 to di ssolve carbonates, the residue was stalactite to be tudied and adjusted so that the tip black. Part of thi s was heated to incandescence enters the hanging drop. The tip is bent down in air and it turned white, suggesting that it was ward at the end so that the water cannot Aow composed 0 f carbon. This hypothesis was con along it outside. The bo re of the capillary i so firmed by placing the material in a quartz com fi ne that it will remai n full even when removed bustion tube through whi ch oxygen passed and f rom the drol. \iVhe n water is fed to the tip. it BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 77 rence of many pebbles of quartzite in the bed of this upper stream suggest that the roof of the Attic Room is near the top of the carbonate rocks. Some of the water analyses given in this report have been appliec[3 to the study of the conditions determining whether calcite or aragonite is formed in cave deposits. The data given on pH of water samples is of doubtful value in most cases as the sample will lose CO2 and consequently rise in pH on stand ing or even during the collection of the sample. In several cases, values have been obtained around 7.6 in the cave immediately after sampling while a repetition of the measurement in the laboratory may give a value over 8. For this reason, a special cell was devised for use with a Beckman Model N -2 portable pH meter. The water to be meas ured is placed in a small cup-shaped hole drilled Fig. 1. Sketch of capillary collector described in text. in the top of a small bl ock of plastic. The size of this hole is such as to fit the bulb of the glass is siphoned to the inside of the tube as the end of electrode supplied with the instrument. A small the capillary attached to the reservoir is lower notch is cut at one edge of the hole to acconUTIO than the tip. The reservoir is also equipped with date the fine tip of a special calomel reference an air vent which is made of capillary tube t electrode of the asbestos fibre type. T hi s appar atus permits the measurement of a single drop of restrict loss of water vapor or CO2 by diffusion. The results obtained from several new samples water. The following measurements have been are given in Table 1. obtained: The data on magnesium given in the original T ABLE II SO llrce pH report2 are all high by 50% due to an error Column Room-Upper pool-Cas in in the standard use. The figure should read : Sampl e 633 ...... 7.68 Attic Room, south end-U pper pool Sample 34---7 ppm., 53-4 ppm, 51-20 ppm, (as in Nos. 54 and 68) ...... , 8.1 29-15 ppm, 52-33 ppm, 33-27 ppm, and Attic Room, south end-Lower pool (as in No. 55) ...... 8. 1 54---17 ppm. Attic Room, middle-Composite samples from Samples 69 and 70 were of large size to permit drops from fiv e stalactites each : Calcite...... 8.0 A ragonite .. 8.0 a macro check on some of the micro methods pre Aragonite .. 7.7 viously used. Si02 was determined gravimetric A r::tgonite .. 7.8 all y on 500 ml samples and found to be 8 ppm. More data on temperatures in the cave has been in both of these. Strontium was estimated spec obtained. The accompanying table summarizes trographically and found to be about 0.1 ppm. in all the data avail able to date. It is evident from both of these. this table that the temperature rises as the dis The very low concentration of sample 69 is of tance from the entrance in creases. This has been interest in conection with the suggestion of Krin shown to be true in all seasons of the year. Two itzskyl that the water entering the cave comes explanations might be given for this fact. F irstly, from a perched water table held up by the J uni it is known that the temperature of the earth in ata Shale. It is evident from a comparison of this creases toward the center and becomes very hot sample with those from the main stream in the in deep mines. T he entrance of the cave is on the lower part of the cave ( J os. 34 and 53 in the end of Spruce Run Mountain where the New original report2) that the upper stream has not River has cut through the ridge and mountain been abl e to dissolve much limestone on its way slopes upward for a long distance beyond the into the cave. This observati on and the occur- point where the cave enters it. Thus the di stance 78 NATION AL ST'ELEOLOGTCA L SOCIETY TABLE I ! ITemp., , F ree I A lkalinity ' I I I , Total _N~0~· 7r~~~S~0_l_lr~ce______~_ o C_·.~_p~f_I-7_C_O~2 '. __C~a~C~O~3 ~' H__ C_O~3~ -~I _C_I _-~S_O~4 _=+-C_~+__ +TI _1I~g~+_+-Ti _S_o_li_d_s __ 55 I Attic Rm. Lower ' I \ 68~r;~: 1~:~i~" ::::: 1 1 ~ I ::: ::; 12 11 :; ::5 I, ~ ;; 59 Pool R 111. Pool on I fl oo r 10 /28/52 11 .4 7.6 .- 127 155 1.0 7 26 13 I, 132 63 Column Rm. U pper pool 12111151 7.7 8. 1 1.5 237 288 15 40 26.5 238 56 Co lullln Rill. driP ' ' ;'r! n neg. from flow stone 10.2 7.8 , 189 231 1.9 15 , 31 28 " 214 sheet 10/28 /5 1 I 1 58 Stream passage , I , I drip-dissolving 11.5 7.9 - 183 223 0.8 10 20 34 ,I 186 10/28151 , , I , I 60 .-\tti;: Rill. Drip I ' , I I 1mm Acag. 5',1. 11.4 -I 20 20 I 61 ,~;ic~~;X :,;p 1 I I I ,I from A rag. Stal. / I I 4 20 67 Drip 11.4 ')-5 227 .5 ,1 7. IIi fro111~t~(~~l~ll Calc. Stal. I , I _ 10/28/ 51 to 11.4 , 8.2 0.4' 116 142 2 185 3/30152 "I , , , 62 Stream passage '" ! I \ drip fr0111 Arag. 10.9 , 8.3 I <1 ' 162 198 ,I 26 ,, 2-1- , Stal. 10 /28/51 , j , to 12/ 11151 I' I I I I 64 sg·~I~l~lr ~~~~~:g . 10.9 i I - , I 22 \ 27 \ Stal.12/ 11151 'I I I \ I 69 Strea111 entering 11 .4 " 6.8 / - II 6.6 8.1 1.0 I 1.4 0.14 at highest point , I in cave (Attic "I I , 70 LoRoomwer poo) l in 11.4 \ 8.25 I - , 110 134 0.6 II 23 .6 " 13 .4 A ttic Room ' " I , from the surface increases with distance from the fo rm of the deposit and the conditions of depo 111 0uth 0 f the cave even though the main passage sition. is nearly hori zo ntal. A second possible explana Samples 1 and 2 respectively are the outer and tion may be connected with the di rection and tem inner parts of an aragoni te stalactite about an perature of air currents blowing through the main in ch in diameter. It was found on the cave floor passage. Although onl y one entrance to the cave in a hori zo ntal position, still attached to the rock has been di scovered, air usuall y blows into the on which it grew, clue to falling or sliding of a cave in the win ter when the outside air is colder block. T he surface had a dull ea rthy look and and therefore denser than that inside, the reverse was coated with black deposit on the upper side. is true in the summer time. T hi s would tend to The interi or was clear white aragonite. cool the outer part of the cave in winter and the outward bl owing air would warm it in summer. Samples 3 and 4 are from the interior of a Sampl es of several types of cave deposits have talag111ite found broken off in the maiu pa sage bee n analyzed to di scover what variations from of the cave. Most of it is s ilk~ ' looking aragonite pure CaCOa occur and how they are related to the but a few patches of calcite occur surrounded by BULLE TT N NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 79 CIJo TABLE III NEW R1VER CAVE TEMPERATURES ------LOCATION DATE I 9- 14-45 1-27-46 3-31-46 2-25-51 8-19-5 1 10-28-51 12-11-51 9.:8 -52 -,8-5 --45------5 - 1 8-52_ 1--.? -13-5 ~1 _ o ut sid e of Cave Entrance aIr - I -- - 5.2°C. 12.0 11.6 - 15.2 3.4 23 23.9 >20 '0' inside cave :l1 r - - -2.5 - - - - - 9.9 10.0 , inter F crest R00111-400' inside 311' - I - - - 6.6 - 10,3 - 9.7 C )IU111n Room-SOO' inside aIr - - + 5.5 - 7.3 - - 7.6 8.8 10.4 C )luI11n R00111 upper pool ------7.7 C )111111n Room lower pool - I - - - 6.5 - - 7.2 8.4 ~ ain passage above Lunch Room- I 1000' in air ------10.8 ' 10.4 11.7 10.9 11.0 - ,------_.------JIlelt Room- IOOO' in ai r -- - 8.8 - - - - - tre Fig. 4. Filaments of mold (?) growing on a stalactite and Fig. 5. Helictites on ceiling of Attic Room, carrying water droplets. Forest Room, New River Cave. New River Cave. BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 1 TABLE IV ANAL YSES OF CAVE DEPOSITS No Source I SiO-? I (Fe, A I)?Oa- I CaO I MgO I CO?- I S04- I Iex terior 5.62 3.68 47. 1 2.90 41.2 nil 1. Aragonite Stalactite 2. I interior 0.03 0.01 55 .8 nil I 43 .7 nil 3. I calcite part 0.05 0.05 54.3 1.20 43.9 nil Stalagmite . 4. aragomte part 0.05 0.01 55 .6 nil 43. 5 nil 5. Anthodite-aragonite 0.03 0.01 55.5 nil -+ 3.5 nil 6. Helictite-calcite 0.01 0.03 I 55 .1 0.90 I 44.1 I nil Diffe rences of less than 0. 1 % should not be regarded as significant. Committee on Formations and lVJineralogy V . P. 1. GROTTO Nati onal Speleological Society J ohn \ 7I.T. Murray, chairman the aragonite. No. 3 is from the calcite part and No.4 fr0111 the aragonite. REFERENCES CITED Sample 5 is from a fragment of an anthodite lKRI N ITZSKY, E. L. , The 10w'lIol of C ro109Y. Vol. LV, clu ster. T he reddish iron-stained surface coating No.2, pp. 107-119 ( 1947), A Fault P lane Cavern. was removed by brushing with dilute hydrochloric 2 MURRAY, JOH N VV., Bulletin of Ihe Nolio/lOi Speleologi cal Socieljl, No. 13, pp. 50-54 (1 951) , Report 0 11 the acid with a toothbrush and the sample taken from M ineralogy of New River Cave. the white interior. 3 MuRRAY, J OHl\ ' iV ., T he 101lr/lOi of Ceologj', Vol. 62, Sample 6 is from a calcite helictite of the ver No. 5, pp. 481-492 ( 1954), The D epo ition of C;) lcite and Aragonite in Caves. Illi form type. T he stained exteri or was scraped off with a knife and the white interior analysed. 82 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Regional Development of Limestone Caves in Middle Tennessee By THOMAS C. BARR, JR. This article is a splend'id example of the serious llatuTe of the type of work ullde1'taken by lIlany of our mel1lbe1's who devote theiT spa7'e ti111e to 1'ecordillg for posterity th eir speleological findings. Much of the inforl/lation contained herein was gat hered in 1953 and 1954 w hile the author was engaged in S1111ml e1' work for th e Tennessee Division of Geolog'y. 2 T he State of Tennessee tretches for more than streams, but the work of Davis!, Swinnerton , 400 mil es from east to west. from the blue haze and Bretz3 has shown that the development of of the Great Smoky l\'l ountains to the levees of many caverns may best be explained by supposing the mi ghty M ississippi. This \'ari ed terrain ot val it to have taken place bel ow the water table. Using ley and mountain. plateau and coa tal plain, falls the criteri a of Bretz3, the various groups of Mid nrtt urall y in to three grand divi sions-Ea t. Mid dle Tennessee ca\'es may be classified as vadose or dl e. and \iVest Tenn essee. phreatic, according to the predominant phase of T he thick sediments of East Tennessee, most their development. i.e., above or below the water of whi ch were laid down during Cambrian and table. respectively. The conclusions reached in O rdovi;: ian time. have felt the impact of the Ap thi s paper, however, are only tentative, since Ten palachi an orogeny, and are extensi\'ely folded and nessee speleology is sti ll in the exploratory and fa ul ted throughout the eastern vall ey of the Ten descriptive stage, and a considerable amount of nessee R iver. In mos t of r-liddle Tennessee. struc deta il ed study will have to be done before we tured di sturbances are local ly comparatively slight. have an adequate understanding of sub-surface and the sediments usuall y appear to be horizo ntal, solution within the region. Nloneymaker4 has sup or nearl y so. \Vest Tennessee is a region of coastal plied dire;:t ev idence that deep solution is taking plain sedim ents laid down by the shallow inland place in many part of the Tennes ee R iver "aI sea which covered southeastern North America ley. and it is not unl ikely that such solutional during the Cretaceous and later pe ri ods. excavati on of limestone has been largely respon sible for many caves in Tennessee. Middle Tennessee exhibits three major physi ographi c provin ces-the Nashvi lle Basin ,the High Stratigraphy land Rim. and the Cumberland P lateau. Lime T he oldest wide pread edimentary rocks in stone caves are developed in all three of these i\Iiddle Tennessee are of Stones Ri\'er age (Or pro\'in ces to a varyin g degree. It is of con ider do" ician ) * ; they crop out in the center of the able interest to con ider the distribution, pattern. 0Jashville Basin and the Sequatchi e \ alley. and and size of the ca\'es with respe;:t to the strati in certain stream valleys along the southern por graphy. physiography. and structure of the three tion of the Basin. O rdo\'ician formations of later provinces. age are widely distributed throughout the Basin About 600 caves have been reco rded in Middle and alol]O' the inner margin s of the Highland Rim. Tennessee. A ll are of the join t-bedding-plan - ilurian and Devonian rocks appear in the stream type; dip-and-strik e caves, whi ch occur in tilted valle)'s of the southern half of the \~ estern HiO'h strata. normall y are absent in limestone \\' ith a land Rim. to the north and north\\'e t alonO' the low angle of dip. It is hoped that continued study edge of the Basin. and at a few other point. of th ese caves may supply additional data \\'i th ;\lissi sippian formations underlie the _urfa e of which to construct a satisfactory theory f cave ori gin. It was once beli eved that al l limestone *Thc 1'llox group, which li e below the lones River rocks ill stratigraphic sc (uence. has been e.' posed at a caves were formed by the action [free- urface few places ill the lower part of the eqn BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 83 the H ighl and R im and form the basal part of the mations, many of whi ch are caverniferous lime Cumberland P lateau, while the thick Pennsylvani a stones. In the central part of the State, renewed shales, sandstones, and coals of the P lateau are upwarping and erosion have produced a thi rd and the youngest rocks to be found in the area, with lower terrace-the Nashvill e Basin-on the Or the excepti on of Quaternary fluvial deposits scat dovician limestones. T his basin is surrounded on tered about in the river valleys. all sides by the Highl and Rim, and toward the margins are low hills and ridges formed by the P h'JIsiograp hy outli ers and salients of the more resistant lime As P iper5 has pointed out, the physiographic stones. districts of :Middle T ennessee are the end products Structw'e of successive erosion cycles. T he resistant Penn sylvani an sandstones of the Cumberland P lateau T he Nashville Basin, structurally a dome, is an have been preserved relatively unchanged in large elliptical uplift lying toward the southwestern ex areas. \i\There overlying sandstones have been re tremity of the Cincinnati A rch. Extending radi moved or extensively fractured, the soluble Mis ally from the center of the dome, at a point near sissipp ian limestones have been exposed to the Fostervill e, in R utherford County, there is a 6 leaching acti on of water and have been removed regional dip of 15 feet to the mile. A steeper by erosion, resulting in a lower plateau surface, regional di p, 25 feet to the mil e, is noted in the the H ighland Rim. Most of the surface of the northwestern corner of the structure, near Nash R im is underl ain by the resistant and insoluble ville. Fort P ayne chert. Remnants of St. Louis lime T he Higlzland Rim surrounds the ashville stone occur in the Eastern H ighland Rim near the Basin with an erosional escarpment averaging foot of the Cumberland P lateau, and the \i\Tarsaw 400 feet in height. At its margin the Chattanooga limestone appears in the northwestern corner of black shale occurs some 500 feet lower than at the M iddle Tennessee. T o the west and north, stream center of the Basin .6 vall eys have cut down into the older Silurian {or- T he ClIlIlb erlan d Plateau is basicall y a shall ow CD Mississippi River Alluvial Plain ® Central Basin @ Plateau Slope of West Tennessee ® Cuznberland Plateau (East Gulf Coastal Plain) @ Western Va lley of Tennessee River G> Valley and Ridge (APfalachian V a lley) G> Highland Rim Plateau ® Grea Smoky Mountains (Blue Ridge) Fig. 1. Physiographic provinces of Tennessee. Regions 3, 4, 5, and 6 are discussed in this paper. 84 NATIONA L SPELEOLOC fCAL SOCIETY structural low. In Franklin, Marion, and Hamil observed in Grassy Cove. Little Cove, and Crab ton Counties (vicinity of Chattanooga and we. t O rchard Cove, where islands of M ississippian ward to 'Winchester), erosion to the base level of limestone haye been exposed in the interior of the the Fort Payne chert has exposed a tremendous P lateau. To the east the margin of the P lateau thickness of lim estone, from the vVarsaw to the turns up sharply in vValden's R idge. which forms Ga per oolite, along the western marginal slope the western wall of the Great Valley of East of the P lateau. In Overton, Fentress, and P ickett Tennessee. Counties ( between Cookev ille, Tenn., and Albany, The southernmost tip of a second structural Ky.) only the Gasper and Ste. Genevieve are ex low- the Western Kentuck'y Coal F'ield-extends posed. Between these two extremes various inter into Stewart. Dickson, and Montgomery Counties. mediate conditions prevail from one locali ty to T he strata in this area dip northward at about 12 another. T he degree of dissection varies from the feet per mile. sharply delimited escarpment of F ranklin County in the south to the rough, hilly terrain in O \'erton The \ ~r estern Kentucky Coal Field and the County to the north. In the Sequatchie Valley a Hartsell e Escarpment of northern Alabama are thrust fault at the edge of a narrow anticline ex separated by the Cliftoll Saddle6, in vVayne and tends from Jasper at the southern end of the Val Hardin Counties. The CUII/berlalld Saddle stretches ley to Devil step Hollow at the northern end.* The along the axis of the Cincinnati Arch bet\\'een the anticli ne continues to the northeast, and may be Jessamine Dome of north-central Kentucky and the 1 ashvill e Dome. Nashv ille Basill In the N ashville Basin caves appear 111 low uplands of the Ridley limestone. in hills and ridges of the more resistant limestones which oc cur at the periphery ot the Ba in-the Carters li me tone. the Bigby-Cannon li mestone. and the Catheys formation-and in deep stream valleys cutting into the Highland Rim escarpment. J ackson Cave, in the Cedars of Lebanon tate Park. \i\f ilson County, and the Taylor Herron Ca\·e. near Lascassas, Rutherford County. are examples of the first group. Both occur in the Ridley near the base of low hills. Jackson Caye is about 300 yards long, with no side passages. and ends in a pool of water. A permanent tream flows through Taylor Herron Cave ior 2000 feet. In southwestern Rutherford County there is a eries of large and unusual caves \\'hich has been call ed the Snail Shell Cave system. T hese caves are part of an underground drainage \yhich feeds Overall Spring at the head of the main branch of Overall Creek. and contain many large re en-air of water. The system is developed within an ex tensive mass of Ridley limestone \\'hich pre ents a peneplain surface in the region of the caye . Photo by Roy Davis & T . C. Barr *The Sequatchie Valley anticl in e and the Sequatchie Fig. 2. Phreatic channel in a cave in the Catheys forma thrust fault continue southward into .-\labama: the result tion at the edge of the Eastern Highland Rim. ing vall ey is occupied by the T ennessee J~i\"(' r from ]:1- Ward Cave, Bedford County. per, Tcnn., to Gunlers\'ille, .-\la. PU LI.ETrN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 There are numerous side passages, at least three Catheys caves appear also in Jackson, Cannon, of which are almost as large as the main channel. Coff ee, lVl oore, F rankli n and a few other counties . 4.6 mil es is the total known length of this cavern, T o the north and west stream valleys at the but expl oration is far from complete. It seems edge of the Basin cut through limestones of the probable that the major part ot the development vVay ne Group (Silurian )-the Laurel and Lego. of the Snail Shell system has been accomplished A few smalJ caves are developed here. The largest by vadose stream . -lVlason Cave, Sumner County-is only 250 yards in length, and is apparently a phreatic A long the fl anks of the Nashvill e Dome there cavern. are hi ll s and ridges of the Carters limestone, the Bigby-Cannon limestone, and the Catheys forma ti on. which grade in to the erosional escarpment of the Highland R im . Benderman's Cave, near Southport, Maury County, is a mi le-long cavern developed along and ju t above the contact be tween the Bigby-Cannon and the Dall1u1/J'£ella coquina member of the H ermitage formati on ; it is largely vadose, but has had a long phreatic his tory. Skeleton Cave and P iper Cave, near Mono ville. Smith County, are rather large phreatic caves (averaging 15 feet high and 25 feet wide) in the Cannon facies of the Bigby-Cannon. P iper Cave is half a mile in length. In the vicinity of Jashvill e, David son County, caves in the Carters lim estone are seen at U na (Brent's Cave, Gill es Photo by T. C. Barr pie·s Cave) and Antioch (lVlill Creek Cave); they are relatively small , averaging 8 to 10 feet Fig. 3. Indian Grave Point, DeKalb County, is a salient of the Eastern Highland Rim . It is underlain by the in height. 5 to 6 feet in width, and about 1000 Bigby-Cannon limestone and the Catheys formation. feet in lenoth. These caves are predominantly Indian Grave Point Cave is the largest known Highland vadose in origin . Rim cavern. In DeKalb and vViI. on Counties there is a se In general, the Nashvill e Basin caves seem to ri es of caves whi ch occurs in the Catheys forma be predominantly phreatic toward the east, where tion capping outlying hi ll s near the edge of the as many vadose caves appear in the flat-l ying por H ighland R im. Corley Cave, near Temperance tion of the Basin and in the stream valleys to the Hall, DeKalb County, and Anderson Cave, in west. we tern DeKalb County, are examples of this type of cave. Both consist of truncated segments of Eastern H ighland Rim large (30 to 40 feet in di ameter ) phreatic galler I n the eastern po rtion of the r:':l io-hland R im ies. T hese ca\·es are geneti ca ll y related to the ex caves occur in the outliers of St. Loui s lim estone ten i ve Catheys caves occurring in stream vall eys nea r the foot of the Cumberl and P lateau. Some extending into the margin of the Eastern H igh are primari ly phreatic (Jarrell's Cave. in F lat land R im. Soluti on in the Catheys and Bigby T op Mountain . Coffee County) . but most appear Cannon has produced many large and in teresting to be vadose in origin_ Some, like Rocky I,-i ver caverns in the e va ll eys, espec iall y in Smith and Ca\-e, vVa rren County, and Ament's Ca \-e, P ut DeKalb Counti es. J 0 1111 F isher Cave in Smith nam Coun ty . are analogous to the Snail Shell Coun ty, and Cripps's Mill Cave and I ndian Grave Cave system; with co ll apse sinks opening into Poin t Ca\·e in DeKalb County are notable exam acti\-e vad ose chann els of considerable length. ples of thi s type. Tn I nd ian Grave Point Cave Others. such as S wift ave. Overton ot1nty, and hu re breakdown rooms are linked with pa sages the E \\-ing }':Jo\\·el l Cave. W hi te CO ll nty. underlie averagin g 40 feet in width and 20 feet in height ; 10\\- upland: and resemble .J ackson Cave and the a mile and a half of pas ages have been explored. Taylo r H erron Cave (R idley lim estone of the 86 1\ ATT001 A L PELEOLOGJC \ L SOCIETY Dunbar Cave and Bellamy Cave in Montgomery County are both over a mile in length, and cros - secti ons of many of the pa sages are over 50 feet in width and 30 feet in height. In Dickson County these Warsaw caves are smaller but numerou (Jewel Cave, Ruskin Cave, Columbia Caverns). Three units of Silurian li mestones are import ant in the development of caves in the vVe tern Valley of the Tennessee River and the southern portion of the \ i\1 estern Highland Rim. These are the \i\ ayne group (Laurel and Lego limestone ) . the Bob limestone, and the Decatur lime tone. Blowing Cave, Hickman County, contain a olu tion channel measuring 30 feet wide, 40 feet high. and 540 feet long; it is in limestones of the \i\ ayne group. Blowing Cave, Perry County. is in the Bob limestone ; it contains a large breakdown chamber 50 feet wide, 30 feet high, and 200 feet 10n O'. and 300 yards of gravel-A oored passages averaging 30 feet wide and 10 feet high. \i\ alker Springs Cave. vVayne County, is a large network cal'e construct ed along normal ets of joint in the Decatur lime tone of the Clifton addle: the total length Photo by Ro y Dovis & T. C. Barr of all of its passages is 800 yards. Fig. 4. Solution channel in the Bigby-Cannon' limestone. Willie Todd's Cove, Cannon County. Cumberlal1d Platea u N aslwille Basin ) in ize and morphology. Bunkum T he caves of the Cumberland I lateau are the ave. Pickett County. exhibit a typical dendritic laro'e t and best known in Tennessee. dozen are pattern . with several small stream branches tribu over a mi le in length, and HigO'enbotham Ca\'e, tary to a large trunk channel which attains di in Cardwell Mountain. near McMinnville. ha a mensions of 100 feet by 50 feet at the mouth. total length of over six miles of <:....:plored pa aO'e. Mo t P lateau caves occur in the Ga per oolite and Ii' ('s tern H ighlalld Ri111 alld fiVes/ern Valley the teo Genevieve lime tone. but to the outh and southeast the St. Loui s and the \ Varsa\\, lime Three groups of caves may be delineated in this stone increa e in importance. A bench of fairly region. Those of the first group have been devel porou Cypress sand tone may in 0111e ca e ol'er oped in the St. Loui s lim estone of the Cumberland li e the lime tones in which the ca\ e hal'e been addle. a structural feature £eparating the H igh developed. but the Mis i ippian Pennington for land R im of T enne see and the Pennyroyal P la mati on and the thick c Ill plex of Penn yll'anian teau of Kentucky. Such cave are best seen in and t n s and shales appear to prel'ent the ac , 5 Robert on Coun ty. T he Bell \'\ itch Cave. near of 0'1' und \I'ater to the underlyinO' lime 'tone' . Adam . and the Jesse .J allle ' ave. near Cros P lain. may be cited as examples. None of these In F rankli n. Marion. and run Iy untie a\' cal·e. is over half a mil e in length, but some of explorer long ag b en'ed that a\'e at the the passages may be 30 feet wid e and 20 feet ba e of the Plateau d not e..'dend under the sa.n 1- high. Mo t of them are phreatic in ori gin . but at tone cap. ayes in this ti n ar m -t pr mi- least tll'O shOll' considerable vadose enla rgement. n ntly del' 101 ed in de p. narr \1' I'all ys 'all I Development of caves in the \ \'arsaw limest ne co~ as : a IO\\'-angl sl p t th we walls. re ' t 1' wh ere it occurs on the southea t 1'11 flank of the ing in the e:-'1 sur f a g r at r am unt of lime- \i\' estern Kentucky Coal F i Id ha been rather ton surfa 'e. was found t I highly fanw;t Ie cxten ive in l\ .l ontgolll ery and 1 ick n ountie to th " urren' of larO'e and Il1ng' 'a\' s, . \ n a - Bt' LLETTN NUMBER 16 DE EMBER 1954 ditional peculi ari ty \\'as noted. viz., that almost all of the caves occurring in "cove" terrain were found to open at the level of the cove Aoor. O nly in areas where the rough, hilly type of dissecti on predominates do cave mouths appear high up abO\'e the vall ey Aoor ; caves of thi s latter type may be seen in \Varren, \ iV hite, Van Buren, P ut nam, and Overton Counties. T hey frequently ex tend under a bench of Cypress sandstone. For ex A. ample. the ridge beneath which Big Bone Cave, Van Buren County, li es is capped with Cypress. Saltpeter Cave, Van Buren County, is largely roo fed over with the Cypress; the presence of stalactites on the roo f of the cave is an indication of the porous and calcareous nature of this sand stone. Most of these caves are decid edl y phreatic. To explain the formation of caves in deep coves in the P lateau, the foll owing theory is suggested. Let us consid er the development of a single cove. In the early stages of erosion (Fig. 5-A) the B. sandstone cap has not yet been breached, and caves ha\'e not developed. At a later stage (Fig. 5-B) a small amount of limestone will have been exposed to the action of water. Ca\'es, primarily vadose, will have formed in the upper strata of lime tone. T he gradient of the cove-formi ng stream wi ll be so steep that development of phre >~q . : ;. >/ '< ' ~ ati c caverns seems unlikely. As the cove deepens ;:·:;i· ·)!::~ :· *;ti:/ :f ~· ; and wid ens ( F ig. 5-C), we see that these earlier caves have been removed by erosion. The gradient is less steep, and phreatic solution may in some NEW CAVES cases occur. T he process of the formati on of new c caves and the erosion of old ones is a continuous one. It results in absence 0 f caves at hi gher eleva Fig. S. Origin of coves in the southern part of the Cum tions, even though readily. oluble limestones may berland Plateau in Tennessee. For explanation see text. be exposed there. Vall ey in P utnam County, extends beneath the 1\1o ·t of the large stream caves in the southern fl oor of the cove. and has probabl y onl y recently po rti on of the P lateau in Tennessee probably had become vadose; both ends of thi s 3000-foot-long their origin at or sli ghtly below the water table, cavern are bl ocked by siphons. Dry Holl ow Cave, but are now undergoing extensiy e vadose enlarge Overton County, is a small network cave in the ment. \ Vet Cave and Sinking Cove Cave in F rank fl oor of D ry Holl ow. lin County. and Gizzard Cove Cave, :Ma ri on CO llnty. ha\'e upper and lower mouths. the upper T hree large, completely phreatic cayes occur in ones ha vi ng been abandoned by the cave streams as the vicinity of lVl cMinn ville. These are Biggen they degraded their chann els. T he remnants o f the botham Cave and H ubbard Cave, \ iVa n-en County, down tream po rtion of \Vonder Cave, in Layne's and Big Bone Cave, Van Buren County. Most o f Cove. Grundy Co unty. may be traced for nearl y the caves of the Cal [kill er Vall ey in \",ihite and hal f a mil e along the right hand side of the cove P utnam Counties are phreatic, with the exception below the present mouth of the cave. B li nd F i h of Bri dge Creek Cave and A rch Cave. in E ngland Cave. in Long Vall ey, a tributary of Calfki ller CO \'e, where sections 0 f th e cove- i orm ing stream 88 NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCI.ETY have been diverted into underground channels. Caves of both vadose and phreatic origin may be seen in Overton, P ickett, and Fentress Counties, but solutional development has been predomi nantly phreatic in these areas. T he excavati on o f vertical solution cavities in the Gasper-Ste. Genevieve of the P lateau has produced many deep pits, commonly known as "devil's holes" or "hellholes".' The most promi nent of the:e are Mystery Falls, in Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga; the Conley Hole, in southern vVarren County; the Devil's Hole, on L ittle Short Mountain, Cannon County; and Hellhole. on Hellhole Mountain 111 Overton Photo by courtesy of Wander Cave Fig. 7 . Cathedral Hall in Wonder Cave, Grundry County. An extensive upper level in a large, primarily vadose cavern in the Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis limestones. County, to northern A.labama. In the Sequatchie Vall ey, from which the structure takes its name. rocks of Ordo"ician age are expo ed. The Se quatchie thrust fault truncates the anticline on its northwestern fl ank beginning near the head of the Valley, and extends southward into A labama. North of Dev il tep Holl ow at the head of the Valley, three isolated coves of M ississippian li me Phot o by Roy Dav is stone are exposed, surrounded by Pennsylyanian Fig . 6. Bone Cave Mountain, Van Buren County, is com sandstones-Grassy Co'·e. L ittle Cove. and Crab posed of Gasper oolite and Ste. Genevieve limestone O rchard Cove. r\ number of caves are known in capped with Cypress sandstone and Pennsylvanian rocks. the e areas especially in the Gasper-Ste. Gene The Cypress bench is prominently displayed vieve of Grassy Cove. T he drainage f rom Grassy in this photograph. Cove enters M ill ave, which opens at the base of County. 'Mystery Fall s, which is 33 1 feet deep. Brady Mountain. and has been traced for 7000 widens to 100 feet in diameter near the bottom. feet. through a channel averaging 80 feet high Hellhole has never been completely explored, but and 50 feet wide. The Mill Cave stream is aid to preliminary reconnaissance indicates that it may emerge at the head of the equatchie Riyer in be nearl y 400 feet deep. A ll of these pits· open in Devilstep Hollow Cave : the two caves are 70 the Gasper oolite just below its line of contact miles apart. altpeter Cave in Gras y Coye e., with the Cypres ' sand tone. and it is the opinion hibits over a mile of complex passageways; it i o f the present writer that they are the abandoned a dry, dusty cave of phreatic origin . T he Blowing swall et holes of seepage springs emerging at the Hole opens near the top of the Gasper oolite in base of the Cypress. Brady Mountain ; a vertical shaft of 254 feet leads down into a grotto 100 feet high, 150 feet· wide, Sequatchie Va./le)' A l1tichne and 400 feet long. To the east the Cumberland P lateau exhibit a Caves within the Sequatchie \ alley it elf are number of structural di sturbances correlated with small and rather in frequent. Low Gap Cave, in the A ppalachian orogeny. Foremo t among the e northeastern Bledose County, i in the atheys is the Sequatchie \ all ey anticline, which extends formation se"eral hundred feet above the \ alley southward from Crab O rchard. in Cumberl and Aoor. Its main passage is 260 yard 10nO", averag- BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 9 ing 8 feet wide and 9 feet high. Aaron Tollett's limestones will recluce or prevent the development Ca\·e. in the Carters limestone of the Valley flo or of caves. Many of the 300 caves studied are ap a short di stance n O l~ th of Low's Gap Cave, is 8 parently of phreatic ori gin, but the origin of over feet hi gh, 10 feet wide, and 190 yards in length. half of them may be explained by the action of Farther to the south caves may occur in Missis vadose water. sippian rocks at the base of the ' Vest Vall ey wall, R EFERENCES CITED but the steep slope of the wall and the small I. DAVI S. VV. M., 1930. Origin of limestone caverIls. amount 0 f limestone exposed has tended to keep BIIII Ceo l. Soc. A liI. , vol. 41 , pp. 475-628. these caves small. 2. SW IN?\E RTON, A . C, 1932. O rig in of limestone cav erns. 13 111/ . Ceo I. Soc. Am., vol. 43, pp. 663-694. Conclllsions 3. BRETZ. J HAJlLEN. 1942. Vadose and phreatic fC:l tures of limestone caverns. Jour. Ceo l., vol. 50, No. The distribution of limestone caves 111 M iddle 6, pt. 2, pp. 675-812. T ennessee shows definite control by stratigraphy, 4. lVr ONEVMA KER , BERLEN C, 1941. 'Subrivcr soluti on cavities in the T ennessee Vall ey. JOllr. Ceol ., vo l. 49, physiography, and structure. Twelve formations, No.1, pp. 7-+-86. o f O rdovician, Silurian. and :M ississippian age, 5. P IP ER. ARTHUR 1'r., 1932. Ground water in no rth are decidedly caverniferous, a character arising celltral T ennessee. U. S . C co l . S li m . /;//oter -S llpply paper No. 640, p. 15. from their solubility and cohesiveness. The pres 6. \'VlI.SO:-:. CHARLIcS VV., JR., 1953. Geologic relation ence of impermeable strata. such as the Fort ships w ithin the Interio r Lowlands and Appalachian P lateau of the southeastern statl's. K},. CeD I. S l/rv. Payne chert or the Pottsyille series, above these Sp. Pl/bl. No. 1, pp. 12-+-1 32. 90 NAT IO:\fJ\L SPELEOLOG ICA L SOCI ET Y The Speleo-Barometer By DONALD N. COURNOYER The developlllent of specialized eq/l1:pment for speleological illvestigatiolls is a fi eld that is much ill lI eed of add'itional study. One such piece of equipment is here described in the hope that its use lIIay be adapted to silllila.}" ill'l'estigations. INTRODUCTION of the problem ; i.e., what causes this unusual res At Breathing Cave near Burnsvill e, Virginia, piratory phenomenon. a very unusual phenomenon exists. T hi s was dis ApPARATUS covered on October 8, 1944 by Burton S. Faust, who was the fi rst to begi n investigati ons. In 1947 Mr. Joe R. Fulk s of the U. S. ' t\Teather Bureau a report of his di scovery and possible theories designed a sensitive barometer which would fl uc were publi shed in the N. S. S. Bull etin, umber tuate consistently to correspond with this inward 9, "An U nusual P henomenon". He di scussed this and outward fl ow of air. Mr. Edwin D. ' Viede with the author on August 1, 1953 and related the mann. a Model Instrument Maker al so of the problem of inaccuracy of pressure change data vVeather Bureau, gave the author consid erable coll ected by a barograph. This effected the con assistance in the construction of this highl y sen i struction of a sensitive barometer to obtai n the tive instrument which shall be referred to as the most reliable data. c. Speleo-barometer". The Speleo-barometer con- F rom the throat of a snlall crawlway approxi mately 125 feet from the ca\"e entrance, the air Row has been observed to undergo persistently un usual moti on. This air motion. whi ch has been GLASS TUBE INSIDE DIA. 2 MM . under observation for the past 10 years. is a peri odic pul sation (breathing) type of air fl ow involv ing repetitious cycles of inhalation. pause. exhala tion, and pause. Individual cycles have been ob :E served to range anywhere from 4 to 25 minutes. u :i '" PROBLEM '" ~ TH ERMOMETER ~ '" Thermographs, barographs. thermometers, hand AIR TIGHT :E anemometer (win d vane type ) and a stop watch u were used to in vesti gate the " Curton P henomen ...0 on" (which was named for Burton Faust, who fi r t observed it) to uncover what the relation ship, if any, prevailing atmospheric conditions have in developing thi s phenomenon. ,,,rind veloc MERCURY ities rangin g from 1 to 8 mil es per hour have been RETENTION ELBOW observed with a pronounced in crease and decrease in temperature. Yet the barograph tracing heets AIR VOLUME APPROX . ONE GAL . fai l to record any change in pressure. T herefore. since the barograph could not record these change. a highl y se nsitive pressure-measuring in .' trull1 ent was needed fo r the recording of cl elicate atmos pheri c conditions. which may res ult ill the solution Fig . 1. Diagram of the Speleo-Barameter. BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 91 I J\ 30 0 /\ / SPE ED ....., IA /W INO 20 0 "z / / ..".., .. I ~ ....., (V r,Y r1 (\ .., 10 0 ~ I ,'" / - INWAR D \ OU TWARD FLOW FLOW IN OUT I N j \ 1 0 \ I\~ lu ~i JL .._ 100 '".. .. pR ESSU nE ...I ...I LrV V " 1002 ~ w ..o ~1"-'1 :; 3 5 ;:: z T E MPERATU RE w u 30 fi/ .. / -----' w w j '"~ 25 o 0 10 20 30 40 50 6 0 70 8 0 9 0 TI ME IN MI NU TE S Fig. 2. Graph showing meteorological condit ions in Breathing Cave, Virginia, on Jan. 9, 1954. sists of an airtight cell , ve ry similar to that of a the exposed section of the tube. Vl ith the pump Coleman gas lantern . into wh ich a standard :fah locked to pre\'ent leakage of air, the in strument renheit thermometer and a "J " -shaped glass tube is all owed to settle for about one hour, so the 40 cm. long by 2 mm. di ameter (inside) have temperature of the air within the cell will equali ze been in serted from the top. The purpose of the with that of the cave. The ai r cell portion of the thermometer is to ensure that the temperature in strument is then placed in an in sulated container within the pressurized air cell is equal to that of to prevent temperature flu ctuations within the in the cave before the in strument is put into use. strument, which otherwise would result from tem The J -tube, open at both ends, extends 32.5 perature or heat from other li ghting sources. cms. above the top of the air cell. A small drop of mercury (approximately .54 gram) is in serted A very slight deviati on in atmospheric pressure into the upper end of the tube by means of an within the cave will cause the mercury to ri se or eye-dropper ; the curve at the bottom of the "r' lower on its sUPPOl-ting air column. Graduations prevents the mercury from spi ll ing out of the on the J -tube permit direct readings to be taken. tube. P ressure is now gently introduced into the vVhen storing the in strument, the pressure should air cell by means of the built-in-pump, until the be released slowl y from the container so that the mercury is suspended approximately midway in mercury comes to rest at the bottom of the J-tube. 92 N ATJO NAL Sl>E LEOLOGI CA L S OCIETY USE PRELIMI ARY R ESULTS The instrument was introduced on October 31, A tl the time of our observations the pre sure 1953, when it was given its first trial in Breath was dropping steadily over the Burnsvill e area, ing Cave. T he author, with the assistance of other where Breathing Cave is located, and was corre interested persons, used the foll owing method in sponding to the barograph tracing sheets and also obtaining the valuable data. Three persons worked the Spe1eo-barometer. However, what did not at the throat of the crawl, one measuring the wind appear on the barograph tracing sheets was an velocity, another calling off the seconds per min increase in pressure, whenever a reverse move ute, and the third person recording win d speed ment of cold air canle outward from the crawl. (feet per minute), barometric pressure reading and yet the Speleo-barometer showed a pro and changes in temperature, from the "Speleo nounced increase of pressure advancing from barometer". The recording of these minute by within the crawl. minute observations are made for any length o{ time that may be deemed necessary. This instrument proved to be more accurate than the barograph, because it registers changes in pressure which occur for brief periods, while the barograph requires a longer peri od of time to register any change. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author wishes to expre s his sincere appre ciation to Mr. Burton Faust for his untiring ef fo rts and assistance in bringing about the idea for this paper; to Mr. Benton Hickock for hi s assi st ance in drawing the instrument plan ; to Mr. Carl H. Gaum for hi s assistance in drawing the illu strated graph showing the magnitude of pressure variation and to Mi s Marguerite Klein for a splendid job in editing this paper. He further wishes to express hi s gratitude to NIr. Ernest A . \i\ ood of the A rctic Operations Project for his help in writing the specifications of the instru Photo by Donald N . Cournoyer ment. Fig. 3. Sid Teweles, Weathe r Bu reau meteorologist, pres surizing container pre paratory to recording observations. BULLETIN NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 1954 93 REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND LOCAL UNITS OF THE NATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 'Wherever suffici ent interest in speleological ac NEW JERSEY 30. Philadelphia. G'rotto 17. Ente·rprise Dilel/ante A udrey E. \ iVe lsh tivity exists members of the Nati onal Speleologi Spelcolog·y Grotto 161 Lakeside Boulevard cal Society are encouraged to form regional or \/o"Tilliam Hulstrunk Trenton 10, N . J. 139 H alsted Street 31. Pittsburgh C"OttO ganizations or local units called "grottoes". At East Orange, N. J. J . Robert Dunn present there are 3 regional organizations and 42 18. Northern New Jel'sey 7198 Shannon Road grottoe , the latter located in 21 states and the C"OttO Verona, Pa. Margaret Muell er 32. S hippellsbu·rg S tate District of Columbia. The regions and local units 549 J erusalem Road T eachel's Co llege select their own officers, organize and conduct Scotch P lains, N. ]. Student C'rotto NEW YORK T0 1111 A. Judge fi eld trips, carryon research projects and other 19. C om.ell G'rotto State T eachers Coll ege wise implement the efforts of the parent body. A T. L. Paulson Shippensburg, Pa. 216 Park Ave. 33. Standiurl S toll e C"Ot tO li st of such regions and local grottoes, with the Manhasset, N. Y. Maurice A. Henry names and addresses of persons to contact for in 20. lUJ/ e JIll emorial C"O ItO Apt. 5, The Vill age formation, follows: George M. 'N il son Huntingdon, Pa. 25 Belle Avenue TENNESSEE Troy. N. Y. 34. N as hv ille Crotto REGIONS 8. Tarevac C"OttO 21. Metl'o polit au N ew Roy A. Davis 1. Mid- Appalachian R egion J . L. E ll Y O1'lz C'rol/ a Box 770 C. N. Bruce General E lectric Co. David Lipscbmb College Tell City, Ind. A lice 1L R owehl R. D. 4 1365 York Avenue N ashville, T enn. New Castle, Pa. 9. Cent·ra.l Indialla CI'OttO Kathryn A. McCartney New York 21, N . Y. TEXAS 2. Northeast e'm Region 35. Unive'rsit'JI of Te.1·OS Russell Gurnee 53 N. Sherman Drive 22. Natty BU1/!po C"0ttO Indianapolis, Ind. Bradford Cobb S tlldellt Cl'OI/O 23 1 Irving Avenue A rthur Carroll Closter, N. J. KENTUCKY R. D. 3 R emsen, N. Y. Box 7672 3. Vi1·g illia. R egion 10. Kentltcl~v- IndiOlIa. 23. R ensselae·r OutiJ/g Club U niversity Station Earl M . Thierry Crotto - A ustin, T exas 5 Mohican Drive Charles B. Fort Stndeut G"Ot/O Portsmouth, Va. Charles R. Hine 36. Belcones Cro l/o 1426 South 3rd St. J oe Pearce L oui sville, Ky. Dept. of Mechani cal c. GROTTOES E ng inee ring 5713 Avenue G ALABAMA 11. vVestern Kentuclzy R ensselaer Polytechnic A ustin, T exas 1. State College G"0ttO Institute U T AH Aubu'rn G'rollo Martha Wade ]. D . McClung Troy, N : Y. 37. Salt LaJ~ e C"OI/ O 306 N. 9th Street Box 291 D. B. McDonald Coll ege H eights Station NORTH CAROLINA Opelika, A la. 24 . Dlllze Crol/n 178 North Main Street CALIFORNIA Bowling Green, Ky. Salt Lake City, Utah MARYLAND J ohn H. Gibbons 2. SOll th erJ/ Ca.lifomia Physics Department 38. Utah's Di:l:ie C"o llo Grollo 12. Ba lt illlore C'rotto Duke University LeRoy]' Bail ey Carroll S. S lemaker Maxon L. Goudy, Jr. Durham, N. C. \ iVashington, Utah 1735 North O rchid St. 5002 Hampshire Ave. VIRGTN IA H oll ywood, Cali f. Baltimore 7, Md. 25. Picdlll ont GI'OI/O Samuel Phifer, J r. 39. Ullive'rsit3' of V irginia COLOR ADO MA SSACHUSETTS 3. Co lorado G'rol/o 1111 Charlotte Avenue S tlldellt Croll a 13. Boston C"OI/O Monroe, N . C. J oe Dreese Glenn E . Poll a rd Donald P eters 4265 Kendall St. L. OHIO Theta Chi House, Rm. liSA, Grad H ouse \ iV heat R idge, Colo. 26. Cr llt'/'OI Ohio CI'OI/O Cha rlottesvi ll e, Va. Massachusetts Institute DI T . OF COLUMBIA R icha rd D. Seifried 40. Virgiuia Polytechnic of T echnology 510 V2 W . Greene St. fllstitll tr Stlldcllt CI'0 ttO 4. District of Co illmbia Cambridge, Mass. P iqua, O hio Ric1""d ]. \ IVagnet· Grol/o MINNESOTA Maril yn Bozeman 27. Clrvelalld Cro l/o V irg inia Polytechnic 4528 32nd Street 14. T w iJ/ Cities C'rol/o Julius Kovacs Institute David S. Gebha rd Mt. Ranier, Md. 12528 Griffin g Avenue Box 6116 GEORGI A 1665 Montreal Avenue Cleveland, Ohi o Blacksburg, Va. St. PaulS, M inn. 5. AtlaJ/ta C"OI/O OKLAH01VI A 41. J;tl "thcville Crol/o ]. R oy Chapman MISSOURI E li zabeth M. Sabatin os 15 . Missollri School of 28. Tllisa Crol/o Box 701 - Richa rd T enney 102 Faculty S treet Atlanta. Ga. 111 ines S tudent G'rotlo Blacksburg, V a. J. Dotson 1304 South Yale St. INDIANA c. Tulsa, Okl a. WEST VIRGTNIA 6. KeJ/tll ch ,-TlldiaJ/a Facul ty Advisor Crol/o . M issouri School of PENNSYLVANIA 42. CharlestOIl Crotlo Charles B. F ort M ines 29. N il/allY S tlldrllt Crol/o Martha McVey 1426 South 3rd St. Roll a. Mo. To hn A. Stell mack 1812 Beechwood D rive Loui svi ll e. Ky. 16. HI estel'll Misso ll ri Petroleum R efi ning So. Cha rl eston, \1'/. Va. 7. Scol/ o Crol/o Cral/o Laboratory 43. i1!oroalltowlI Crotto Jack \ /o"T. Dorsey Delorain e C. \iVa lker P ennsylv ania State \I\i ill iam D. Conner R. F. D. 3 434 E. 65 th Terrace. N. U ni versity P . O. Box '72 Scottsburgh, Ind. North Kansas City, Mo. State Coll ege, Pa. Morgantown. \ V . Va. 94 N ATTON A L SPELEOLOGTCA L SOCIETY Preface (Collti1l1( ed fr011l Page 1) much information, on speleological activities and studies in far distant spots, that otherwise "ve might not receive and which is made avai l able thru our library facilities. The net result is the promotion of mutual appreciation and understanding which contributes to better and more friendly relations between ourselves and the peoples of other nations. There has been a gratifying grovvth in Sustaining and Life mem berships, as well as a healthy expansion in the number of Sustaining members who have converted to Life status. This trend is considered to be further evidence of continued growth in interest, influence, and understanding of the way the Society is attempting to promote the science of Speleology. A recapitulation of Society accomplishments would not be com plete without mentioning the persons '~T h o have been and are responsible for this growth and progress. The members of the Board of Govern ors, the Executive Committee, the National Committee chairmen, and Regional and Grotto officers have spent many hours considering and discus ing the multitude of problems involved in making the Society function smoothly. lVlost members do not reali ze how much work takes place behind the scenes - necessary work performed by persons who are sincere and conscientious and who have the best interests of the Society at heart. Let us all give these persons our wholehearted sup port, and let each of us resolve that we ,,,, ill do our best to help them carry the load. In that way ,,,,e will continue to grow into a Society second to none in the world. BURTON S. FAUST, Acting P1'esidellt. WHO'S WHO IN BULLETIN SIXTEEN THO~IA S C. BAIW. JII. received his A.B. in bi ology from DOKALD N. COL RKOYER \\' as born in vVoonsocket, Rhode H a rva rd U niversity in 1953 and went on for hi s M.t\. in Island, in 1925. H e attended sc hools in Rhode I sbnd and zoology at Columbia U niversity the fo ll o\\'ing year. At Massachusetts. After sen 'ing in the U . S. Army for a present he is laking g raduate \\'ork at V anderbilt Uni brief time, he returlled to \ Voonsocket \\'here he attended versity \\·here he is making a study of th e cave fauna of Hill Coll ege. Upon completion of coll ege he obu;ned a the Interior L owlands provin ce and the Cumberl and Pla position with the Patent Office in \Vashington. D . C. It tcall. Sin ce joining the N .S.S. in 19-1 8 he has been cata was at the Patent Office in J anua ry. 1947 th:11 he \\'a;: loguing Tenn essee cavc~ and studying their fauna. H e first introduced to spelcology by J ohn S. P etrie. In 19-1 8 has ex plored over 400 ca\'es in 13 st ates. His special in he transferred to the U . S . \ Veather Bureau. The fo lio\\, terests a re the cvolut ion, ecology and geogr :1 phic di stri in g year he took a g roup of \ V. B. R ecreation:l1 Clu b bution of cave animals and th e ori gin and regional de mcmbers Oil a trip 10 Endless Ca\· cm s. Appropriately veloplll ent of cave~ . enoug h his future \\'ife. Marty, \\' as one of the Club (o711' r ) BULLETIN NUMBEl, 16, DECEMBER 1954 95 members who was in the group. They were married in features of the Indiana karst region. As the text of the A rlington, V irginia, in 1951. His pet project in speleol r eport indicates, their efforts and interests in mapping ogy is studying meteorological conditions in caves and cavern systems has bee n directed more toward unravel the influence of atmospheric conditions fr0111 the surface. ling the geological controls than merely for the spirit of In F ebruary 1954, he served as the meteorologist for the adventure. McGrain's main fi elds of interest include F loyd Collins Crystal Cave expedition. At present he is economic geology, stratigraphy, and hydrology. H e is employed in the A rctic Project of the. Weather Bureau, Assistant State Geologist on the sta ff of the Kentucky and is looking forward to additional trips to the J oint Geological Survey, Lexington, a position he has held Canadian-U . S. A rctic \Veather Stations. since 1950. Dr. Bandy is Associate P rofessor of Geology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and has \VILLIAM R. HALLIDA Y received his B.A. at Swarthmore been associated with that institution since 1948. His prin Coll ege and hi s M.D. at George \Vashington U niversity. cipal area of interest is ecology and paleoecology of He has done considerabl e caving in the V irginias as well Foraminifera. as all the western states, with a total of 200 caves to his credit. H e was the founder and former chairman of the D AV in G. MOOR E was born at Long Beach, California, in Southern California, Cascade, Colorado and Salt Lake 1925. A fter se rving with the E ighth A ir Force in 'World Grottoes of the N.S.S. H e is a member of the Society's \Var II he entered the U niversity of Southern California, national Board of Governors and of its Mineralogy Com receiving an M.A. in Marine Geology in 1951. H e was a mittee and has served as chairman of its Grottoes Com member of scienti fic fraternities Sigma Gamma Epsil on mittee. Completing his training in chest surgery he has and Sigma X i. The presently published paper was writ entered the United S tates Navy for the second time. His ten while he was a graduate student at the U nive rsity of favorite caving areas are northeastern N evada and Se Southern Cali fo rnia. Moore's interests center about the quoia National Park in California. ocean both in recreation and in professional work. At present he is engaged in research on recent marine sedi GEORGE F. JA CI(SON of Evansvill e, Indiana is N.S.S. ments at the Scripps Insti tution of Oceanography at member No. 151 and says he has bee n interested in caves La J oll a, California. H is hobbi es as a spear fi sher and an for more years than he cares to tell. His especial interest exploratory Aqua-Lung diver has resulted in his being is Indiana's vast Wyandotte Cave, one of the largest in a partner in a consulting firm engaged in underwater the country, and hi s book about it is the only complete geological mapping. hi story and description of it ever written. In addition he has had well over 100 articles on caves and cave photog J OHN \ \T. MURRAY is professor of Chemistry at the V ir raphy published. H e docs free lance writing as a "side ginia Polytechnic Institute. H e serves as faculty advisor line" in addition to writing about caves. H e is presently to the V.P.I. Grotto of the National Speleological So on the N.S.S. Board of Governors and previously served ciety in which capacity he tries to cul tivate an apprecia on the board from 1949-51. H e was responsibl e for the tion for safety, conse rvation and the scientific aspects of formati on of the now inactive I ndiana Grotto and carries cave exploration. H e is a member of the Committee on on a large corres pondence pertaining to Indiana caves and F ormations and M ineralogy of the N.S.S. and heads the to N.S.S. activities. Some of this "correspondence" is by corresponding committee of the V.P.I. Grotto. H is long means of tape recordings whi ch are passed back and standing interest in geology as well as in chemi stry has forth between easte rn and western members. particularly led him to the study of several probl ems on the min Burton Faust of \Vashi ngton, D. C. and D on Bloch of eralogy of caves in cluding th e conditions favoring the D enve r, Colorado. All three agree that tape recorders deposition of aragoni te in speleothems, and the origin of are a spl endid means of conveyin g information and ar some supposed prehi storic in sc riptions. H e has been a dentl y wish more N.S.S. members and Grottoes had re member of the National Speleological Society since 1944. co rders so information and programs could be circul ated more readil y. In A ugust, 1954 George married Norma BROTH ER G. NICHOLAS, F.S.C., was born in P hil a d e l phi ~ , L ipman of P ennington, New J ersey. N .S.S. member No. Pennsylvani a in 1927. In 1945 he entered the Christian 1227 and both say they now spend their spare time trying Brothers, a Catholic religious order devoted to the edu to devise ways and means to get into some of southern cation of men. He received hi s B.S. degree from Catholi c Indiana's unexpl ored caves. Uni versity in 1950, an M.S. degree from the U ni versity of P ittsburgh in 1953 and is completing work on a P h.D. JEROME lVL L UDLOW . NSS V ice P resident for P ublica S in ce 1950 B rother N icholas has bee n teaching reli gion, tions and E ditor of the Bull et in . was cOllllected with the phys ics, chemistry and bi ology at LaSall e H igh School, B rookings Institution at \~T as hi ' n gto n , D. C. when that Cumbe rland, Maryland. H e join ed the N.S.S. in 1949, economic and governmental research organi zation was was chairman of the paleontology section in 195 1. be founded. He spent two years with a Chicago firm of came a member of the board of governors in 1952 and consult ants in municipal administration and seven years Vice-President for Research in 1953 . Brother N icholas is as chi ef clerk and research assistant with the New J er also associate editor of the A m erica l/ Biology T eachel', sey Taxpayers Associat ion before joining the U . S. Geo state membership chairman of th e National Association logical Survey in January. 1940. A n invitati on from of Biology Teachers, member of P hi Beta Kappa and Charl es E. Mohr to participate in an N.S.S. fi eld trip in S igma X i as well as half a dozen other scientific socie April. 1947 resulted in hi s gradual change from a some ties. S in ce 1950, he has written twenty-five papers in the what normal individual to a speleoedi tor. fields of botany, bi ochemi stry, education, paleontology and speleology and has appea red on many radi o and sev PRESTON MCG IlATN and ORV IL LE L. BAK IW were graduate eral television programs. Much in demand as a public students in the D epartment of Geology, Indiana U ni ver speaker, B rother N icholas has deli vered lectl1l-es before sity. when fie ld in vesti gati ons fo r this paper were made. scientific and educational groups throughout the U ni ted D uring that period they came under the influence of the States and Canada. At present he is devotin g hi s spare late D r. Iyde A. Malott. recogni zed authority on the time to writin g a book on Cave Ecology whi ch will origin and development of limestone c~ve rn s and other probably be published in 1956. 96 rATIONAL SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY