Cave Findings and Finding Caves
Ok. If you thought I was going Mammoth Cave heavy before now, be prepared. I’m quadrupling down. Why? Well 4 one I skipped a couple days to release this on a holiday. (Wven though the article has nothing more to do with the holiday, than the simple fact that one of the things we have to be proud of is our National Park System.) With The Specters of Mammoth Cave on the precipice of an announced release, I will be doubling down on the Mammoth and Cave’dness of these blogs. Stay tuned! It will be fun.
But going into it, I feel like it is only worth everyone’s time that we delve a little deeper into the world of caves. And basically, I wanted a fun numbered list week, So you can breeze through it on your way too, or from Fireworks, (dependant upon your preference.) Also, I’ve learned a couple of fun things I simply couldn’t turn into a consolidated article. So, in honor of 4th!
Here are a few interesting and conglomerated facts which I couldn’t make whole articles about.
#1 Mammoth Cave grew by “eating” Other caves:
Mammoth Cave lies in the Karst rich region of Kentucky. This means that there are lots of holes in the bedrock, aka Caves. And, surprisingly, Mammoth Cave isn’t the only cave in the region. For a long time, much of what is now part of Mammoth Cave were caves in their own right. Crystal Caverns, (named by Floyd Collins, a notable figure in The Specters of Mammoth Cave,) was considered a separate cave, then it was connected to Unknown Cave, Salts Cave, and Colossal Cave. At that point (the 1950’s) the Flint Ridge Cave System at nearly 90 miles became the longest cave in the world, beating Mammoth, which was ‘only‘ 57 miles. Then, in the 1970’s a group of cavers (with an educated guess, took advantage of low water levels to slog through a long river passage and finally connected the Flint Ridge Cave System to Mammoth Cave. The story didn’t end there. (The Roppel System was later connected, and I’m holding my Alien Breath (don’t hold your human breath waiting for discoveries… they might not happen in time) that the Martin Ridge System, may some day be formally connected to Mammoth Cave adding even more to it’s 400+ miles of twisting winding passages.
Want to read more? Check out this article talking about exploring the longest cave in the world here . In an article written by people who know a lot more about the history than I do.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/exploring-the-worlds-longest-known-cave.htm
This leads directly into our second face. See all those other cave names up above? I underlined them so that you would. These were caves which were connected to Mammoth Cave. But they -now all Mammoth Cave- are not the only caves in the region. Because
#2 There are more caves in and around Mammoth Cave, which are not connected (and probably won’t be.)
There are more than 200 individual caves within the boundary of Mammoth Cave National Park. I’m not, today, going to talk about what makes something a cave. I will say that what makes them their own cave is the simple fact that they are not connected to Mammoth Cave. Perhaps the most prominent of these is Great Onyx Cave, which remained an independent tour business surrounded by Mammoth Cave National Park, for a time before becoming part of the park. However it remains an independent cave to this day. (and one of the few tours I haven’t had the fortune to take yet. But there are other caves Whites Cave, which you can find the -(blocked) entrance to while hiking near Mammoth Dome Sink. Potato Cave, Diamond Cavern (a still independent business and Cave system very near Mammoth Cave, Onyx Cave (which is not the same as great Onyx but you may pass it on the way to Mammoth Cave National Park and many many other Caves in the region. The Eponymous Horse Cave, of Horse Cave Kentucky. Lost River Cave in Bowling Green. And so many more that
#3 You might even find a cave of your own
First thing first. If you don’t know what you are doing, don’t go looking for caves one your own. Do you want the scary story of falling down an unknown sinkhole and getting trapped? Or the even scarier story of being rescued and ridiculed as the idiot you are for going out and looking for caves on your own… Is it really that dangerous? Probably not. When you are hiking, be aware of your surroundings. When you are hiking in Karst regions, lookout for holes, know that any covered place you step might hide one, and know that any holes you step into might be much deeper than you expect. This is why you bring a friend and let people know where you are going. Also, and this should be obvious, hike in places where hiking is allowed, and don’t trespass to find caves. You wont get what you want out of it, even if you take the risk. (more on that later.)
But assuming you are, legally, and safely hiking around, you may come across a hole in the ground. Many of these have the potential to be caves. Most of them are, probably already known. A good way to check, is to safely, and without risks, look for circular markers driven into the rocks numbering and naming the cave. If it’s on public property, then it has probably been marked. If it is on private property, then I hope you have permission to be there, and it might not be, even if it is known. Marked caves can appear on registered lists, with the state geological survey, or the state speleological societies. Here is Kentucky’s.
There are other ways to find caves too. Most involve learning more about caving, and how to find caves. To do this, you should first find other people who are interested in finding caves, (and probably exploring them,) with you. Here are a couple links to groups full of people who want to find and explore caves. The National Speleological Society is one such organization. (the link takes you to Kentucky’s pages because this is about Mammoth Cave, but you can check out your own state.) Or the Cave Research Foundation. The CRF is a little more academically minded, but they also are responsible for a lot of the research going on in Mammoth Cave, and they have a headquarters very near Diamond Caverns, which I’ve previously mentioned. I’d also recommend, if you are in the Mammoth Cave region, I’d recommend a visit to the Hidden River Cave Tours/American Cave Museum as they have an interesting cave to visit, and people who are interested in caving (and presumably finding new ones.) There are plenty of other groups like these, and if you are interested in finding caves I reccomend investing your local area to find one. If there’s not a group nearby, make one, find a wild* geologist, who knows what they are doing, and a few friends, and explore, safely and legally as you can. Even if the cave you discover isn’t new, it might still be really cool. (or it might not, not every cave is equally fun.)
* I use wild here to comedic effect, I do not mean a feral geologist, just one open to forming a cave finding party. Feral geologists bite.
Well, that one kind of got away from me didn’t it? There are more ways to discover a cave, and some are technical. Although walking around is the most accessible way to do it. Maybe I will actually do another blog on finding caves in the future. For now I want to remind you that I did not talk about exploring caves, or exploring the caves you discovered. These both get their own blogs, and before you enter the subterranean world you should also know more about how to safely explore a cave. So these 3 topics will get their own blog.
For now I want to focus on another interesting part about cave discovery. (Which by reading this sentence you agree to do safely, and in a group, or not at all.) Namely,
This cave was already found, it’s pretty famous, but you could stumble across a hole like this too. (without the steps.)
#4 If you find a cave, you may get to name it*
* Terms and conditions apply.
1st, you have to be somewhere where the discovery is yours to make. If you are trespassing, or hiking through a closed region, you might A, get in trouble, and B, forfeit your rights to naming the cave.
But if you have permission to be where you are, and you report your find to the proper parties, and the cave happens to actually be new- ie: undocumented, (It’s very easy to miss cave markers, and not every documented cave is marked,) then you might actually get to name your cave.
And If you do, first tell someone like: a park ranger, someone from the speleological society, or a wild geologist. But if they tell you that it was a new cave, then yay! I found a handy resource for you. Doc on Naming Caves. This was written for the University of Missouri in 1960, by Jerry Vineyard, and provides criteria for naming a cave, and judging your prospective cave name. Its a fun read, which I would highly recommend if you do end up finding a cave of your own. In The Specters of Mammoth Cave the JRIC may happen across a cave, and they may also come up with a proposed name for it. You can use this document to judge whether or not their name would actually make it through to become said cave’s actual name.
One of those cave makers for a registered cave.
Why are the Junior Rangers Investigative Club member finding and naming caves, do they break any of the safety rules I will write about at some point in the future? To find out, stay tuned.
But in the meantime, If you find yourself wandering through Karst Territory, just know that you might stumble into a cave. And if you do, you might get to name it, however there is a much higher probability it will probably be known, or connect to a known cave, but even then if it connects to Mammoth Cave you will be adding to the legacy of the longest known cave on Earth, which people probably found simply by walking around one day, a long long time ago. (but more about that later too.)
Don’t forget to follow the rules! And Be Safe!!!!!
For now, I’ll wrap this up with a simple message.
Happy 4th of July. Enjoy your fireworks, if you like them. You’re day off, if you get one. Or something else if they others don’t apply. Party on and take care!