Come along with us as we go caving in one of Tennessee's longest and most voluminous caves which has over 40 miles of cave passage! On today's trip, we will go through the infamous BO Crawl for over a 1/4 mile, see paw print tracks left behind from an extinct jaguar an estimated 10,000 years ago, gypsum flowers, gypsum crystals, and even some rare formations such as gypsum beards and needles! Not only do we see all of these beautiful formations, we are also seeing some of the largest cave passages in the state of Tennessee.
Thank you to the landowner, who discovered/explored this cave and allows Cavers to visit.
This cave was first written about in Tom Barr's 1961 book, Caves of Tennessee. It was noted as being a single room cave that was 6 foot wide, 6 foot high, and 500 feet long. Later, in 1989 a group of cavers pursuing a windy lead near the back broke through and they had discovered nearly two miles of cave that consisted of mostly huge walking borehole passage. Within the next two years, it was noted they had surveyed 26.4 miles of cave, making it the longest known cave in Tennessee at that time. Fast forward to November of 2007, the cave was now at over 34 miles long and currently in 2024 is it listed at 40 miles long. The cave is located at 1,100 feet above sea level near the Mississippian Age Monteagle Limestone. In the area we visit in the cave known as the NA passage, this actually passes under a small lake on the surface. The cave is overlaid by almost 800 feet of clastic rock, which consists of 300 feet of limestone & sandstone, followed by 500 feet of minor dolomite, shale, and sandstone.
This cave has three entrances, one is a spring and is only enterable by cave diving equipment. The other two entrances are both gated and permission is required by the owner for visitation.
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