Where are there the most caves?

[Marshmallow]

I just finished reading the final book in Jean Auel's "Clan of the Cave Bear." She goes into great description of some of the caves in Europe where cave people lived and made their cave drawings. Here in the U.S., where are the most caves located? I'm in eastern NC, and we just don't have a lot of caves near me.

[wvbreamfisherman]

Lots of caves wherever there is limestone and water. This is sometimes called Karst Terrain. Karst - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee all have areas honeycombed with caves.

Here is a map of that kind of terrain: Untitled Document

[Grandpa]

Last week, I camped with a guy that did bat studies in the lava tubes. He said there are over 300 tubes just in the Snake River plain. I would bet the N. California area, N. Nevada/S. Oregon area would have the same density.

The Carlsbad area of New Mexico has extensive caves as well, but I think the heaviest concentration is still the Kentucky, W. Virginia, etc., area WV mentioned.

[ppine]

Wv,
Good post. The name Karst comes from the former country of Yugoslavia which has the largest concerntration of limestone caves in the world. New Zealand has them. I believe there are some in China also. Many other locations around the world have limestone caves. Old sedimentary marine deposits are the best places to look. Caves form by physical and especially chemical weathering in limestone.

In the West, there are surprisingly good caves at Carslbad, NM, Wind Cave, SD and at Great Basin NP in eastern Nevada. I grew up near Luray Caverns, Virginia. Lava tubes are exciting to explore as they usually are not develped with no light sources. Always bring at least 3. I have used a Coleman lantern to walk thru some lava tubes up near Lassen NP.

My Dad tells the old story about walking thru a lava cave in WA state as a kid with my grandfather and my uncle. They had some candles and matches in what were known as the "Ape Caves" (after the Sasquatch). Dad tells a long-winded tale of being scared to death in there and running out of candles, using matches for light at the end to barely escape from the Squatch they were sure were chasing them.

[Grandpa]

Every January, a species of whitefish know as the Bonneville Cisco, emerges from underground caves on the east side of Bear Lake to spawn. Bear Lake is a large lake on the Utah/Idaho border. This was the only known location for this particular subspecies and it only appeared in the lake for about a week during the January spawn. Recently, the same species has been found in caves on the eastern side of the Wind River Range in Central Wyoming. It is now supposed that this fish lives in the subteranean caverns of central Wyoming and migrates the nearly 200 miles to Bear Lake every winter to spawn.

[Joe S.]

The Mammoth Cave area in Kentucky is one area that comes to mind. The Lake of the Ozarks area in Missouri also has an extensive network of caves.

[TroyS]

Heard about the Wind Cave in South Dakota from a friend of mine. Has anyone here tried it?

[Grandpa]

Yes, I visited Wind Cave many years ago. It is a guided tour operated by the Park service. One unique feature is a room with a lot of either flurospar or feldspar in the rock. (I can't remember which.) They shut the light and the room is still filled with a soft pink light from the rock.

[hummingbird]

Mammoth Cave is in Kentucky. My husband and I went on a tour there when we were first married. It was beautiful and I would recommend it to anyone who loves caves.

[Sagebrusher]

Originally Posted by TroyS

Heard about the Wind Cave in South Dakota from a friend of mine. Has anyone here tried it?

Yep. I went on the basic tour of both Wind Cave and nearby Jewel Cave. Both are run by the National Park Service (an agency of the fed. gov). Wind Cave has quite a few elk and bison to see, also, there are some good drives in the park especially gravel roads 5 and 6...which are accesible either from highway 87 or the wildlife loop in Custer State Park...but you have to pay to get on the wildlife loop in Custer State Park..Hwy 87 is free, however, if you DON"T STOP in Custer State Park including pulling over.
Wind Cave National Park does not have an entrance fee, however entry into the caves require a tour and those have fees.

Wind Cave National Park Map:

Map - Wind Cave National Park - Wind Cave National Park

Custer State Park Map, it is just north of and adjacent to Wind Cave National Park

http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/direct...custer-map.pdf

Custer State Park website:

SD GFP | State Parks | Directory | Custer State Park



I went on the Garden of Eden tour at Wind Cave. If you go during the summer or other busy time you should get advance reservations.

Program and Tour Schedule - Wind Cave National Park