Blanchard Springs Caverns

Blanchard Springs Caverns

Blanchard Springs Caverns is a cave system located in the Ozark National Forest in Stone County in northern Arkansas, 2 miles off Highway 14 a short distance north of Mountain View. [http://www.uark.edu/~siggamep/blanchard/ Blanchard Springs Caverns, The University of Arkansas] Blanchard Springs Caverns is a three-level cave system, two of which are open for guided tours. The Dripstone Trail runs through an underground fantasy in the upper level of the caverns. The Discovery Trail on the second level opened in 1977. The Discovery trails runs through the middle of the cavern. They also offer a "Wild Cave" tour which allows access to undeveloped parts of the cave to more adventurous visitors.

The temperature is a constant, year-round 58° F (14° C). The limestone rock from which the caves and their formations developed was laid down in an ancient sea more than 350 million years ago. It remains a "living" cave in part because of the care given by visitors and the United States Forest Service. Living caves are ones in which slow metamorphosis due to minerals deposited by seeping and dripping water is still in process.

History

Local residents knew about the caves by the 1930s when the first attempts to explore the caverns occurred. The first systematic exploration of the cave began in 1955 and went for five years. In 1955, explorers discovered a 1000-year-old Native American skeleton in the cave. How this explorer entered the cave is a mystery. The caverns were opened to the public in 1973 after ten years of development on the Dripstone Trail. Blanchard Springs Caverns got its name from the caves source, Blanchard Springs.

References

* [http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/recreation/caverns.html USDA Forest Service Page for Blanchard Springs Caverns]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Blanchard Springs Caverns — Die Blanchard Springs Caverns sind eine Höhle im Norden des US Bundesstaates Arkansas. Sie gehört zu den eindrucksvollsten und am besten erhaltenen Tropfsteinhöhlen der Welt. Mehrere tausend Formationen von Stalaktiten, Stalagmiten, Säulen und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Blanchard — bezeichnet: Blanchard (Mondkrater), einen Einschlagskrater auf dem Mond Blanchard ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Albert Gallatin Blanchard (1810–1891), US amerikanischer Brigadegeneral im Sezessionskrieg Charles Émile Blanchard… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Blanchard (disambiguation) — Blanchard is a French family name.Blanchard may also refer to: * Blanchard (crater), a lunar crater that lies on the far side of the Moon * Blanchard, Iowa * Blanchard, Louisiana * Blanchard, Maine * Blanchard, Michigan * Blanchard, North Dakota… …   Wikipedia

  • Carlsbad Caverns National Park — Infobox protected area | name = Carlsbad Caverns National Park iucn category = II caption = locator x = 96 locator y = 127 location = Eddy County, New Mexico, U.S. nearest city = Carlsbad lat degrees = 32 lat minutes = 10 lat seconds = 31 lat… …   Wikipedia

  • List of caves — The following is a partial list of caves. Africa Algeria * Ain Bird Zaa El Kbira * Anou Achra Lemoun * Anou Boussouil * Anou Ifflis * Anou Timedouine * Aven Yebdar * Grotte Des Ain Beni Add * Kef Al Kaous * Rhar El Kahal * Rivière De La Tafna *… …   Wikipedia

  • Arkansas — (Details) (Details) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ozark — St. Francis National Forest IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area) …   Wikipedia

  • List of caves in the United States — A list of caves in the United States.Alabama*Cathedral Caverns *DeSoto Caverns *Rickwood Caverns *Russell Cave *Sequoyah CavernsArizona*Bat Cave mine *Colossal Cave *Coronado Cave *Grand Canyon Caverns *Kartchner Caverns *Peppersauce… …   Wikipedia

  • List of caves in Arkansas — Arkansas, with its karst topography, has several beautiful show caves. This list of caves in Arkansas includes the location and date they opened to the public. * Onyx Cave (1893) Eureka Springs * Diamond Cave (1925) Parthanon * Cosmic Cavern… …   Wikipedia

  • Arkansas — This article is about the U.S. state of Arkansas. For the river, see Arkansas River. For other uses, see Arkansas (disambiguation). State of Arkansas …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”