TyToona

Tytoona Cave is located approximately convert|1|mi|km|sing=on from Arch Springs, Pennsylvania in Sinking Valley, near Tyrone and Altoona, in the United States.

General Description

TyToona Cave's entrance is located in an approximately convert|100|ft|m|sing=on deep sinkhole. A stream emerges from the base of a shear wall of the sinkhole opposit the cave entrance. This stream flows about one hundred feet or so before entering the TyToona cave entrance. An above-ground stream enters the sinkhole and joins the stream emerging from the cliff. The flow of the above-ground drainage is very dependent on the amount of recent rain. The flow of the stream emerging from the base of cliff also varies greatly. The entrance to the cave slopes from ground level on the left diagonally to a high point of about 10-12 feet on the right. In the cave, the stream bottom is fairly flat and rather wide (~20-25 feet). The stream bottom is covered with gravel of varying size. The cave has a clay-covered path over a rock shelf on the left-hand side, with several very shortdead-end passages on the left. The cave is walkable for about 800-900 feet before a sump is encountered. There are not many formations (such as flowstone, stalagmites/stalactites, soda straws, etc) visible. [Steve Benning (personal observations from TyToona Cave visits)]

Ownership

The cave and convert|6.8|acre|m2 encompassing the sinkhole and cave entrance are owned by a private conservancy organization. This organization is composed of volunteers who monitor the condition of the cave, remove garbage and graffiti, conduct research, and work with the police to deter people from gathering at the cave to drink, take drugs, perform vandalism, etc. The exact location of the cave is not advertised, but the location is well-known to locals and the people are allowed to explore the cave from 0600-2100 every day as long as the posted rules are followed. [ [http://www.caves.org/preserves/tcp/tytoona.html National Speological Society(NSS) TyToona Cave Nature Preserve] web site]

References

External links

* [http://www.caves.org/preserves/tcp/tytoona.html TyToona Cave NSS Page]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GR5l04llhQ YouTube Video shot from logjam deep within TyToona out to the entrance/sinkhole]