Blanchard Springs Caverns
Encyclopedia
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
. 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.
skeleton in the cave. The skeleton had a fractured skull,fractured ribs,and a fractured leg. 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.
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
system located in the Ozark National Forest in Stone County in northern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, 2 miles off Highway 14 a short distance north of Mountain View
Mountain View, Arkansas
Mountain View is the largest city in and the county seat of Stone County in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 2,998. The town's name comes from its location in a valley surrounded by the eastern Ozark...
. Blanchard Springs Caverns is a three-level cave system, two of which are open for guided tours. The Dripstone
Dripstone
Dripstone may refer to:*Hood mould or dripstone, an architectural feature for handling rain water*Stalactite, a type of a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of a limestone cave...
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
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
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
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
. 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 AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
skeleton in the cave. The skeleton had a fractured skull,fractured ribs,and a fractured leg. 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.