Missouri Caves

"...the cave was but a labyrinth of crooked aisles that ran into each other and out again and led nowhere. It was said that one might wander days and nights together through its intricate tangle of rifts and chasms and never find the end of the cave."

Mark Twain

Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Twain said, "No man knew the cave; that was an impossible thing."

Missouri, the Cave State, is home to over 6000 caves. Bluff Dweller's Cavern is one of the more scenic due to the varied types of cave growth. Among these are stalactites, stalagmites, sawtooth drapes, soda straws and flowstone that form the dripping and trickling of mineral charged water. In the still pools we find cave coral, sponges, lily pads, popcorn and "one of the most striking rimstone dams in the state."

Bridal Cave and Thunder Mountain Park, Giant columns, delicate soda straws and massive draperies abound throughout the cave. Millions of years of struggle between water and rock have created this cavern with more onyx formations than any other known cave or cavern. In fact thousands of school children each year explore Bridal Cave as part of their educational program.

In the introduction to Cathedral Cave, in his book "Caves of Missouri," J. Harlen Bretz explains "The low entrance by which the cave was discovered many years ago is heartily detestable, and never used without some special reason." This entrance lies along the Meramec River and has been securely gated for many years. Cathedral Cave is 15,639 feet long, and the trip from the river entrance to the commercial entrance is about 5,600 feet. The remainder of the cave consists of a few side passages and the portion known as "Upstream Cathedral," which was not mapped until the 1970s, due in part to its own characteristic.

CRYSTAL CAVE is the home of spectacular waterfalls, stalactites, stalagmites and many other splendid formations!! The cave has a constant temperature of 59 degrees, with natural pathways, handrails, and stone steps. It is state inspected and hosts guided tours daily.

Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, Missouri and is a magnificent show cave. It is touted as the only ride through cave in America. http://www.fantasticcaverns.com/ is a page that will give you just a few photos, no history and lots of info on tours and hours. Roadside America tells a lot more of the history besides all the tourist info. And has more photos.

Fisher Cave is truly one of the park's (Meramec State Park) most spectacular natural wonders. Naturalist-led tours, offered on a seasonal basis, provide an interesting adventure for park visitors. From the low, narrow streamside passages to the huge rooms filled with calcite deposits, Fisher Cave offers one outstanding cave scene after another. Inside these rooms and passages are well-preserved bear claw marks, cave wildlife and a vast array of calcite deposits ranging from intricate hellectites to massive columns 30 feet tall.

See the Jacob's Cave site and you will know that it is a cave for sale. Find the History link and enjoy as it tells the story and will give you a slideshow of fine photos.

Silver Dollar City Theme Park is the home of Marvel Cave. This page has lots of photos but none of the cave that I could find. The original explorers named the cavern Marble Cave as they hoped to find marble. There was none. There is mention of the 200 foot drop entrance but no other words about it becoming more accessible. Rock formations still grow today in the ancient surroundings of the deepest cave in Missouri, Marvel Cave, is from Branson Show's page. There had been one mention of it being the deepest cave of all Missouri's caverns and that it was a "wet" limestone cave. Wikipedia has a lot more of the history and none of the tourism. Most interesting.

One Missouri cave stands out above the rest -- Onondaga Cave in Onondaga Cave State Park. Deep underground there is a world that nature has created using water to form deposits of tall stalagmites, dripping stalactites, active flowstones and many other colorful deposits. Onondaga Cave, a National Natural Landmark, and Cathedral Cave showcase these natural wonders, which can be viewed during cave tours. There is also plenty of natural beauty to enjoy above ground at the park. Vilander Bluff Natural Area provides visitors with a panoramic view of the Meramec River. Come and take a hike through the Meramec River valley, canoe or fish in the Meramec River or enjoy a picnic lunch. Learn about the park's natural resources above and below the earth's surface through exhibits inside the visitor center. http://www.mostateparks.com/onondaga/histononcave.htm Is the history of the Onondaga cave. Lots of great information.

Ozark Caverns in Lake of the Ozarks State Park.. Angel Showers, an unusual cave phenomenon, is a featured part of the Ozark Caverns tour. The never-ending shower of water seems to come out of the solid ceiling of rock. There is also much to see on the surface. Coakley Hollow Trail, which is a one-mile, self-guiding interpretive trail, begins and ends at the caverns parking lot. This trail crosses a variety of habitats including a glade, fen and an Ozark spring branch. It is also a good place to see spring wildflowers. Wikipedia says...

Devil's Icebox - Rock Bridge Memorial State Park While walking the half-mile Devil�s Icebox Boardwalk, visitors will pass both under and over the rock bridge, have the opportunity to explore Connor�s Cave on their own, and see an underground stream, small spring and sinkhole. The 15 miles of trails that traverse the 2,273-acre park are always open to hikers and are conditionally open to bicyclists. Hikers and horseback riders can enjoy the serenity of the 750-acre Gans Creek Wild Area.

Karst is a landscape characterized by the presence of caves, springs, sinkholes and losing streams. Because of this karst topography, Missouri is home to not only large rivers and beautiful streams, we have plentiful underground water resources as well. Fifty-nine percent of the state is underlain by thick, carbonate rock units that host a wide variety of karst features. According to the Missouri Speleological Survey, there are now more than 6,000 known caves in Missouri. A spring database maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources currently lists more than 3,000 springs in the state. Sinkholes have been inventoried in only a few counties: Greene County reports more than 2,500, and Perry County reports more than 7,000. Losing streams have not been fully inventoried statewide, but there are hundreds of miles of losing streams recorded, and probably twice that much that are unrecorded.

Missouri's Karst Wonderland This page has such a variety of awesome sights: rivers, springs, streams, caves, natural bridges, canyons, grottos and sinkholes. Take the time to look around and enjoy.

Graham Cave State Park Graham Cave is a Native American archeological site near Mineola, Missouri. Documenting 8,000 years of habitation, it is a Missouri State Park. This park is a great little place for kids to stretch their legs on a sunny winter afternoon. Only 357 acres, Graham Cave has an appealing intimacy plus an expansive bluff shelter cave that may have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years � possibly even more. A modest, user-friendly trail meanders through Missouri glades, and oak and prairie savannah. Overhead, sandstone bluffs feature overhangs that form some wonderfully scenic waterfalls in the wet season. Campgrounds and picnic areas can be found near the Loutre River bordering the park. National Historic Landmark.

Unity Natural Bridge is a small but very interesting waterfall natural bridge with multiple openings. The opening shown has a span of 15 feet and a height of 8 feet. It is located on the grounds of the Unity Church headquarters complex in Kansas City, Missouri, making it one of the few natural arches or bridges to be found in an urban setting.

Carver's Cave is a fascinating account beginning long ago with only drawings to depict the cavern. I found this item while researching Mississippi. It is on the Mississippi River.