A Cool Cave – Crystal Cave Nevada

North of the deserts in Utah and Nevada, past the endless fields of corn, into the northern woods of the USA, Crystal Cave was found. Located in Spring Valley, WI, this cave is a small adventure taking no more than an hour to complete.

The only way to enter the cave, is if you go with a tour, costing 10 dollars per person. You are led deep into the heart of the cave, and you will find out how dark caves get. Your tour guide will show you the story of Charlie the caveman, and his boat race incident, rocks that glow under a black light, and ancient fossils.

A local farm boy named William Vannase traveled into the woods nearby his farm, and came across a leaf-filled hole. He poked around with a stick, and accidently dropped it. Hearing it clatter, he realized this wasn't a regular hole.

The next day, he brought his younger brother with him, and they entered the cave through what is now called the “slide”. There was a large cavern when they stopped descending, and they did not think that there could have been more hallways and rooms.

When they first found the cave, it was named Sander's Corner Cave. This name remained for several decades. Then, the only sign that there may have been a cave in the woods was a slight depression in the ground.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, Wisconsin and the surrounding areas were covered in a shallow ocean. The ocean was buzzing with life, and as the water level slowly receded, animal died. They are now preserved in the walls of this cave.

The cave was formed from water, being soaked up and turned into acid, as is passed through the top layer of rock. The type of acid found in all carbonated beverages. This acid started eating away at the soft rock beneath the first layer of rock, and this is when a cave starts to form.

Inside the cave, it stays the average temperature of WI year around; 49 degrees Fahrenheit (9.4 degrees Celsius). Be sure to bring a sweatshirt! This makes a wonderful shelter from the cold winter winds above. The main creatures that makes itself home here from as early as September to as late as June, are bats. They sleep the entire winter, only moving to get a sip of water.

In the cave, you can see stalagmites, and stalactites. Your tour guide will point this out to you, along with the popular, flowing rock. The same acid that made this cave, is what helped in making stalagmites, stalactites, and flow rock. It takes nearly 100 years for the columns to grow one inch. If humans touch them, it will take a thousand years for it to continue growing because of the oils on our hands.

Overall, this large cave is worth seeing, and can be a short stop on a smaller trip. Crystal cave will continue to change and form, and tours leave about every half hour.