Illinois Caverns State Natural Area facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Illinois Caverns State Natural Area
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Drapery and flowstone in Chimney Dome
Illinois Caverns State Natural Area Location in Illinois
Location	Monroe County, Illinois, U.S.
Nearest city	Waterloo, Illinois
Area	120 acres (49 ha)
Established	April 23, 1901
Governing body	Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Illinois Caverns is a special natural area found in Monroe County, Illinois. It's home to the amazing Illinois Caverns, also known by other names like Mammoth Cave of Illinois. This cave is the second-largest in Illinois, with over 9.6 kilometers (about 6 miles) of tunnels and passages to explore!

Inside the cave, the temperature always stays at a cool 14°C (58°F). Some parts of the cave can get watery when it rains a lot. The passages can be as tall as a two-story building and just as wide, making them really impressive. You can find Illinois Caverns off Illinois Route 3, south of Waterloo, near the small community of Burksville.

A Look Back: Cave History

What we now call Illinois Caverns welcomed its first visitors who paid to enter way back in March 1901. A person named Mr. White from East Saint Louis managed it. This is the only cave in Illinois that was ever run as a business for tourists. Many people from St. Louis visited it during the big 1904 World's Fair.

However, the cave never made a lot of money and closed in 1907. It remained mostly untouched, except for the concrete stairs at the entrance and one ladder. In 1985, the cave and the land around it were sold to the State of Illinois. Armin Krueger took care of the site until he passed away.

How the Cave Was Formed: Geology

Illinois Caverns was, and still is, being formed by water slowly dissolving rock. This happens in a type of rock called limestone and another similar rock called dolomite. This kind of landscape, where water shapes the rock, is called karst.

Inside the cave, you can see amazing rock formations. These include pointy icicle-like shapes called stalactites that hang from the ceiling. There are also cone-shaped formations called stalagmites that grow up from the floor. Other cool formations are rimstone dams (like small walls that hold water), flowstone (sheets of rock that look like frozen waterfalls), and thin, hollow tubes called soda straws.

The cavern is a "branchwork" type of cave. This means it has a main cavern and a stream, with smaller tunnels branching off like the limbs of a tree. If you look at the area around the cave entrance from above, you'll see many round, crater-like holes. These are common in karst areas and show how the water has shaped the land.

Meet the Residents: Cave Animals

Illinois Caverns is home to many different animals. You might find bats, salamanders, frogs, and crickets. There are also tiny creatures like amphipods and isopods.

One very special animal living here is the Illinois Cave Amphipod, known scientifically as Gammarus acherondytes. This tiny creature is an endangered species. It's found nowhere else in the world except in Illinois Caverns and a few other nearby caves in southwestern Illinois. This makes protecting the cave and its environment super important!

Visiting the Cave: What to Know

The cave has been closed to visitors since early 2010. This was done to help stop the spread of a serious bat disease called white-nose syndrome. This disease harms bats and has caused many of them to die.

If you want to enter the cave, you need a special permit. You can find more information on the official website. You also need at least four people in your group to enter. Everyone must have a hardhat, sturdy boots, strong clothing, and three different sources of light (like flashlights). Sometimes, certain parts of the cave might be closed off for safety, and these areas will be clearly marked.

To get to Illinois Caverns from the north, take Route 3 south past Waterloo for about two miles. Turn right onto Kaskaskia Road. In Burksville, turn left onto KK Road (heading east), then turn right onto G Road. The entrance will be on your right, about two and a quarter miles south of KK Road.

From Red Bud, take Route 3 north for about five miles and turn left onto II Road. Bear left at Sportsmans Road, go through Tipton, and bear right at the Y intersection with R Road to stay on II Road for about five miles, until it crosses G Road. Turn right, and the entrance will be on your left, less than a mile north of II Road.