Peppersauce Cave facts for kids
Peppersauce Cave is a cool natural cave made of limestone. You can find it in the Santa Catalina Mountains, about ten miles south of Oracle, Arizona. Lots of people visit Peppersauce Cave every year, around 23,000! It has about one mile of passages that have been explored and mapped out.
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Discovering Peppersauce Cave
Peppersauce Cave became known to people in the area in February 1948. An article about it was published in a magazine called Desert Magazine. Later, in 1951, National Geographic Magazine also wrote about the cave. That article even showed pictures of a scientist carefully taking a piece of a stalactite for study.
This cave has always been open for everyone to explore. There are no special tours or guides. You won't find a big parking lot, but there's space to park your car on the side of the road. The only official sign is a bit hidden from the main road. This sign also shows a map of about half the cave's accessible areas. It shows the path from the entrance all the way to a spot called the Big Room.
Exploring the Cave
Inside Peppersauce Cave, it's always humid. The temperature stays around 70 °F (21 °C) (about 21 degrees Celsius). But, if it rains a lot or snow melts, the mud and water levels can change. Sometimes, the water can even flood up to an area near the entrance called the "three fissures." However, for most of the year, the lakes inside the cave stay at a steady level.
What You'll See Inside
To reach the room with the main lake, you need to go from the Big Room. There's a 15 feet (4.6 m) (about 4.5 meter) metal ladder to help you get down. Without this ladder, cave explorers would need ropes to go past the Big Room. Another metal ladder at the other end of the Big Room leads you into the second part of the cave.
Right after the second ladder, you'll find a narrow spot called "the rabbit hole" or "birthing canal." It's named this because it's always wet, and you often have to go down head-first! The first big feature you'll come across is "the Slide." This is a very smooth, tall wall that's angled just right for sliding down. Be careful though, it doesn't gently slope to the floor. You'll need to land on your feet and be ready to run a bit!
The Signing Room
The Signing Room is a central spot where many tunnels connect, beyond the Big Room. It's a common place for people to rest. This room has a dirt floor and a low, angled rock ceiling. The ceiling is easy to reach, and because of this, it's covered in signatures, which is how the room got its name! You'll usually find one or more notebooks and pens here, free for you to write messages and fill with your thoughts.
Keeping the Cave Clean
For over fifty years, the cave has faced problems like litter and drawings on the walls. In 2001, a group called the Peppersauce Cave Conservation Project (PCCP) was started. This happened after they found some harmful bacteria, like E. Coli, in the cave's lakes.
Protecting the Cave
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) helps fund this project. Volunteers also work hard to keep the cave clean. In January 2003, tests showed that there were no harmful bacteria in the water. The group has also been very successful at removing graffiti. Even with their efforts, the cave still sometimes gets new drawings and litter. It's important for everyone to help protect this amazing natural place!