Raccoon Mountain Caverns facts for kids
Raccoon Mountain Caverns is a cool cave found near Chattanooga, Tennessee. It's located in a type of rock called Mississippian Period limestone, which is part of the Cumberland Plateau. This cave is famous for its amazing rock formations and the unique creatures that live inside.
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How the Cave Was Discovered
The cave was officially found in 1929 by a local cave explorer named Leo Lambert. He had already discovered and opened another famous cave called Ruby Falls. Before Lambert arrived, the land where the cave is now was a farm for a hotel. Farmers would often relax near cracks in the rock on hot days because cool air blew out of them.
In 1929, Leo Lambert was asked to check out where this cool air was coming from. As an experienced cave explorer, he knew that a lot of air blowing out meant there had to be a big cave hidden behind the cracks. Lambert made the cracks bigger and soon found hundreds of feet of beautiful cave passages. The cave was also conveniently close to U.S. Highway 41.
Lambert quickly set up walking paths and electric lights. He opened the cave to the public on June 28, 1931, calling it "Tennessee Caverns."
Exploring the Cave: Tours and Adventures
When the cave first opened, the main tour was called the Lambert Tour. It went around the Crystal Palace Room, which was thought to be the biggest room in the cave.
The Crystal Palace Tour
About 20 years after the cave opened, the Smith Brothers were managing it. They found a small hole near the Crystal Palace Room. This opening was very tight, only about 7.5 inches wide! The explorers had to breathe out to squeeze through. But just a short distance later, the passage opened up into a much larger room. They kept exploring and found even more areas.
Eventually, they made the tour longer to include these new discoveries. Today, this loop tour is about half a mile long and is known as The Crystal Palace Tour.
Wild Cave Expeditions
In the 1970s, a new type of tour was added called Wild Cave Expeditions. These tours let visitors explore the undeveloped parts of the cave, beyond the areas with lights and paths. So far, over 5.5 miles of passages have been found and mapped, and new discoveries are still being made!
A Changing Name and More to Explore
Over the years, the cave's name changed a few times. It went from Tennessee Caverns to Crystal City Caves, then to Crystal Caverns, and finally to its current name, Raccoon Mountain Caverns, in the late 1970s.
Today, the property around the cave also has a campground. You can find places for RVs, tents, and even cabins there.
Unique Features of the Cave
Raccoon Mountain Caverns is special because it has many active speleothems. These are the amazing rock formations like stalactites and stalagmites that are still growing! The cave also has fossils and lots of wildlife.
Cave Wildlife
Besides several types of salamanders, the cave is home to a very special spider. It's called the Crystal Caverns Cave Spider (Nesticus furtivus). This spider was first noticed in 1938 and officially described in 1984. What makes it so unique is that it's only known to live inside Raccoon Mountain Caverns!
Raccoon Mountain Caverns is a popular place for tourists. It's one of only two caves in the Chattanooga and Hamilton County area that are open for people to visit.
