Skylight Cave facts for kids

Skylight Cave is a cool underground tunnel called a lava tube. It's located in Deschutes County, Oregon, in the United States. You can find it inside the Deschutes National Forest, about ten miles west of the city of Sisters. This cave is a special home for Townsend's big-eared bats. Because these bats hibernate (sleep through winter) there, the cave is closed to visitors from October 1 to April 29 each year.

What is Skylight Cave?

Skylight Cave is a type of cave formed by flowing lava. Imagine hot, liquid rock (lava) flowing like a river. When the outside of the lava stream cools down and hardens, it forms a crust. But the lava inside keeps flowing, eventually draining away and leaving behind a hollow tunnel. That's how a lava tube like Skylight Cave is made!

Exploring the Cave's Features

To enter Skylight Cave, you go down a steel ladder through a part of the roof that has fallen in. The most famous parts of the cave are two openings in the ceiling, called skylights, in the eastern passage. These are like natural windows to the sky and are why the cave got its name. These skylights were once small volcano-like mounds called hornitos, which are formed when lava pushes up through cracks.

Inside the Passages

The cave might have had even more hornitos in the past, as there are many small dome-shaped bumps called cupolas along its passages. The entrance itself might have been a hornito that collapsed. The eastern part of the cave still looks much like it did when it first formed. However, the western part is filled with sand, clay, and piles of broken rock. This western passage is longer and a bit harder to explore.

Why is the Cave Closed Sometimes?

Skylight Cave is an important home for Townsend's big-eared bats. These bats are special because they have very long ears! They use the cave to hibernate during the colder months, which means they go into a deep sleep to save energy. To protect these bats and make sure they aren't disturbed while they're sleeping, the cave is closed to people from October 1st to April 29th every year. This helps the bats stay safe and healthy.