Snail Shell Cave facts for kids

This is in the main entrance of Snail Shell Cave in Tennessee. It is a Karst Window entrance, where a collapse has occurred into the middle of a cave stream passage. Here you are in one arm of the passage looking into the other arm. The cave extends for long distances each way with flotation required in much of it.

The Grand Canal in Snail Shell Cave, Tennessee. Much of the cave requires a reliable boat to explore.

Snail Shell Cave is a famous limestone cave located in Rockvale, Tennessee. It sits on an 88-acre (36 ha) nature preserve near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Southeastern Cave Conservancy (SCCi) owns this special cave. They say it's "one of the most biologically significant cave sites in the southeastern United States." This means it's super important for the plants and animals that live there.

Exploring Snail Shell Cave

Snail Shell Cave is huge! It has more than 9 miles (14 km) of passages that have been mapped. This makes it the longest continuous cave in the Central Basin area of Tennessee. The entire cave system, which includes other connected caves, is known to have over 13 miles (21 km) of passages.

The main entrance to Snail Shell Cave is a large sinkhole. It has steep walls and is about 125 feet wide and 60 feet deep. A stream flows across the bottom of this sinkhole. You can follow the stream either upstream or downstream into the cave.

How the Cave Was Discovered

Local people knew about the entrance to Snail Shell Cave for a long time. However, deep water inside the cave made it hard to explore. In September 1951, two modern cave explorers, Tom Barr and Bert Denton, found the entrance. They were the first to seriously explore the cave.

Visiting Snail Shell Cave Safely

Snail Shell Cave is a very special place, but it can also be dangerous. Because of the deep water and possible flooding, it's considered very risky. Only highly skilled and experienced cave explorers should ever enter this cave.

If you want to visit Snail Shell Cave, you must get permission first. You need to contact the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc. (SCCi) to ask for entry. Also, at least one person in your group must be a member of either the SCCi or the National Speleological Society (NSS). These rules help keep everyone safe and protect the cave.

Learn More About the Cave

If you are interested in learning even more about Snail Shell Cave and its connected passages, there is a book called "Snail Shell Cave." It was written by Larry E. Matthews and Bob Biddix and published in August 2012 by the National Speleological Society. This book has 241 pages filled with maps and photos of the caves.