Ellisons Cave is a pit cave

Pit Cave

A pit cave, or vertical cave — or often simply called a pit or pot — is a type of natural cave which contains one or more significant vertical shafts rather than being predominantly a conventional horizontal cave passage. Pit caves typically form in limestone as a result of long-term erosion by...

 located in Walker County

Walker County, Georgia

Walker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 18, 1833 from land formerly belonging to the Cherokee Indian Nation. As of 2000, the population was 61,053. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 64,554...

, on Pigeon Mountain in the Appalachian Plateaus of Northwest Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. It is the 12th deepest cave in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and features the deepest, unobstructed underground pitch in the continental US named Fantastic Pit. The cave is over 12 miles long and extends 1063 feet vertically.

Pits

Ellisons features a number of underground vertical pitches including the two tallest pits in the continental United States: Fantastic (586 feet) and Incredible (440 feet). These two pits lie on opposite sides of the cave. Nearby and parallel to Fantastic are Smokey I (490 feet) and Smokey II (320 feet). Fantastic and Smokey I both extend to TAG Hall, a passage at the bottom of the cave. To reach Fantastic, or the large pits on the Fantastic side, cavers must also descend the Warm Up pit (125 feet).

Geology

Ellisons is a solution cave in the Ridge and Valley geologic region

Geology of Georgia (U.S. state)

The Geology of Georgia consists of four distinct geologic regions, beginning in the northwest corner of the state and moving through the state to the southeast: the Ridge and Valley, the Blue Ridge, the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.-Ridge and Valley:...

 of northwest Georgia and lies within a bedrock fault

Fault

Fault may refer to:*Fault , planar rock fractures which show evidence of relative movement*Fault , in dog breeding, is an undesirable aspect of structure or appearance that indicates the dog should not be bred...

 in Pigeon Mountain

Pigeon Mountain

Pigeon Mountain is a 55 m high volcanic cone situated in Half Moon Bay near Bucklands Beach, Auckland, New Zealand. It forms part of the Auckland volcanic field and is very popular for scientific school trips. It has been extensively quarried with the entire north side of the volcano removed...

. During the Ordovician Period, tectonic subduction responsible for forming the Appalachians left a number of seismically active fault lines

Fault Lines

Fault Lines, a documentary series produced and broadcasted by Al Jazeera English, is the channel's flagship program about the Americas.Josh Rushing, Zeina Awad and Sebastian Walker host the series, currently enjoying it's third season....

 stretching from northern Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 to eastern Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. Continued orogeny

Orogeny

Orogeny refers to forces and events leading to a severe structural deformation of the Earth's crust due to the engagement of tectonic plates. Response to such engagement results in the formation of long tracts of highly deformed rock called orogens or orogenic belts...

 created a large fault zone in the bedrock throughout the southern Appalachians and northern Georgia. This fracturing along with the proliferation of gypsum and limestone contributes to the exceptional depth of Ellisons.

Incidents

• March 10th, 1999 - A caver climbing the Incredible pit became tangled in multiple ropes and was stranded 140 feet off the cave floor underneath water falling into the pit. The incident resulted in fatality due to hypothermia
  Hypothermia
  Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
  
  .
• February 12th, 2011 - Two University of Florida
  University of Florida
  The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
  
   students died of hypothermia after becoming stuck on rope near a waterfall close to the bottom of a 120 foot pit. It was reported that the students were underexperienced and underprepared for the cave.

Visiting

The cave and surrounding area are managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources, and is divided into six divisions:...

 and are open year-round. Due to the technical and dangerous nature of Ellisons, it is generally explored by only the most experienced and capable cavers. Beginning cavers and spelunkers are severely discouraged from entering and negotiating the cave. The vertical sections of the cave require extensive knowledge and practice of single rope technique

Single Rope Technique

Single Rope Technique is a set of methods used to descend and ascend on the same single rope. SRT is used in caving, potholing, rock climbing, canyoning, roped access for building maintenance and by arborists for tree climbing.-Historical Developments:...

 climbing, including practice on heavy ropes and in wet environments. The horizontal portions of the cave also feature technical and somewhat dangerous free climbing

Free climbing

Free climbing is a type of rock climbing in which the climber uses only hands, feet and other parts of the body to ascend, employing ropes and forms of climbing protection to prevent falls only....

 and bouldering

Bouldering

Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...

environments. Careful preparation, including bringing the proper gear and clothing, is essential .