Forestville Mystery Cave State Park
Encyclopedia
Forestville Mystery Cave State Park is a state park
of Minnesota
, USA. It contains the village of Forestville
which has been restored to a nineteenth century appearance. The Minnesota Historical Society
operates it as a historic site. Below ground the park contains Mystery Cave, the longest cave
in the state which is open to the public. The park is between Spring Valley
and Preston, Minnesota
.
, which includes sinkhole
s and cave
s. The park itself is about 5 miles (8 km) away from Mystery Cave and is approximately 3170 acres (12.8 km²), with camping, interpretive programs, and hiking, horseback, and cross-country skiing trails. The park is also noted for its cold water streams and excellent trout fishing. The cave includes stalactite
s, stalagmite
s, and underground pools, and is a constant 48 °F (8.9 °C) underground. There are over 13 miles (20.9 km) of passages in 2 rock layers; the cave is currently being re-surveyed and mapped by volunteers.
, shale
and sandstone
layers. Today, these layers are 1300 feet (396.2 m) above sea level. Within the last 500,000-one million years, flood waters dissolved along fractures in the limestone bedrock to create most of the cave. Acidic rainwater also sculpted the land above and around the cave, creating thousands of sinkholes and other karst features in the county where the cave is located.
, and timber rattlesnakes
to common species such as deer
, raccoon
, beaver
, mink
, opossum, woodchuck, four species of squirrels, and red and grey fox
. There have also been at least 175 species of birds recorded in the park. The South Branch of the Root River
contains brown trout
, brook trout
, and rainbow trout
.
operates Historic Forestville as a living museum
set in 1899. Costumed interpreters portray residents of Forestville and go about daily activities in the general store, house, kitchen, farm, and barn.
The village of Forestville was a rural trade center in the 1800s that declined after the railroad was built elsewhere in 1868. Thomas Meighen, son of one of the town's founders, owned the entire village by 1890, including the general store, and the local residents worked on his property for housing and credit in the store.
Admission to Historic Forestville is separate from the caves. Historic Forestville is open from May through October.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, USA. It contains the village of Forestville
Forestville, Minnesota
Forestville is a ghost town in section 13 of Forestville Township in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The nearest communities are Wykoff, to the northwest, and Preston, to the northeast.-History:...
which has been restored to a nineteenth century appearance. The Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
operates it as a historic site. Below ground the park contains Mystery Cave, the longest cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
in the state which is open to the public. The park is between Spring Valley
Spring Valley, Minnesota
Spring Valley is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,479 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.U.S...
and Preston, Minnesota
Preston, Minnesota
Preston is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,325 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fillmore County. The Root River runs through it, and Mystery Cave State Park is nearby...
.
Mystery Cave
The park is in the Driftless Area, noted for its karst topographyKarst topography
Karst topography is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but has also been documented for weathering resistant rocks like quartzite given the right conditions.Due to subterranean drainage, there...
, which includes sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s and cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s. The park itself is about 5 miles (8 km) away from Mystery Cave and is approximately 3170 acres (12.8 km²), with camping, interpretive programs, and hiking, horseback, and cross-country skiing trails. The park is also noted for its cold water streams and excellent trout fishing. The cave includes stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s, stalagmite
Stalagmite
A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...
s, and underground pools, and is a constant 48 °F (8.9 °C) underground. There are over 13 miles (20.9 km) of passages in 2 rock layers; the cave is currently being re-surveyed and mapped by volunteers.
History
About 450 million years ago sedimentary rocks were deposited as the land was covered intermittently by shallow seas that ingressed and regressed. Over the eons the alternating deposits of mud and oceanic debris were compressed to form limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
layers. Today, these layers are 1300 feet (396.2 m) above sea level. Within the last 500,000-one million years, flood waters dissolved along fractures in the limestone bedrock to create most of the cave. Acidic rainwater also sculpted the land above and around the cave, creating thousands of sinkholes and other karst features in the county where the cave is located.
Wildlife
The park contains a range of wildlife, from relatively rare species such as glacial snailsDiscus macclintocki
The Iowa Pleistocene snail, also known as the Pleistocene disk, scientific name Discus macclintocki, is a very small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk....
, and timber rattlesnakes
Crotalus horridus
Crotalus horridus, the timber rattlesnake, is a species of venomous pitviper found in the eastern United States. This is the only rattlesnake species in most of the populous northeastern United States. No subspecies are currently recognized....
to common species such as deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
, beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, mink
Mink
There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...
, opossum, woodchuck, four species of squirrels, and red and grey fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
. There have also been at least 175 species of birds recorded in the park. The South Branch of the Root River
Root River (Minnesota)
The Root River flows for through the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota and is a tributary of the Upper Mississippi River. It is an excellent river for canoeing...
contains brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
, and rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
.
Historic Forestville
The Minnesota Historical SocietyMinnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
operates Historic Forestville as a living museum
Living museum
A living museum is a type of museum, in which historical events showing the life in ancient times are performed, especially in ethnographic or historical views, or processes for producing a commercial product in terms of technical and technological developments are shown, especially the craft...
set in 1899. Costumed interpreters portray residents of Forestville and go about daily activities in the general store, house, kitchen, farm, and barn.
The village of Forestville was a rural trade center in the 1800s that declined after the railroad was built elsewhere in 1868. Thomas Meighen, son of one of the town's founders, owned the entire village by 1890, including the general store, and the local residents worked on his property for housing and credit in the store.
Admission to Historic Forestville is separate from the caves. Historic Forestville is open from May through October.