Wyandotte Caves
Encyclopedia
Limestone
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....
caves located on the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
in Harrison-Crawford State Forest
Harrison-Crawford State Forest
- Licensing :The Harrison-Crawford State Forest is a large tract of protected forests in south central Indiana along the borders of Harrison and Crawford County.-Creation of the State Forest:...
in Crawford County
Crawford County, Indiana
Crawford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 10,713. The county seat is English.-Geography:...
, five miles (8 km) north-east of Leavenworth
Leavenworth, Indiana
Leavenworth is a town in Jennings Township, Crawford County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 238 at the 2010 census.- Foundation and early settlement :...
and 12 miles (19 km) from Corydon
Corydon, Indiana
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. After Vincennes, Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813, until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the...
in southern Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, is a popular tourist attraction. Wyandotte Caves were designated a National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
in 1972. It is now part of O'Bannon Woods State Park
O'Bannon Woods State Park
O'Bannon Woods State Park is located near Leavenworth, Crawford County, Indiana, 32 miles west of Louisville, KY.O'Bannon Woods was originally known as the Wyandotte Woods State Recreation Area, which was part of the Harrison-Crawford State Forest...
. The cave system is the 5th largest in the state of Indiana.
The term "Wyandotte Caves" is used to refer to Wyandotte Cave (sometimes called the "Historic Cave") and Little Wyandotte Cave, also called Siberts Cave and sometimes called the "New Cave", but the two caves are completely different. They are located very close to each other, and are owned and managed by the same entity. There the resemblance ends.
Geologic history & formations
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
Era, about 2 million years ago. Like most of Southern Indiana's caves, the caves were formed when water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
dissolved
Solvation
Solvation, also sometimes called dissolution, is the process of attraction and association of molecules of a solvent with molecules or ions of a solute...
limestone, causing hollow caves to form.
The limestone which forms much of Southern Indiana's bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
, and from which Wyandotte and other local caves are formed, was first deposited in the Mississippian epoch (360 Ma to 325 Ma), when Indiana was covered by a shallow inland sea.
Although the glaciers of the Pliocene and Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
periods did not quite reach as far south as the area now known as Crawford County
Crawford County, Indiana
Crawford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 10,713. The county seat is English.-Geography:...
, where Wyandotte and Marengo Caves are located, they dramatically influenced the development of those caves.
The Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
was formed at this time, and today flows only minutes from Wyandotte Caves. The advancing and retreating glaciers destroyed the pre-existing Teays River
Teays River
The Teays River was an important preglacial river that drained much of the area now drained by the Ohio River, and more. Traces of the Teays across northern Ohio and Indiana are represented by a network of river valleys. These valleys were carved in the late Cenozoic and eventually led to the...
, and the Ohio River was formed, draining the land that the Teays once drained. As the glaciers melted, the icy cold water (which dissolves limestone much faster than warm water) flowing towards the Ohio River (which was then much higher than it is now) dissolved the limestone which is the bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
for much of Southern Indiana, hollowing out caves such as Wyandotte.
The main entrance to Wyandotte Cave is 220 feet (67 m) above the level of the Blue River. Wyandotte Cave is known for its long open passageways and large rooms. With 9.2 miles (14.806 km) of passageways on five levels it is one of the longest caves in Indiana. Included in its formations is Monument Mountain
Monument Mountain
Monument Mountain may refer to:One of twelve summits in the United States, including:*Monument Mountain *Monument Mountain, an underground mountain located in Wyandotte Caves of Indiana.Miscellaneous...
. At 135 feet (41.148 m) tall, Monument Mountain is considered to be the world's largest underground mountain. Wyandotte Cave is also home to a great many helictite
Helictite
A helictite is a speleothem found in limestone caves that changes its axis from the vertical at one or more stages during its growth. They have a curving or angular form that looks as if they were grown in zero gravity...
s, which are considered rare. The cave is also home to the tallest stalagmite in the world, known as the Pillar of the Constitution, but this is only visible on crawling tours.
Long speleothems, formed by rainwater dissolving calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...
, abound in Siberts Cave. The cave exhibits a wide variety of speleothems including; stalactites, 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, columns, flowstone
Flowstone
Flowstones are composed of sheetlike deposits of calcite formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution", or limestone caves, where they are the most common speleothem. However, they may form in any type of cave where water enters that...
, flowstone colored with iron oxide known as cave bacon, flowstone known as cave draperies, soda straw
Soda straw
A soda straw is a speleothem in the form of a hollow mineral tube. They grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of caves...
s, popcorn, and rimstone dams.
The temperature inside both caves maintains a constant 52 degrees Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
(about 11 degrees Celsius
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
).
History of human use
No one knows who the first human to discover Wyandotte Cave was. Wyandotte Cave was used by Native Americans for nearly four thousand years before EuropeanEuropean ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s arrived in the area, and using carbon dating, evidence of activity and artifacts found in the cave date to 8000 BCE. The Native Americans used torches made of hickory bark and grape vines to light their way into the cave where they mined for chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
, which they used to make stone tools. The remains of their mining explorations can be seen on tours to this day.
The discovery of Wyandotte Cave by European settlers is believed to have occurred around 1798. Shortly thereafter Wyandotte cave became known as an excellent source of saltpeter
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
, which is an integral component of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
, and of Epsom salts, which have medical uses. Saltpeter mining in the cave reached a peak under a man by the name of Dr. Benjamin Adams during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Modern tours feature Dr. Adams' vats and hoppers, and point out where magnesium sulfate
Magnesium sulfate
Magnesium sulfate is a chemical compound containing magnesium, sulfur and oxygen, with the formula MgSO4. It is often encountered as the heptahydrate epsomite , commonly called Epsom salt, from the town of Epsom in Surrey, England, where the salt was distilled from the springs that arise where the...
(the chemical name of Epsom salt) is visible as a glittery substance lining the cave walls. The cave was also used to store supplies for the army of William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
.
Wyandotte Cave was named by Governor David Wallace
David Wallace (governor)
David Wallace was the sixth Governor of the US state of Indiana. The Panic of 1837 occurred just before his election and the previous administration, which he had been part of, had taken on a large public debt. During his term the state entered a severe financial crisis that crippled the state's...
after the river which was then known as the Wyandotte, but which is currently known as the Blue River. Prior to receiving its current name it was variously called the Mammoth Cave of Indiana, the Epsom Salts Cave, and the Indiana Saltpetre Cave.
The land beneath which the caves are located was bought by Henry Peter Rothrock in 1819. The Rothrocks seemed to have had little to do with the cave until 1850, when they offered the first commercial tours of the cave after the discovery of a large new section of cavern. This date of 1850 makes Wyandotte cave the fourth oldest commercial cave in the United States. Siberts cave was discovered in 1851 and named after the person who discovered it. The caves were sold to the Department of Natural Resources
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining natural areas such as state parks, state forests, recreation areas, etc...
, Division of Forestry in 1966, along with 1174 acres (4.8 km²) of woodland. The DNR spun the caves and associated tours off to a private company, Wyandotte Caves LLC, in 2002.
Current status
Wyandotte Cave is one of four show caves in Indiana. As of 6/10 management on tv stated the cave is closed indefinitely to protect the bats from White Nose Syndrome. For information call 812 738 8232. The other three are Marengo CaveMarengo Cave
Marengo Cave is located in Marengo, Indiana. One of only four show caves in Indiana, public tours of the cave have been given since 1883. Tours commenced just days after the cave's discovery by two school children.-The Discovery:...
, Bluespring Caverns
Bluespring Caverns
Bluespring Caverns is a cave system located in Lawrence County, Indiana, approximately 80 miles south of Indianapolis. The cave system is a karst and river type cave formation and drains a 15 miles² sinkhole plain...
, and Squire Boone Caverns
Squire Boone Caverns
Squire Boone Caverns and Village is a cavern exploration attraction in Mauckport, Indiana . The park consists of a one-hour walking tour into the caverns, as well as a working pioneer village and grist mill.-Park's History:...
are open.
Bats
Indiana is home to 12 native species of batBat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s. Wyandotte Cave is occupied by members of nine of those 12 species; the total bat population is over 30,000. The most common bat in the cave is the endangered
United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species
This list contains only the bird and mammal species described as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It contains species not only in the U.S. and its territories, but also species only found abroad. It does not contain fish, amphibians, reptiles, plants, or invertebrates,...
Myotis sodalis
Indiana bat
The Indiana bat is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in eastern and midwestern states and in parts of the south of the United States. The Indiana bat is gray, black, or chestnut in colour and is 1.2–2 inches and weighs about 1/4 an ounce...
, (commonly known as the Indiana Bat), followed by the Myotis lucifugus
Little brown bat
The little brown bat is a species of the genus Myotis , one of the most common bats of North America...
(commonly known as the little brown bat).
Little Wyandotte cave rarely gets bats, as the only entrance to that cave is less than 200 years old, and humans have been present in that cave on a regular basis since it first opened. However, the occasional adventurous bat will venture in.
The presence of hibernating bats in the winter is the main reason that the caves are closed to the public from the first of November until February 28. Bats can occasionally be seen by the lucky visitor during the rest of the year, but they are far less numerous and less likely to be disturbed in the warmer months.
Fish
Blind cavefishCavefish
The Amblyopsidae, are commonly named: cavefish, blindfish, swampfish, etc. They are small cyprinodont freshwater fishes found in swamps, caves and some deep lakes, adapted to life in the dark...
are rarely seen in the larger of Wyandotte Caves, as it is very dry in modern times. Little Wyandotte Cave, however, is much wetter than the historic cave, but still contains no fish. The only living aquatic life found is bacteria.