speleothem – GeoJeep

America was “discovered” during the era of exploration. Western civilization had become fascinated with finding the last frontier. While the Fourth of July is meant to be a holiday to celebrate our independence as a country it seemed fitting to spend my holiday in one of the last frontiers: A cave. There are few places left on Earth that have not been explored yet. The great underground is one of those few. In the spirit of exploration we cavers seek to find places no one else has ever seen. There is nothing like the rush of seeing a place that may have never been seen by a human before. America was already inhabited when we discovered it, but caves often are completely untouched (especially those that are hypogene in nature).

: A neat dissolutional stream “chute” in Marble Cave of Sequoia National Park July 4, 2011

The cave I visited today was a commercial cave and not a new discovery for me, but less than 100 years ago it was a new frontier for someone. Crystal cave was discovered by Alex Medley and Cassius Weber in 1918. Today it is located within the boundaries of Sequoia National Park. Formed in a beautiful gray and white marble it has around 2.5 miles of passage. Since the marble bedding has a high dip angle the cave isn’t extensive laterally.

: The marble in a stream bed within Crystal Cave Sequoia National Park July 4, 2011

They have been making a lot of efforts to return Crystal cave to a more natural state. The park has been replacing lighting with new ones that will help prevent the growth of algae and other organisms that are not natural to the cave environment. The tour involves a nice hike down a fair amount of stairs that you will need to climb back up so I don’t recommend it for anyone unable to traverse a significant amount of incline.

: Crystal Cave Entrance July 4, 2011

The cave gate is pretty interesting, designed to look like a spider web. The tour will vary depending on the guide you get, but all are interesting. A member of my grotto back home, Chouteau Grotto, was actually working the day I visited although I wasn’t assigned to his tour. Such a small world when you are a caver!

While I had spent the last couple days visiting caves and natural wonders of inland California it was time for me to make like the explorers of the 15^th century and head West. Time to head back to the area of my birth and visit some family. I need the three S’s: Sun, Sand and Sea.

Until then…

Nicole

: Rimstone in Crystal Cave July 4, 2012

: Crystal cave speleothems July 4, 2011

It wasn’t a long drive into Wisconsin, but I could already detect the change in dialect. When I bought my groceries I was no longer offered a “Bag” I was offered a “Beg”, and the word tomorrow had an unusual accent on the second “o” that I wasn’t used to. Yep, I was in dairy land alright.
My first official stop, after buying my groceries for the night, was at Cave of the Mounds in Blue Mounds, WI. A cave that sat beneath a lead prospector’s feet for more than 100 years before the cave was discovered during a blasting in 1939. After almost a year of the family guarding the new cave entrance by rifle to curiosity seekers, the cave was open to the public in 1940 and has been ever since.

Cave of the Mounds in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. June 12, 2011

It, like it’s neighbor to the East in Iowa (see day 34), is located in the Galena carbonate rock formation. It was mostly formed in a typical carbonic acid/water erosion fashion, but some areas were enlarged with sulphuric acid that bubbled up as the water mixed with the sulphur in the galena (PbS). The speleothem development in Cave of the Mounds is pretty sparse, and it has a lot more of the colored varities than Crystal Lake Cave. In fact, the iron oxide staining in some areas is so prnounced that it looks blood red, as if someone had just maimed themselves on the stalagmite.

Iron Oxide staining on a speleothem in Cave of the Mounds. Blue Mounds, Wisconsin.

Everyone I met at Cave of the Mounds, even though it is privately owned, was very helpful. There were several people on staff that were knowledgeable about the geology of the cave and the surrounding area, and they gave me contact information in case I needed any other information for my personal research project. It was hard to leave the cave, but it was time to head a little further North into Wisconsin to my next campsite: Devil’s Lake State park.

Devil's Lake S.P. — Devil’s Lake S.P. Wisconsin. June 12, 2011

Devil’s Lake State Park is focused around a glacial lake that has no stream inlet to speak of. All of it’s water is either remnant from the last ice age, or a result of precipitation. The lake is beautiful and they have been working hard to restore it after levels of a certain chemical were unsafe and caused “swimmers itch” (something I still don’t quite know much about). It has many, many campsites and if you get into the Ice Age campground you have wooded lots that are fairly private.

I enjoyed some cheese curds, cooked up a stir fry, and drank a local brew called “The Spotted Cow” next to my toasty camp fire. Although I was alone at the campsite, I certainly wasn’t lonely. There was a caterpillar that seemed fixated on crawling on me, as I would throw it into the woods only to have it return half an hour later. Ok,.. who am I kidding, I was a little lonely.

The Caterpillar of Devil's Lake S.P. — The Caterpillar of Devil’s Lake S.P. June 12, 2011

Honestly, camping alone is pretty tough….I enjoy it from time to time, but after a while it can wear on you. I am very excited that my friends will be joining my in South Dakota, more friends joining me in Yellowstone, and another friend in Glacier. I just hope I haven’t grown so accustomed to being alone that I am a terrible host!
Tomorrow I head on to Minnesota, where I will tour yet another cave and experience another unique camp site. I’m slowly getting closer to the big, openness of the West and I can’t wait. Nothing feels more like home…
-Nicole

Tag: speleothem

Day 56: Exploration for Independence Day

Day 35: Cave of the Mounds and Devil’s Lake State Park, Wisconsin