Squire Boone Caverns and Village is a cavern exploration attraction in Mauckport, Indiana (near Corydon in Southern Indiana). The park consists of a one-hour walking tour into the caverns, as well as a working pioneer village and grist mill.
The cave was first discovered by Daniel Boone and his brother, Squire Boone, as they were hiding from Indians in the late 18th century. Squire would come back later to purchase the land and live near the caves in 1808 and start a grist mill at the site. The mill is on the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures and still operates today. [1] Squire Boone died in 1815 and, having so loved the caverns, requested to be buried in them, and was buried near the entrance to the cave. His remains were moved in the 20th century because of construction near his burial site and its continual disturbance by relic hunters. The coffin, which contained only bones, was moved deep into the caverns. The cave tour passes by the coffin and there are benches to rest and contemplate the cave and the coffin.
The caverns are open year-round, while the village and grist mill are open only during the summer months. The pioneer village includes an old fashion candy shop, a building where soap is made from lard, a chandlers house where candles are made by hand dipping, and a country store. The products made in the village are marketed nationally and can be purchased in many parts of the country including Disney World. Everything made in the village is done the "old fashioned way", by hand.
The company which owns the caverns also run the Squire Boone Caverns' factory in New Albany, just off I-265, where many items are mass-produced.
The tour of the cave is conducted by experienced guides on lighted walkways with minimal stairs. The tour starts from the space between the General Store and “Barnyard” petting zoo with pigs, sheep, and goats. There is a door in the back of the ‘Cave Cabin’ that leads to the exit, a vertical shaft that was excavated in 1970, with a 73 step circular stairway that leads out of the cave. As of 2015, the man-made entrance shaft, only 45 years old, has begun to grow features like the rest of the cave.
The cave's tour includes such sights as an underground stream whose outlet is the stream that runs the grist mill, and source is a stream that goes into a sinkhole in nearby Laconia, massive stalactite and stalagmite formations (which are not to be touched), a large open central cavern, several narrow areas, a large underground waterfall, several interesting rock formations, and near the end the coffin of Squire Boone. The stream also has an impressive rimstone formation, the largest in North America and the second or third largest in the world.
Blanchard Springs Caverns is a cave system located in the Ozark–St. Francis National Forest in Stone County in northern Arkansas, 2 miles off Highway 14 a short distance north of Mountain View. It is the only tourist cave owned by the United States Forest Service and the only one owned by the Federal government outside the National Park System. Blanchard Springs Caverns is a three-level cave system, all of which can be viewed on guided tours. The Dripstone Trail runs through the uppermost level of caverns for about a half-mile and opened in 1973. The Discovery Trail opened in 1977 and loops through a 1.2-mile section of the cavern, descending to the lower level of the cave, 366 feet underground, as well as to the Natural Entrance, about 100 feet below ground at that point, following the stream bed of the springs that created the cavern. This trail includes the Rimstone Dams, which create pools along the stream bed, and the Ghost Room, a small but very well decorated room in the uppermost level, with its huge white flowstone. Also offered is a "Wild Cave" tour which allows access to undeveloped parts of the cave to more adventurous visitors. It follows the upstream section of the cave, allowing visitors to see all three levels as the original explorers did, continuing beyond where the Discovery Trail ends.
Bluespring Caverns is a cave system located in Lawrence County, Indiana, approximately 80 miles (128 km) south of Indianapolis. The cave system is a karst and river type cave formation and drains a 15 miles² (38.8 km²) sinkhole plain. The cave contains 21 miles (34 km) of surveyed passages and is most notable for having the longest known subterranean river in the United States with approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) of navigable river.
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Mystic Caverns and Crystal Dome are show caves located between the cities of Jasper and Harrison, in the state of Arkansas, U.S., on the Arkansas Highway 7 Scenic Byway near the defunct amusement park Dogpatch USA. Sometimes called "the twin caves" because they are within 400 feet (120 m) of each other, the two caves maintain a year-round temperature of 58 °F, contain more formations per foot than any other caves in Arkansas, and are open for public tours year-round except during the January flooding season.
Marengo Cave is a privately owned cave 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 cave was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1984.
The Howe Caverns is a cave in Howes Cave, Schoharie County, New York. Howe Caverns is a popular tourist attraction, providing cave-goers with a sense of caving or spelunking, without needing the advanced equipment and training usually associated with such adventures.
DeSoto Caverns is a series of caves and a tourist attraction located in Childersburg, Talladega County, Alabama. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is touted as "Alabama's Big Cave". In addition to the caves, the park offers various other attractions, including a three-quarter acre maze known as the Lost Trail Maze, panning for gemstones, a climbing wall, and amusement park style rides. While on the caverns tour, visitors can view a sound, light, and water show that changes with the holidays and seasons.
Moaning Caverns is a solutional cave located in the Calaveras County, California, near Vallecito, California in the heart of the state's Gold Country. It is developed in marble of the Calaveras Formation. It was discovered in modern times by gold miners in 1851, but it has long been known as an interesting geological feature by prehistoric peoples. It gets its name from the moaning sound that echoed out of the cave luring people to the entrance, however expansion of the opening to allow access for the public disrupted the sounds. The portion of the cave developed for tourists consists of a spacious vertical shaft 165 feet tall, which is descended by a combination of stairs and a unique 100-foot-high (30 m) spiral staircase built in the early 1900s. It is open to the public for walking tours and spelunking. Including the off-trail areas, the cave reaches a depth of 410 feet.
Squire Maugridge Boone Jr. was an American frontiersman, longhunter, soldier, city planner, politician, land locator, judge, politician, gunsmith, miller, and brother of Daniel Boone. In 1780, he founded the first settlement in Shelby County, Kentucky. The tenth of eleven children, Squire Boone was born to Squire Boone Sr. and his wife Sarah (Morgan) Boone in Berks County, Pennsylvania, at the Daniel Boone Homestead. Although overshadowed by his famous brother, Squire Boone was well known in his day.
Lost River Cave is a seven-mile cave system located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Lost River originates outside of the cave and flows into it. The cave contains one of the largest natural entrances in the Eastern U.S. Boat tours are available year-round, but closed for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. The river was once listed by Ripley's Believe it or Not as the "Shortest, deepest river in the world" because the blue hole is over 437 feet deep, while the river itself is only 400 feet long. In fact, the blue hole is only 16 feet deep, but is linked to a further underground river. The 72-acre cave property is jointly owned by Western Kentucky University and the non-profit Friends of Lost River Cave.
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The Blue River is a 57-mile-long (92 km), two-forked stream that runs through Harrison, Crawford and Washington counties in Indiana. The headwaters of the North Fork arise near Salem in Washington County and flow south, and the headwaters of the South Fork arise near New Liberty and flow southwest. The two small forks converge in Fredericksburg. From the confluence, the river flows south until it joins Ohio River in the Harrison-Crawford State Forest, just upstream from Leavenworth.
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Ruakuri Cave is one of the longer caves in the Waitomo area of New Zealand. It was first discovered by local Māori between 400 and 500 years ago. The name Te Ruakuri, or "The Den of Dogs" was given to the surrounding area when wild dogs were discovered living in the entrance of the cave.
Diamond Caverns in Park City, Kentucky was discovered on July 14, 1859. Tours are available year around; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. Tours last one hour and is a half mile round trip.
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