Jewel Cave

There are two main caves which you can visit and tour in the Black Hills: Jewel Cave and Cave of the Winds. We have been to Jewel Cave before and decided to show it to Sam, who hasn't. Ruth and Katie were kind enough to watch Josh. Susan, Sam and I got up very early, since Paul said when he and his brothers went there recently, they got there mid morning and were told the wait was many hours for the next tour.

They start filling up tour groups at 8 AM. We arrived at 8:20, and were able to join the 9:00 tour. Woohoo! We just barely missed the 8:30 tour, as did four Europeans, who complained bitterly to the ranger than they should be allowed to go on it, since they'd arrived before 8:30. And they complained in a French accent, which is somehow way more entertaining.

Jewel Cave is immense. 167 miles of it have been mapped, and scientists estimate that this is only 2-5%  of the total cave size. It's second only to Mammoth Cave and to another cave in Mexico. If it turns out that it connects with Cave of the Winds, which many thing is the case, it will be the largest cave system in the world.

It was found by two young fellers wandering the countryside looking for precious metals. They heard a whistling and tracked it back to a hole in the ground through which wind was blowing. (The cave is connects to the outside and is always equalizing pressure, either blowing in or out depending on the atmospheric pressure at the time.) It was too small to fit through, so the naturally decided to blast it open, and thereby made the first entry into Jewel Cave. 

They found a huge system filled with gorgeous quartz and calcite. Upon learning that this isn't worth anything, they did the only thing left to them and started giving tours! Under Teddy Roosevelt the cave became government land. 

The tour was an hour long of wandering through the cave and looking at the various fascinating deposits, and learning about the geological history which created them. Some photos are below.

Note the "soda straw"--the thin vertical line of rock where a stalagmite and a stalactite have met one another.