Post by Sharon Faulkner on Aug 4, 2006 8:04:52 GMT -5
Lava flows left lovely caves
John Stanley
Aug. 4, 2006
The usual options for beating the heat are heading to the high country or hitting the beach. Here's another: go underground.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, northern Arizona was a hotbed of volcanic activity. Cinder cones smoked and simmered, and a towering stratovolcano (which eventually blew its top, leaving the San Francisco Peaks behind) dominated the landscape. Great gobs of lava oozed to the surface here, below the surface there. Some of those underground flows hardened into natural tunnels.
The Lava River Cave is the largest and best known of the ancient lava tubes in the Flagstaff area, easy enough for casual visitors to explore yet undeveloped enough for even experienced outdoor folk to enjoy. A tidy rock fence surrounds the entrance, a sunken, roughly circular jumble of boulders. Refreshingly cool air greets you as you duck under the low rock roof and clamber down into the darkness. This first section is the toughest; it's hard to see as you make your way down a steeply sloping pile of loose rock, trying to watch your footing, keep from banging your head, hold a flashlight and balance on the rocks, all at the same time. It's much easier once you reach the cave floor.
Local lumbermen discovered the Lava River Cave in 1915. Geologists say it is nearly 700,000 years old. The cave is 30 feet wide in places, with a more-or-less level central section flanked by narrow channels running along the walls on either side, like gutters astride a bowling lane. In some sections the ceiling is 25 feet high; in others you have to stoop to proceed, but the low areas don't last long.
For the complete caving experience, go right when the route splits, about halfway in. The ceiling gets progressively lower, forcing you to crawl over rough rock for about 20 feet or so. The less adventurous can go around to the left, avoiding the crawl. Either way you end up in the same place.
Unlike caves that form in limestone, which usually hold elaborate speleothems - stalactites and stalagmites, mostly - lava caves are fairly featureless. Every so often, though, you'll spot a nubby formation, created when a later surge of volcanic activity re-heated the walls, liquefying the rock enough to stretch and drip.
Look, too, for beads of water on some surfaces, shining like tiny round diamonds in the beam of your flashlight. Every so often you'll notice places where giant slabs of rock have crashed down from the ceiling. Try not to think about it as you pass by.
Humidity is high but the cave isn't terribly cold. It doesn't feel nearly as cold as the 35 to 45 degrees referred to online and in print. A light jacket or sweat shirt should be enough during your relatively short time underground.
The cave dead-ends rather abruptly about three-quarters of a mile from the entrance. Give yourself about an hour and a half for the 1.5-mile round-trip.
www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0803exaz0804lavacave.html
John Stanley
Aug. 4, 2006
The usual options for beating the heat are heading to the high country or hitting the beach. Here's another: go underground.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, northern Arizona was a hotbed of volcanic activity. Cinder cones smoked and simmered, and a towering stratovolcano (which eventually blew its top, leaving the San Francisco Peaks behind) dominated the landscape. Great gobs of lava oozed to the surface here, below the surface there. Some of those underground flows hardened into natural tunnels.
The Lava River Cave is the largest and best known of the ancient lava tubes in the Flagstaff area, easy enough for casual visitors to explore yet undeveloped enough for even experienced outdoor folk to enjoy. A tidy rock fence surrounds the entrance, a sunken, roughly circular jumble of boulders. Refreshingly cool air greets you as you duck under the low rock roof and clamber down into the darkness. This first section is the toughest; it's hard to see as you make your way down a steeply sloping pile of loose rock, trying to watch your footing, keep from banging your head, hold a flashlight and balance on the rocks, all at the same time. It's much easier once you reach the cave floor.
Local lumbermen discovered the Lava River Cave in 1915. Geologists say it is nearly 700,000 years old. The cave is 30 feet wide in places, with a more-or-less level central section flanked by narrow channels running along the walls on either side, like gutters astride a bowling lane. In some sections the ceiling is 25 feet high; in others you have to stoop to proceed, but the low areas don't last long.
For the complete caving experience, go right when the route splits, about halfway in. The ceiling gets progressively lower, forcing you to crawl over rough rock for about 20 feet or so. The less adventurous can go around to the left, avoiding the crawl. Either way you end up in the same place.
Unlike caves that form in limestone, which usually hold elaborate speleothems - stalactites and stalagmites, mostly - lava caves are fairly featureless. Every so often, though, you'll spot a nubby formation, created when a later surge of volcanic activity re-heated the walls, liquefying the rock enough to stretch and drip.
Look, too, for beads of water on some surfaces, shining like tiny round diamonds in the beam of your flashlight. Every so often you'll notice places where giant slabs of rock have crashed down from the ceiling. Try not to think about it as you pass by.
Humidity is high but the cave isn't terribly cold. It doesn't feel nearly as cold as the 35 to 45 degrees referred to online and in print. A light jacket or sweat shirt should be enough during your relatively short time underground.
The cave dead-ends rather abruptly about three-quarters of a mile from the entrance. Give yourself about an hour and a half for the 1.5-mile round-trip.
www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0803exaz0804lavacave.html