Post by L Roebuck on Aug 2, 2006 6:38:24 GMT -5
VISIT THE UNDERWORLD
Ohio’s caves and caverns are chilly getaways with interesting stories
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Steve Stephens
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Caves are cool. About 54 degrees, in fact. So when the mercury hovers near 90, Ohio’s caves and caverns are a great place to spend a few hours, at least for visitors without claustrophobia.
(What’s the difference between a cave and a cavern? Not much, really. The terms often are used interchangeably, but caverns are sometimes said to be long caves formed by the erosion of soluble rock.)
Show caves, a common term for caves and caverns that offer tours to the public, also give a glimpse of a fascinating, slightly eerie subterranean world unlike anything most of us experience in our daily lives.
So bring a jacket. And watch your head.
7 Caves Nature Preserve
Back in the days before Nintendo, central air conditioning and DVDs, show caves were among the most popular tourist attractions. But competition has put a dent in many a show-cave business plan.
7 Caves is a perfect example. Once a popular tourist destination, the site in Highland County has fallen on hard times in recent years. Last year, just 4,000 visitors toured the caves.
"The family who owned it had poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into it to keep it afloat," said Larry Henry, one of the founders of the nonprofit Highlands Nature Sanctuary, which now owns the caves.
So the old attraction closed, only to rise again this spring as part of the sanctuary, 1,600 lush acres along the Rocky Fork Gorge in Highland County, home to one of the most diverse collections of plants in the state.
"This area is a one-of-a-kind ecological gem," Henry said. "We have a 100-foot gorge, 1,300-foot hills, trees here over 1,000 years old, numerous springs, seven species of wild orchids and 23 caves."
The sanctuary began buying land around 7 Caves in 1996. The 7 Caves site itself was purchased last year.
Many of the caves are little more than deep, damp indentations in the dolomite cliffs. But several run for hundreds of feet back into the gorge walls. The darkness and the moisture that drips from the ceilings and bubbles up from natural springs make the caves perfect habitats for bats, salamanders, cave insects and other creatures.
Now the caves are being "re-wilded." All of the artificial lighting, electrical cables and most pavement are being removed, Henry said. The job has been completed in the biggest cave.
The lights, concrete, drains and heedless visitors helped drive away many of the animals that once called the caves home, Henry said.
Returning the caves to a more natural state "is a lot of work, and you have to be careful you don’t do more damage than good," he said.
"We’ve taken out about 10 miles of wiring, taken out sidewalks. And it’s all being done with volunteers."
The center’s 30 guides are also volunteers.
"If we had to do this and pay the volunteers, we’d be bankrupt already," Henry said.
But he has been amazed and encouraged by the rapid ecological recovery, he said.
"We’ve already got four species of bats back in there, four species of salamanders, 68 total species of fauna, some that haven’t been recorded in 100 years."
The emphasis is on education and not just a few pretty rock formations, he said.
"Before when you left, you really wouldn’t know anything about the caves. You’d go in by yourself, press some buttons, see some lights" come on.
Now the tour at 7 Caves includes a nature walk through the beautiful Rocky Fork Gorge guided by a trained naturalist.
"Our guides point out trees, flowers; tell how caves are formed; talk about glaciers, ecological systems."
Inside the main cave — at about 1,000 feet, the third-longest in Ohio, Henry said — every other visitor carries a lantern containing a beeswax candle, the only illumination. Unlike flashlight beams, the lantern light doesn’t seem to bother bats, Henry said. And the smoke from the beeswax doesn’t pollute the cave as would smoke from kerosene or paraffin.
Full Article:
www.columbusdispatch.com/travel/travel.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/30/20060730-H1-00.html
Ohio’s caves and caverns are chilly getaways with interesting stories
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Steve Stephens
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Caves are cool. About 54 degrees, in fact. So when the mercury hovers near 90, Ohio’s caves and caverns are a great place to spend a few hours, at least for visitors without claustrophobia.
(What’s the difference between a cave and a cavern? Not much, really. The terms often are used interchangeably, but caverns are sometimes said to be long caves formed by the erosion of soluble rock.)
Show caves, a common term for caves and caverns that offer tours to the public, also give a glimpse of a fascinating, slightly eerie subterranean world unlike anything most of us experience in our daily lives.
So bring a jacket. And watch your head.
7 Caves Nature Preserve
Back in the days before Nintendo, central air conditioning and DVDs, show caves were among the most popular tourist attractions. But competition has put a dent in many a show-cave business plan.
7 Caves is a perfect example. Once a popular tourist destination, the site in Highland County has fallen on hard times in recent years. Last year, just 4,000 visitors toured the caves.
"The family who owned it had poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into it to keep it afloat," said Larry Henry, one of the founders of the nonprofit Highlands Nature Sanctuary, which now owns the caves.
So the old attraction closed, only to rise again this spring as part of the sanctuary, 1,600 lush acres along the Rocky Fork Gorge in Highland County, home to one of the most diverse collections of plants in the state.
"This area is a one-of-a-kind ecological gem," Henry said. "We have a 100-foot gorge, 1,300-foot hills, trees here over 1,000 years old, numerous springs, seven species of wild orchids and 23 caves."
The sanctuary began buying land around 7 Caves in 1996. The 7 Caves site itself was purchased last year.
Many of the caves are little more than deep, damp indentations in the dolomite cliffs. But several run for hundreds of feet back into the gorge walls. The darkness and the moisture that drips from the ceilings and bubbles up from natural springs make the caves perfect habitats for bats, salamanders, cave insects and other creatures.
Now the caves are being "re-wilded." All of the artificial lighting, electrical cables and most pavement are being removed, Henry said. The job has been completed in the biggest cave.
The lights, concrete, drains and heedless visitors helped drive away many of the animals that once called the caves home, Henry said.
Returning the caves to a more natural state "is a lot of work, and you have to be careful you don’t do more damage than good," he said.
"We’ve taken out about 10 miles of wiring, taken out sidewalks. And it’s all being done with volunteers."
The center’s 30 guides are also volunteers.
"If we had to do this and pay the volunteers, we’d be bankrupt already," Henry said.
But he has been amazed and encouraged by the rapid ecological recovery, he said.
"We’ve already got four species of bats back in there, four species of salamanders, 68 total species of fauna, some that haven’t been recorded in 100 years."
The emphasis is on education and not just a few pretty rock formations, he said.
"Before when you left, you really wouldn’t know anything about the caves. You’d go in by yourself, press some buttons, see some lights" come on.
Now the tour at 7 Caves includes a nature walk through the beautiful Rocky Fork Gorge guided by a trained naturalist.
"Our guides point out trees, flowers; tell how caves are formed; talk about glaciers, ecological systems."
Inside the main cave — at about 1,000 feet, the third-longest in Ohio, Henry said — every other visitor carries a lantern containing a beeswax candle, the only illumination. Unlike flashlight beams, the lantern light doesn’t seem to bother bats, Henry said. And the smoke from the beeswax doesn’t pollute the cave as would smoke from kerosene or paraffin.
Full Article:
www.columbusdispatch.com/travel/travel.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/30/20060730-H1-00.html