Caves of Arizona - Grand Canyon Caverns, Kartchner Caverns State Park, Bat Cave Mine, Lava River Cave, Ventana Cave, Peppersauce Cave (Paperback)

Chapters: Grand Canyon Caverns, Kartchner Caverns State Park, Bat Cave Mine, Lava River Cave, Ventana Cave, Peppersauce Cave, Colossal Cave. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 30. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Grand Canyon Caverns ( ), located just a few miles east of Peach Springs, Arizona, lie 230 feet below ground level. They are among the largest of dry caverns in the United States. Dry caverns are a rarity in that as little as 3% of caverns in the world are dry. Because of this fact, stalagmites and stalactites are very few in numbers. Air comes into the caverns from the Grand Canyon through 60 miles of limestone caves. Scientists were curious as to how far the caverns extended and looked for a safe means of finding out. Rather than explore the canyons, which could take years, red smoke flares were ignited by the United States Military, and two weeks later red smoke was seen protruding from vents, near Supai, AZ, in the Grand Canyon, thus the name. The caverns are enormous, with measurements showing that the length of 3 football fields could fit snugly within its boundaries. 345 million years ago, during the Mississippian Period, the southwest United States was enveloped by the ocean. Sea creatures died over the millions of years, their skeletons created a mud-like paste with a dense amount of lime. This eventually hardened into the limestone bedrock, which can be seen in the caverns today. As millions of years came and went, the bedrock was pushed up, to over 5,000 feet above sea level. These methodical events split the crust of the Earth, releasing water into what is now the caverns. Approximately 35 million years ago, huge amounts of rainfall carrying a mildly acidic element flowed into the caverns. This solution eventually crept its way through the cracks and caves ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=1322098