Lost World Caverns, located just outside Lewisburg,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, is an underground natural series of

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

rns. In November 1973, the caverns were registered as a National Natural Landmark as they "feature terraced pedestal-like

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

flowstone Flowstones are sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals, formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothe ...

, curtains, rimstone, domepits, and

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s."

History

Originally named "Grapevine Cave", the only entrance was a long vertical drop into which farmers used to dump dead livestock and other trash.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

"discovered" the cave in 1942. It was surveyed in the 1960s and found to contain over a mile of interconnected passages that reach a depth of 245 feet below the surface.Lost World Cavern
brochure
/ref> In 1967, the remains of a

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

cave bear ('' Arctodus pristinus'') were unearthed in the cave. In the early 1970s, a walking entrance was dug out, the trash was removed, walkways were installed and the cave was opened for tourism. In 1981, the gift shop and walking entrance were renovated. Since then subsequent owners have done extensive work on the lighting (making sure it does not allow the out-of-control growth of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

that old

incandescent lamps An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxidat ...

cause) and many other cleaning and conservation projects as well as adding a dinosaur museum section to the gift shop. In September 1971, Bob Addis set the unofficial World Record for "Stalagmite Sitting", staying atop the "Warclub" formation for 15 days, 23 hours, and 34 minutes with assistance from his "bucket man" Bob Leibman. The Greenbrier East Band provided in-cave fanfare for Addis's descent and shaky return to solid land from the top of the formation. In 1992, the '' Weekly World News'' reported that Lost World Caverns was the home of "

Bat Boy Bat boy or batboy or ''variation'', may refer to: * Batboy, a nickname for a US Army airborne ranger assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment originating from the period prior to the organization of the Ranger regiment in 1984 when there were only tw ...

", and claimed that he was captured by the FBI in the caverns, where he reportedly survived by eating his weight in live insects every day. In November 2021, musical group

Sloppy Jane Sloppy Jane is an American chamber pop / rock music band fronted by Haley Dahl based in Brooklyn, New York. The band released their breakthrough second studio album ''Madison'' in 2021, through Saddest Factory Records, an imprint owned by their ...

, released their album ''

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

'', which was entirely recorded within the cavern.

Description

The "walking" tour section of the cave consists of a large chamber (1000 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 120 feet high) with many formations like the Bridal Veil, Goliath, Snowy Chandelier, Ice Cream Wall, Castle and, perhaps the most storied, the War Club, where Bob Addis made it into the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

by sitting atop the 28-foot formation for nearly 16 days. In addition to the "walking" tour, one can opt for a rougher guided "wild" tour through the remote sections of the cave, visiting sights like the Angel's Roost, Birth Canal, Keyhole, Glitter Pits, the Hall of the Mountain King and other passages and formations. Lost World Caverns is a publicly accessible cave for those who want to experience and understand the

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

topography within the

Greenbrier River The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long,McNeel, William P. "Greenbrier River." ''The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. 2006. . in southeastern West Virginia ...

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

. Environmental interests such as local schools and the

Greenbrier River Watershed Association The Greenbrier River Watershed Association (GRWA) is one of the oldest watershed associations in the state of West Virginia, founded in 1990. It has supported the creation of other watershed associations throughout the state and maintains a policy ...

encourage the public to take educational tours in order to understand the unique relationship between

surface water Surface water is water located on top of land forming terrestrial (inland) waterbodies, and may also be referred to as ''blue water'', opposed to the seawater and waterbodies like the ocean. The vast majority of surface water is produced by prec ...

and

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

. Surrounded by farmland on all sides, the cave interacts with a constant

influx Influx may refer to: * Flux (biology) of ions, molecules or other substances from the extracellular space to the intracellular space * ''Influx'', a 2014 science-fiction novel by Daniel Suarez * ''Influx'' (album), an album by Janus * "Influx", ...

of air, water,

clastic Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks ...

and other additives and pollutants. The cave system is part of Greenbrier County's karst

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

or "Great Savannah" where the average number of sinkholes are 18 per square kilometer. There are wooden walkways and the option of wild caving in the deeper "wild" portions of the system. The cave drains into the Greenbrier River at

Fort Spring Fort Spring is an unincorporated community and town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. It is situated along the Greenbrier River within the Greenbrier River Watershed. It was once a substantial portion of the Chesapeake and Ohio ...

through the

Davis Spring Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gree ...

, and there is much to be discovered about the underlying

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

s and science behind this drainage. The public tour section contains a stratum of hex (six-sided) stones. Cavers on the Wild Tour are asked to respect the encroaching threat of

white nose syndrome White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease in North American bats which has resulted in the dramatic decrease of the bat population in the United States and Canada, reportedly killing millions as of 2018. The condition is named for a distincti ...

in the Appalachian

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

population, and perform sterilization protocols with their gear and clothing before they come in. The site is open daily, except for holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. As of December 2021, the standard self-guided tour rates are as follows: adults: $12, children 6–12: $6, under 6 free. If planning to visit, one should wear shoes with sufficient tread and dress for a temperature of 52 degrees F.

Photo gallery

LostWorldsBuilding.jpg, The building at Lost World Caverns LostWorldsSign.jpg, Sign on front of building LostWorldsCave.jpg, View inside large cavern chamber SnowyChandelier.jpg, The "Snowy Chandelier"

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

formation BridalVeil.jpg, The "Bridal Veil" formation StalagmiteFormation.jpg,

Stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

formation IceCreamWall.jpg, The "Ice Cream Wall" formation

References

External links

Lost World Caverns NNL (NPS Website)
{{authority control National Natural Landmarks in West Virginia Caves of West Virginia Landforms of Greenbrier County, West Virginia Show caves in the United States Geology museums in the United States Natural history museums in West Virginia Museums in Greenbrier County, West Virginia Tourist attractions in Greenbrier County, West Virginia

History

Description

Photo gallery

See also

References

External links