The Caverns at Natural Bridge are a series of commercial

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

s in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, close in proximity to both the

Natural Bridge A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion fr ...

and Natural Bridge State Park. Discovered in the 1890s, it was opened to the public in 1977. The Caverns at Natural Bridge are the deepest commercial

cavern 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 ...

on the east coast. The Caverns are home to two unique species — a beetle called the Natural Bridge Cave Beetle (''Pseudanophthalmus pontis'') and the Natural Bridge Isopod (''Caecidotea bowmani'').

Description

Guided tours and lantern tours are available. The Caverns are allegedly haunted. Tours usually last around 45 minutes. The temperature remains a cool . The Caverns feature many unique structures including the Colossal Dome Room, Mirror Lake, Well Room, and the Canyon Room. The deepest part of the Cavern is below the ground's surface. The Caverns at Natural Bridge were previously called Buck Hill Caverns.

History

The Caverns were discovered by brothers Jake and Joe Fitzgerald. The owner of the property at the time was

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Henry Chester Parsons, who was also associated with the opening of

The Natural Bridge ''The Natural Bridge'' is the second studio album by indie rock group the Silver Jews. Released in 1996 as an LP and CD on Drag City (DC101) in America and Domino (WIG28) in Europe, ''The Natural Bridge'' was engineered and mixed by Michael De ...

Geology

The Shenandoah Valley is underlain with limestone and also has

karst topography 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 ...

, forming caves throughout the region. Rainwater becomes slightly acidic as it seeps through the soil. The acid slowly erodes the calcium carbonate, the main component of limestone, creating caves, sinkholes and springs throughout the landscape. There are many caves and caverns throughout the surrounding area.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caverns at Natural Bridge Caves of Virginia