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Jewel Cave

Jewel Cave. By Lindsey Chambers. Location. Jewel Cave is located in the Southern Black Hills of South Dakota. Discovery. Jewel Cave was discovered in 1900 Frank and Albert Michaud

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Jewel Cave

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  1. Jewel Cave By Lindsey Chambers

  2. Location Jewel Cave is located in the Southern Black Hills of South Dakota

  3. Discovery • Jewel Cave was discovered in 1900 • Frank and Albert Michaud • They found crystals inside the cave and thought they were valuable, so they filed a mining claim called the “Jewel Tunnel Lode” on Halloween in1900. • Eventually, they conducted tours of the cave after they made no money off the calcite crystals. • The cave tours gave them no money because Jewel Cave was considered inferior to Wind Cave in the early 1900s and the location was bad. • The Michaud brothers moved away and sold the cave to the government for$500. Frank & Albert Michaud The Original Entrance

  4. Transformation into A National Monument • In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared Jewel Cave a National Monument. • In 1933, the National Park Service began managing the monument and Rangers from Wind Cave came to the monument in the summer. • The cave entrance was altered, a surface trail of about 800feet was made, and a new stone stairway was also constructed. • In 1939, a NPS Ranger was stationed at the monument and began conducting tours. Except for a brief period of closure during WWWII, NPS rangers staffed the tour operation. The stone stairway Theodore Roosevelt

  5. Exploration and Changes “Our exploration of Jewel Cave, which started out as a mild diversion, quickly mushroomed into an all-absorbing interest." -the Conns • By 1959 about ½ mile of the cave had been discovered. • Geologist Dwight Deal asked two rock-climbers, Herb and Jean Conn, to help him explore and map the cave. At first they didn’t want to do it, but later they agreed. • By1961 they had extended the known length of the cave to more than 15 miles. • In 1966, construction of the elevator shafts, one elevator, the visitor center, parking lots, maintenance area, and scenic area trail began. It took nearly 5 ½ years to complete. • The Conns retired in 1980, having discovered 65 miles of Jewel Cave. Herb and Jean Conn

  6. Jewel Cave Today Today Jewel Cave offers a variety of tours, including the scenic tour, the spelunking tour, and the lantern tour, as well as trails on the surface. The lantern tour is a ½ mile long unpaved trail. The only light is from lanterns, which each person carries. Bending or stooping on the way to the Dungeon or Heavenly Room cause this tour to be strenuous. The spelunking tour is extremely strenuous and requires all participants to be at least 16 years old and be able to crawl through a 8 ½ inch by 24 inch crawl space. The tour lasts 3-4 hours. In the scenic tour you enter the cave by an elevator in the visitor center. This tour is a ½ mile loop on paved trails and includes 723 stairs. It lasts about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

  7. Creation of the Cave Jewel Cave began forming about 320 million years ago when rocks such as sandstone, limestone, and dolomite were created. The shallow sea that covered the land receded and rainfall increased. Water made its way underground and was turned into acid by carbon dioxide. The acid traveled through fissures, filling cracks in the limestone and eroding it. Over a period of millions of years, this slow-moving water hollowed out Jewel Cave and drained from it in the form of springs.

  8. Cave Formations Stalactites are formed by water dripping from the ceiling. Stalagmites are formed where water that drips from the ceiling hits the floor. Draperies are formed when water trickles down a slanted ceiling.

  9. Calcite crystals are no longer forming. They were formed when the cave was still filled with water and the acidic water evaporated, leaving deposits of calcite. Calcite Crystals The two kinds of calcite crystals are dog-tooth spar and nailhead spar.

  10. Unusual Formations Gypsum cave formations form when water that enters the cave contains gypsum. When this water evaporates, it deposits gypsum in the form of beards, flowers, or spiders. Hydromagnesite balloons are formations in which hydromagnesite (a pasty material) has been inflated.

  11. Pictures of The Lantern Tour The Heavenly Room The Dungeon

  12. The Scenic Tour The Target Room

  13. The Spelunking Tour What you look like when you’re done Martha’s Kettle The Brain Drain

  14. Jasper Fire “On August 24, 2000 events transpired that would change the face of the landscape for years to come. A local woman pulled off the highway onto a forest service road that leads to Jasper Cave. She lit a cigarette, dropped the burning match to the ground, watched the fire start and drove away. The fire spread rapidly due to the hot and dry conditions.” (Fox) As the fire spread towards the monument, the area was evacuated. In the end, the total area burned at Jewel Cave was 1,279 acres. Fortunately, no buildings were lost at Jewel Cave. The Fire Cloud The Visitor Center

  15. Websites I Used • http://www.nps.gov/jeca/home.htm • http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/jeca/index.htm I wish I could visit Jewel Cave. The End

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