The 2nd largest cave in the world, for now

The drive to the Jewel Cave National Monument was gorgeous, something we have become accustomed to at this point. Seeing the effects of the massive Jasper Fire of August 2000 that burned 90% of the land area around there was incredibly impressive.

To our amazement, it was National Monument Day or something, and tickets that are usually reserved weeks in advance were not only on a first come first serve basis, but also free! We were lucky enough to get a tour with only a 40 minute wait in which we walked around the visitor center trying to get our knowledge on. From over 300 feet below on our tour, I only managed to retain a few facts. The most interesting being that according to geologists, the 151 miles of cave that has currently been discovered is only 3% of the actual size of the cave. With the speed of discovering and mapping new cave systems going at a rate of 3-5 miles per year, it’s going to be a long time before it’s all discovered.

Far less interesting but noteworthy nonetheless was the explanation between a National Park and a National Monument, which the cave is. To keep it simple, a National Park is a natural area or wildlife preserve that is established through acts of congress. An unlimited amount of people can enter a National Park on any given day therefore making it mostly about profit. In comparison, a National Monument can be natural features but are more often cultural or historic places that can be established by the President at his discretion. National monuments only allow a limited number of people per day to visit keeping with the idea of preservation. Ever since they drilled to put in a second elevator shaft and caused water to enter a previously dry cave, President Roosevelt established a law forbidding any more drilling. Thanks to Teddy Roosevelt, this was estabished as a national monument in February 7, 1908.


Anyway, here are the few pictures that came out from several hundred feet below in 49 degree Jewel Cave National Monument. I can't exactly explain much, but it was pretty damn cool.

After the Saturday morning tour, it was off to Jackson at what we estimated would be around 3, maybe 4 hours. But as a reoccurring them on this trip, we would find out that we were horribly mistaken.