Luray Caverns Photos 05-08-2023

ENJOY THE SHOW.

These caverns are estimated to be about 450,000,000 years old and considered to be a "Solution Cave." That is, water when mixed with carbon dioxide produces carbonic acid. When the ground water comes in contact with the limestone beneath the ground, the acid hollows out the bedrock creating the "rooms."

Three natural colorations are represented by the different types of mineral collected by water. The white is calcium carbonate in its pure form. The reddish-brown is iron oxide. And the grayish-black is manganese oxide. Any green color seen today is an algae growing due to moisture near a light source.

One of nineteen posted signs that are described in the brochure given at the beginning of the tour. 102 is the Amphitheatre.

This water, slowly flowing over mudflows is making its way to...

...Dream Lake. This is the largest body of water in the Caverns covering 2,500 square feet. The deepest part of the lake is between 18 and 20 inches.

The mirror image is a reflection of the ceiling which makes appear that there are underwater stalagmites...which is part of  the "dream."

Pluto's Ghost is a huge abyss 500 feet in length and 90 feet in depth. Named after the mythological Pluto, the Roman god of the Underworld.

Titania's Veil. the white flowstone is Titania's Veil, named after a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. This type of stone occurs when water seeps down a wall or over a cave floor depositing layers of mineral-rich water. The slow rate requires three hundred years to form one cubic inch.

How many years must it have taken to produce this stalagmite?

Giant Redwood is an immense formation, the largest and oldest in the caverns. It's 40 feet in height and 120 feet in circumference. It's estimated to be over 7 million years old.

Saracen's Tent: Another type of cave formation is drapery. National Geographic commented these are among the best in the world. As flowstone grows larger they become longer and thin, sometimes translucent, to resemble a delicate curtain.

Flowstone

The Fallen Stalactite: An earthquake 7,000 years ago caused this massive, 170-ton stalactite to fall from the ceiling. A clearer picture was taken from the Internet below.

The timing of the earthquake, the last such disturbance of this magnitude in the eastern region, can be determined by the growth that fuses the stalactite to surrounding formations. Understanding 120 years per cubic inch, the calculation of the age of that new growth is 7,000 years.

The Totems: Stalagmites resembling the sculptured art of the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest

In the Cathedral is The Great Stalacpipe Organ, the largest musical instrument in world, having appeared in the Guinness Book of World records. Invented by Mr. Leland W. Sprinkle, a mathematician and electronics engineer from Springfield, Virginia, he began work in 1954 and saw his work come to fruition three years later. You can hear a "performance" in the link above (Moonlight Sonata) and in this YouTube VIDEO

Dedication plaque to inventor, Mr. Sprinkle. 

The Wishing Well. It's the deepest body of water in the Caverns with a depth of six feet at the center. At the end of the year, two to three feet of coins will cover the bottom of the pool.

The coins are collected annually and awards are made to national and regional health, environmental and educational organizations as listed in the photo below.

The air temperature in the caverns averages 54º year-round. Beyond the brick wall, in another area of the caverns is a shaft leading to the surface. In 1901, Limair Sanitorium was built over the shaft by the then-owner of Luray Caverns. A powerful fan pulled the cool air from the caverns into the home creating the first air-conditioned house in the United States. The air circulating in Limair averages about 70º on any summer day.

Fried Eggs. These two stalagmites were accidently sheared during enlargement of the tunnel.  Early tradition was to rub the eggs for luck. Today, that's prohibited.

The commemorative plaque pays homage to the Page County war veterans who gave their lives in conflicts around the world (In WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam). Originally placed in the Cavers in 1928, this location still provides the most visibility of any point in the county.

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