Lost River Valley is a National Archaeological site and a National Historic Site. While visiting the Historic Lost River, hike the nature trails that meander through the valley to see blue holes and the Butterfly Habitat.
To visit the EarthCache at Lost River Cave and Valley, you must check in at the visitor’s center before exploring the area. The trails (and this EarthCache) are not handicapped accessible.
Lost River Cave is open year round. Current hours are: May 25-Sept 30 from 8:30am to 6:30pm, and October 1 – May 24 from 10am to 5:00pm (Closed at noon on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day)
There is no fee to go on the walking trails to log this EarthCache.
You can also experience Kentucky’s ONLY Underground Boat Tour for a fee.
Karst is a distinctive topography in which the landscape is shaped by the dissolution of carbonate bedrock. This bedrock is often limestone or dolomite. At Lost River Cave and Valley, this bedrock is limestone. Over many thousands of years, the carbonic acid which causes this dissolution is formed as rain passes through the atmosphere picking up carbon dioxide when it reaches ground level, the water may pick up more carbon dioxide from the soil to form a weak carbonic acid solution. This acidic solution runs in any cracks or crevices in the rock as the water runs underground. With a continuous supply of acidic water, openings in the bedrock increase in size and an underground drainage system begins to develop. This in turn allows more water to pass through. The cycle accelerates the formation of karst. This process creates unusual features both above and below the land surface. Sinkholes, vertical shafts, blue holes, disappearing streams, springs, complex underground drainage systems, and caves are formed by this geological process. Caves or caverns that are large enough for exploration are not a required characteristic of a karst area.
We begin with sources of water at Lost River Cave and Valley:
It is estimated that around 25% of the world’s population gets its water from karst aquifers. In the United States approximately 40% of the groundwater used for drinking comes from these karst aquifers. A spring is any natural occurrence where the groundwater aquifer intersects the surface. Emergence of the groundwater at this point, to the surface, results in a surface stream. Sinking streams lose part or all of their flow to the groundwater system by disappearing underground.
There are three types of spring outlets. First is a filtration or seepage spring. The term seep refers to springs with small flow rates in which the source water has filtered into permeable earth. The second is fracture springs which re discharged from faults or fissures in the earth. In this case the springs follow a natural course of weaknesses in the bedrock. The third type is tubular springs which come from water-dissolved underground channels or cave systems.
Minerals from the underground rocks can become dissolved into the groundwater. This may give the water flavor and even carbon dioxide bubbles, depending on the nature of the rocks that it passes through. This is why spring water is often bottled and sold as mineral water. Springs that contain large amounts of dissolved sodium salts like sodium carbonate are called “soda springs”.
As late as the 1990’s The Lost River Cave was an ecological disaster. The mindset of some locals that it was a hole—to fill it up. A concerned and dedicated crew hauled several tons of debris up and out of the valley.
Due to the quick drainage of rainwater directly into sinkholes, karst aquifers can be easily contaminated. Since karst formations have high permeability, this results in fewer opportunities for contaminants to be filtered out of the groundwater. This groundwater provides drinking water, springs to feed our waterways, and as a habitat for subterranean species. The rivers and springs in such areas are easily contaminated. Residents must be vigilant and work together to protect the water entering the ground
Due to the sensitive ecosystem of the Lost River Cave, the City of Bowling Green partnered with the Lost River Cave and Valley to construct a wetlands treatment system to remove pollutants from the groundwater before it reaches Lost River Cave. The wetland system will benefit the park and all of the surrounding area. It will collect run-off water from the bordering 31 W Hwy and Nashville Road and help to filter that water before it enters into the cave system.
Please make a note of your answers to these two questions before proceding on to the next point of interest:
1. What river makes its appearance at this spring?
2. Why would the river here be considered a sinking stream?
Next, procede to coordinates: N36 57.149 W086 28.255
Blue Holes at Lost River Cave and Valley:
The term “blue holes” came to be used some 200 years ago by the sailors who made their trans-Atlantic crossing and their triangular trade between Bristol England, Charleston South Carolina, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
A blue hole is an underwater cave or sinkhole. They are also called karst windows. Blue holes in general are somewhat circular, steep-walled depressions. They are named for the blue hue of the water. The blue holes appear blue from the sun reflecting off microscopic particles of limestone in the water. There are four blue holes exposed at the Lost River Cave and Valley. Blue holes provide watering spots for birds and mammals using the Lost River Valley as a nature sanctuary. Some fresh water fish have been introduced.
For over a century, one of the blue holes at Lost River Cave and Valley was thought to be bottomless. It was later asserted that the hole has a depth of 437 feet, leading to Ripley’s Believe It or Not’s claim that Lost River is “the shortest and deepest river in the world”. Modern technology deems it to be only 15 feet. It seems the strong current pulled the measuring ropes down and under.
At the posted coordinates, note the answer to the following questions:
3. What is the name of the blue hole at the posted coordinates?
4. What color was the water at the time of your visit?
Now, procede to the final coordinates: N36 57.242 W086 28.399
Lost River Cave:
On the way to the cave, you will come across signs that say that you must be guided beyond a certain point. As a geocacher checked in at the visitor's center, you have permission to proceed unaccompanied.
The history and items of interest of the cave here at Lost River Cave is extremely varied. Interesting facts of the cave are as follows: The Lost River Cave has one of the largest cave entrances east of the Mississippi River. The cave was first inhabited by American Indians as 8,000 years ago. From the late 1700’s to the early 1900’s, the cave’s entrance was the site of many water-powered mills, producing flours, lumber, brandy, and carded wool. During the Civil War, Lost River Cave and Valley were occupied first by the Confederate Army in 1861, then in 1862 by the Union Army. It was believed that Jesse James and his gang stayed in the cave after their robbery of a bank in Russellville in 1868. During the 1930’s, 40’s and early 50’s, the Cave was a popular night club. It then went into disuse and was neglected. In 1990, Friends of the Lost River worked to remove debris and clean up the Cave and reopen it. In 1999, the boat tours began at Lost River Cave.
The historic entrance into the Lost River Cave is one of 5 natural entrances. The cave is approximately 7 miles long and is hydrogeologically connected to other caves in the system. The cave passageways wind around underneath the city of Bowling Green, resulting in creative engineering since the establishment of the city in the 1775. In the early years, the uses of the cave were very primitive, for example piping into the underlying passageways as septic tank dump stations. Now, greater knowledge of the cave, its ecosystem and its connection to surface waters, has resulted in conservative developmental endeavors within the city, protecting not only the structures above ground, but also the pristine cave environment below.
Logging requirements for this EarthCache include ALL of the following: (Send answers to the questions to the profile address of the developer of this EarthCache.)
Please note the answers to the following at these last posted coordinates:
5. Looking at the right side of the cave opening, how many layers of limestone rock can you count?
6. The width of the cave opening is approximately 5 times the tallest height of the opening. What would you estimate the measurement of the width of the opening to be?
DO NOT LOG A FIND UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO COMPLETE ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, YOUR LOG WILL BE DELETED. Please feel free to post photos of you at any of the places you find interesting while visiting Lost River Cave and Valley.
This EarthCache information and development were approved by The Lost River Cave and Valley’s land manager. Much appreciation goes to them for the care of the land and for supporting geocaching!
I obtained the information for this EarthCache from Google searches of internet sources and from http://www.lostrivercave.com.
