Minnetonka Cave EarthCache
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Guided tours of the cave are conducted from early June until Labor
Day. During the operating season, the cave is open 7 days a week,
including holidays. Tours are conducted every half hour from 10:00
a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and last approximately 90 minutes. There is a
fee charged for the tour. A jacket is recommended, as the
temperature in the cave is a constant 40 degrees.
The cave’s story began some 330-350 million years ago, when
small creatures lived and died in a shallow inland sea. Their
remains formed calcite sediment layers that hardened into
limestone. Then about 50-80 million years ago tremendous forces
were fracturing and faulting the rock. The rock was uplifted with
the mountain building processes and became part of the Bear River
Range. Rain and snow water absorbed carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, the soil, and decaying plant material to form a weak
carbonic acid solution that dissolves limestone rock. This solution
followed the fractures until it reached a zone filled with water.
Over time, the dissolving action of the weak carbonic acid solution
along cracks and faults formed crevices, then tunnels, then
passages, and then water-filled chambers and rooms. As the water
table lowered and the valleys deepened, the underground chambers
were drained. The clay and hard chert particles found in the cave
are the residual parts of the limestone rock that did not dissolve.
It is the drip, drip, drip of water that decorates the cave.
Air-filled chambers provide ideal conditions for the formation of
many beautiful and varied cave mineral deposits. How the water
moves (seeping, dripping, flowing), and how many crystals come out
of the individual drops of water dictate the shape and size of the
formations made of calcite. These formations, called speleothems,
grow in an endless variety of shapes and sizes. Today the cave is
still “alive” and speleothems continue to grow at
varying rates as water seeps down from the overlying areas above
the cave.
The above information was taken
from the U.S. Forest Service official website.
To claim a FIND for this cache please answer the following
questions in a separate email to me:
1. What are 3 types of speleothems in the Minnetonka cave? Which is
your favorite and why?
AND
2. What did the tour guide say was an educated estimate on
how long it would take for the Bride and Groom speleothems to be
‘married’ (joined together)?
please do not just throw out a crazy number
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)