Dunbar Cave Earthcache EarthCache

The Dunbar Cave State Natural Area is located within the City of Clarksville, Tennessee.

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Dunbar Cave is a 115-acre natural area in Montgomery County. Its significant feature is a well-explored scenic and historic cave, which above ground is surrounded by an upland hardwood forest. A stream exits the cave and has been impounded to form a small lake that is inhabited by many fish, turtles, and other wildlife. The park is open from 8:00am until sundown every day of the year.

The Earthcache can only be completed when the park is open.

Dunbar Cave is one of the most prominent caves in an area where caves and sinkholes are common. This eight plus mile long cave has historical, natural, archaeological, and geological significance. Dunbar Cave formed as the Red River cut through the Mississippian age limestone and lowered the local water table about two or three million years ago. This enabled the flow of water through small cracks and solution joints from the sinkhole plain above it to the Red River drainage. The slightly acidic water dissolved the limestone along its route over millions of years creating the cave.

Dunbar Cave is presently known to contain 8.08 miles of explored and surveyed passages. Cave explorers or "sprelunkers" working for the State of Tennessee continue to find virgin cave as they push deeper into the more remote sections of this vast cavern system Scientific investigations are also being conducted in the cave. The cave is the habitat for several rare animals including the federally endangered gray bat (Myotis grisescens), a blind cave crayfish (Orconectes pellucidus) and the southern cavefish (Typhlichthys subterraneus). Cave salamanders, crickets and other animals as well as fungi and bacteria live near the front of the cave in the area known as the twilight zone.

Humans have been attracted to Dunbar Cave for thousands of years with its constant stream flow and natural air conditioning. There have been recent excavations near the entrance that reveal it to be an important archeological site. One projectile point found at Dunbar Cave dates back as much as 10,000 years to the Paleo-Indian culture. In more recent times the cave was used as an important community center and even as a country music band shell when it was owned by Roy Acuff.

Visitor's Center: The visitors center is a restored remnant of the area's early resort era. It once served as a swimming pool bathhouse, but today contains the Park Manager's office, restrooms water fountains, and information counter. The facility will eventually house exhibits, audiovisuals and literature aimed at interpreting the geological and ecological significance of the cave and man's use of the cave through time. It is open daily 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Cave Hikes: Cave Hikes are presently available year-round to organized groups (church, school, scouting, civic, etc.) by appointment. Hike are also conducted for the general public daily during June, July, and August, on weekends in spring and fall and once a month in winter. Hikes are limited to 20 persons and RESERVATIONS ARE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Refer to the sources for times and dates.

To claim credit for this cache, you must post a picture of you or your group with your GPSr shown standing at the above coordinates, which are near the entrance to the cave. Logs without photos will be deleted.

Acknowledgement:

I want to thank Mr. Robert Wells, Dunbar Cave Park Manager. For approving this Earthcache.

Special Thank You to: Mrs. Amy Wallace, Park Ranger, for the valuable information that she provided.

A Sincere Thank You

Learn more about Dunbar Cave, from these sources.

Tennessee.Gov , Tennessee State Parks , Friends of Dunbar Cave ,

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This Earthcache has been approved by the National Speleological Society