Jewel Cave National Monument EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

geoawareUSA1: Archiving per Land Managers request.

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Hidden : 12/6/2006
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Jewel Cave National Monument is located in Black Hills of South Dakota on Rt. 16, west of Custer, SD.

The exploration of the cave began about 1900 when three friends heard wind rushing through a hole in the rocks. Enlarging the hole they found a cave full of sparkling crystals. Eight years later Jewel Cave National Monument was established. Today the cave is among the world's longest and is renowned for its variety of formations. Because the cave is a scientific gem, much of it is set aside for research and is not open to the public. But tour routes are designed so you can see many of the cave's wonders. On a tour you can sense that Jewel Cave is not the small cave it was once thought to be. Today it is the second longest known cave in the world, a labyrinth that twist and turns for miles. The most common therory is that Jewel Cave's creation was a process that took millions of years, starting with the formation of the Black Hills, when mountain-building forces made faults in the earth. About 30 to 50 million years ago, slightly acidic groundwater seeped into the faults, dissolving the surrounding limestone and, over a period of several million years, hollowing out the passages of Jewel Cave. A variety of cave formations was created during the later stages of cave developement.

The Visitor Center is open daily year-round, except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and News Years Day. Hours are: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Sept. thru May; 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM June, July & August. Call 1-605-673-2288 for daily tour schedules.

To log this cache as a "found it" you must do the following:
. Post (to your found log) a photo of you or members of your team
next to the "Jasper vs. Jewel" informational sign found near the posted cache coordinates.
and/or
. E-mail us (EVA-Duo through our profile) with the correct answer to the following question. What is "Jasper" according to the informational sign?

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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