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Read Ebook: The Underworld of Oregon Caves National Monument by Contor Roger J
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Ebook has 107 lines and 12924 words, and 3 pages
Oregon Caves have been known since a day in 1874 when Elijah J. Davidson went hunting in the Siskiyou Mountains. The story goes that, after killing a deer, he followed his dog to a large hole in the mountain. Here he heard sounds of fighting coming from within. Being undecided as to what to do, he stood waiting--then his dog gave vent to a weird howl, as if in great pain. Hesitating no longer, Davidson rushed into the opening. He soon found the chase difficult to pursue without a light, whereupon he resorted to a few matches that he had in his shot-pouch. Striking match after match, he expected that he would soon be at the scene of the struggle.
Before arriving there, however, his supply of matches gave out, leaving him in the dark. Davidson finally found his way back to a running stream of water, and following it, came to the mouth of the cave. Soon after, the dog came splashing down the creek, unhurt. As it was well on in the evening, Davidson decided to go back to camp and return the next day. Before leaving, however, he placed near the entrance to the cave the buck he had recently killed. He anticipated that a bear would come out for food, eat all it could and then lie down by the remaining part. Returning early the next morning, Davidson found a monstrous black bear lying near the carcass of the deer.
Davidson told others of his discovery, and the cave soon became an attraction for the adventuresome, portions of it being explored and opened. Early interest in commercializing the cave were thwarted by its remote location, far from roads and populous communities.
Appreciable public use was not attained until 1922, when an automobile road was completed to the caves. The next year, 1923, the Forest Service granted a concession to the Oregon Caves Company, which has provided public accommodations and cave guide service since then.
In 1933, the Monument was transferred to the National Park System. Concurrently, the completion of the 512-foot exit tunnel that same year greatly improved cave tour circulation. The public use pattern, relatively unchanged for the next three decades, was established after the opening of the concessioner's chateau building in 1934. The chateau is noted for its charming architecture, complementing the steep, forested setting.
CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION
Oregon Caves have been set aside as a national monument because of their outstanding natural features. The National Park Service is charged by Congress to provide for the public use and enjoyment of the area "in such manner and by such means as will leave it unimpaired for ... future generations."
Natural things and natural processes are paramount. Manmade facilities such as trails, lights and steps are necessary to allow visitors to enjoy the cave. But they are kept at a minimum. Your guide will ask you not to touch any of the cave formations. This is to keep them from being stained or broken. Prior to the establishment of the National Monument in 1909, fragile formations were the object of severe vandalism and thoughtless destruction by souvenir hunters . It is doubly important to preserve the remaining features for the benefit of those who will come here tomorrow and in later years.
Outside the cave, the Monument is a place where flowers are enjoyed in their natural state and not picked, where birds and wild animals are unmolested by hunters or trappers. The forest is undisturbed. On the trails away from the cave area, the hiker may see animals and plants fulfilling their existence as they did centuries ago. It is to this philosophy that the national parks and monuments are dedicated.
GLOSSARY OF CAVE TERMS
Bacon A thin sheet of calcite drapery having alternating dark and light bands which give it the appearance of a strip of bacon. The dark, reddish bands are usually caused by an iron oxide stain.
Bedding plane The stratification or meeting place of two different layers of sedimentary rock.
Blade A calcite sheet originally deposited in a crack, then later exposed.
Breakdown Heaps of rubble on a cavern floor caused by the collapse of walls or ceiling.
Calcium bicarbonate An unstable compound occurring when carbonic acid contacts calcium carbonate.
Calcium carbonate A mineral with the chemical formula CaCO?.
Calcite A crystalline form of calcium carbonate.
Carbonic acid A weak acid occurring as a liquid, having the formula H?CO?, a mixture of carbon dioxide and water.
Clastic dike A dike made up of fragments of pre-existing rocks.
Column A speleothem formed when a stalactite and a stalagmite meet.
Deposit A natural occurrence of mineral material, such as an iron ore deposit; or in the vocabulary of the speleologist, any cave formation originating from deposition.
Drapery Hanging speleothem in the form of a curtain or drape.
Dripstone A calcite deposit left by dripping water.
Flowstone A calcite deposit left by flowing water along a cave wall or floor.
Fracture A break in rock.
Gallery An underground passage.
Ground water Water within the earth, such as feeds wells.
Helictite A variant form of stalactite which does not hang vertically or which has side growths resembling twisted roots.
Joint A crack, which in limestone forms at an angle to a bedding plane. A series of joints often intersect each other in a four-sided pattern.
Limestone A rock consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate, usually an accumulation of organic remains such as shells.
Marble Limestone crystallized by metamorphism.
Metamorphose To change into a different form, such as changing sedimentary rock into a metamorphic rock .
Moonmilk A rare form of hydromagnesite or calcium carbonate which is semisolid.
Phreatic zone The region, below the water table, in which rock is saturated with water.
Popcorn Nodules of mineral deposits formed in such a way as to resemble popcorn.
Rimstone A calcite deposit around the edge of a pool of water.
Sedimentary rock Formed from deposits of sediments or from fragments of other minerals.
Shale A sedimentary rock formed from deposits of clay or silt.
Solution The process by which a substance is chemically combined with a liquid. Also, the state of being chemically so combined.
Soda straw A small, hollow stalactite inside which drops of water descend.
Speleogen A cave feature produced by solution of base rock.
Speleologist One who makes a scientific study of caves.
Speleology The scientific study of caves in all their aspects.
Speleothem A cave feature produced by deposition of mineral.
Spelunker One who explores caves as a sportsman or amateur speleologist.
Stalactite A calcite speleothem which grows downward, icicle-fashion, as a result of deposition by dripping water.
Stalagmite A calcite speleothem which grows upward from a cave floor as a result of deposition by dripping water.
Vadose zone The region lying between the surface of the earth and the water table. Water which seeps or flows through this region under the pull of gravity is called vadose water.
Water table The meeting place of the phreatic and vadose zones. Below it, the rock is saturated with water; above it, water under the pull of gravity is continuously flowing downward.
SUGGESTED READING
Wells, Francis G., Preliminary geological map of southwest Oregon. U.S.G.S. Mineral Investigation Map, MF 38, 1955.
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