Caves
The Ozarks region is noted for having a well-developed karst topography with numerous areas of sinkholes, stream capture, and cavern development.
Caves, within areas of limestone and dolostone bedrock, occur in great numbers in and near the Ozark Mountain region in the southwestern part of Missouri. More than a hundred have been discovered in Stone county alone, and there are many in Christian, Greene and McDonald counties.
One of the most remarkable is Marvel Cave, a short distance southeast of the center of Stone county. The entrance originally was through a large sink-hole at the top of Roark Mountain, though now an easier entrance has been made. Marvel Cave has an extraordinary hall-like room is about 350 ft (110 m). long and about 125 ft (38 m). wide with bluish-grey limestone walls, and an almost perfectly vaulted roof, rising from 100 to 295 ft (90 m). Its acoustic properties are said to be almost perfect, and it has been named the Auditorium. At one end is a remarkable stalagmitic formation of white and gold onyx, about 65 ft (20 m). in height and about 200 ft (61 m). in girth, called the White Throne.
Exploration of Jacob's Cavern, near Pineville, McDonald county, revealed skeletons of men and animals along with crude implements. Crystal Cave, near Joplin, Jasper county, has its entire surface lined with calcite crystals and scalenohedron formations, from 1 to 2 ft (0.61 m). in length. Knox Cave, in Greene county, and several caverns near Ozark, in Christian county, are also of interest. Other caves include Fried's Cave, about six miles (10 km) northeast of Rolla, Phelps county, Mark Twain Cave (in Marion county, about one mile (1.6 km) south of Hannibal), which has a deep pool containing many eyeless fish; and various caverns in Miller, Ozark, Greene and Barry counties.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Missouri
Famous quotes containing the word caves:
“After Buddha was dead, his shadow was still shown for centuries in a cave—a tremendous, gruesome shadow. God is dead; but given the way of man, there may still be caves for thousands of years in which his shadow will be shown.—And we—we still have to vanquish his shadow, too.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“A jellyfish and a saurian,
And caves where the cave men dwell;
Then a sense of law and beauty,
And a face turned from the clod—
Some call it Evolution,
And others call it God.”
—William Herbet Carruth (1859–1929)
“Repent, repent, and from old errors turn!’
Who listened to his voice, obeyed his cry?
Only the echoes, which he made relent,
Rung from their marble caves ‘Repent! Repent!’”
—William Drummond, of Hawthornden (1585–1649)