Natural Bridge Caverns

Natural Bridge Caverns are the largest known commercial caverns in the state of Texas.The name was derived from the 20 m (65 foot) natural limestone slab bridge that spans the amphitheater setting of the cavern's entrance. The span was left suspended when a sinkhole collapsed below it.

The caverns are located near the city of New Braunfels, Texas in the Texas Hill Country next to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, a drive-through wildlife safari park. The caverns feature several unique speleothems and other geological formations. The temperature inside the cave is 21 degrees Celsius (70°F) year-round and the deepest part of the public tour is 64.3 m (211 feet) below the surface.

The caverns are still very active and growing. Water flows and drips constantly throughout, causing the formations to retain a waxy luster that can be seen in few caverns.

Read more about Natural Bridge Caverns:  History, Ongoing Exploration, Passages Renamed, Gallery

Famous quotes containing the words natural, bridge and/or caverns:

    BOSWELL “ ... Is not the fear of death natural to man?” JOHNSON. “So much so, Sir, that the whole of life is but keeping away the thought of it.”
    Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)

    I was at work that morning. Someone came riding like mad
    Over the bridge and up the road—Farmer Rouf’s little lad.
    Bareback he rode; he had no hat; he hardly stopped to say,
    “Morgan’s men are coming, Frau, they’re galloping on this way.
    Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–1894)

    ... the bold care of an ecstatic trull
    Who rearranges with impartial feet
    The silence in the caverns of a skull.
    Allen Tate (1899–1979)