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List of caves in Tennessee

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This is a list compiling the most notable caves out of all 10,000 found in the US state of Tennessee. This is the most caves of any state, estimated to be around twenty percent of all caves in America.[1] The reason behind this is believed to be because Tennessee was once below a shallow ocean, where the bodies of ancient sea creatures built up over long periods of time to form limestone, the primary mineral required to form caves.[2] The limestone is then eroded by rain to form caves.[3]

List of caves

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Cave Image County Length Year discovered Notes
Bell Witch Cave Robertson County 490 feet (150 m) On the property of John Bell's estate, known for folk tales about the Bell Witch.[4]
Blue Spring Cave White County 40 miles (64 km)[5] 1989 Longest cave in Tennessee, 10th longest cave in the US, and 44th longest cave in the world.[5]
Big Bone Cave Van Buren County 9.627 miles (15.493 km)[6] c. 1810
Cherokee Caverns Knox County 1 mile (1.6 km) 1854
Craighead Caverns McMinn County 0.75 miles (1.21 km) c. 1820 Home to the Lost Sea, the largest underground lake in the United States and second largest in the world.[7]
Cumberland Caverns Warren County 27.7 miles (44.6 km)[8] 1810
Devilstep Hollow Cave Bledsoe County 360 feet (110 m)[9] 920 AD Source of the Sequatchie River.[10]
Dunbar Cave State Park Montgomery County 8.067 miles (12.983 km)
Forbidden Caverns Sevier County 0.5 miles (0.80 km) c. 1920
Hubbard's Cave Warren County 1810[11] Largest gray bat hibernaculum in Tennessee.[12]
Lookout Mountain Caverns Gfp-tennessee-lookout-mountain-cave-structures Hamilton County 12 miles (19 km) 1823 No longer accessible since 2005.[13] Connected to Ruby Falls.
Lost Cove Cave Franklin County 2 miles (3.2 km) Also known as the Buggytop Cave.
Nickajack Cave Marion County 1 mile (1.6 km) 1800 Famed singer Johnny Cash once attempted suicide here following years of drug abuse, but survived following a spiritual experience.[14]
Raccoon Mountain Caverns Hamilton County 5.5 miles (8.9 km) 1853 Only place in the world where Nesticus furtivus (also known as the Crystal Caverns Cave Spider) is found.[15]
Ruby Falls Hamilton County 700 feet (210 m) 1928 Contains tallest and deepest subterranean waterfall open to the public in the United States at 145 feet (44 m) tall.[16] Connected to Lookout Mountain Caverns.
Rumbling Falls Cave Van Buren County 16.09 miles (25.89 km)[17] 1998 Has the second-largest cave chamber in the United States.[18] Found in Fall Creek Falls State Park.
Snail Shell Cave Rutherford County 9 miles (14 km)[19] 1951 Part of a larger cave network 13 miles (21 km) in length.[19]
Tuckaleechee Caverns Blount County c.1850 Has the tallest underground waterfall in the eastern United States at 210 feet (64 m).[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tennessee Caves (and the Bats That Use Them)". The Nature Conservancy. January 31, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  2. ^ "TenneSEA". Tennessee State Museum. May 21, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "Caving". Tennessee State Parks. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "Tennessee Legends: The Bell Witch". Tennessee State Museum. October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Blue Spring Cave". Outside by Nature. November 3, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Gulden, Bob (November 28, 2016). "USA LONGEST CAVES". NSS Geo2 Long & Deep Caves. Archived from the original on April 21, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "Exploring the "rich history" of America's largest underground lake". CBS News. August 14, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  8. ^ "Discover Cumberland Caverns, America's Greatest Caving Adventure". Cumberland Caverns. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  9. ^ "Devilstep Hollow Cave, Tennessee". Ancient Art Archive. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "THE WILDSIDE: Magical beauty in Cumberland County". Crossville Chronicle. April 5, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  11. ^ "Hubbard's Cave". The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "Hubbard's Cave Class II Natural-Scientific State Natural Area". Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "Mysterious & Legendary Caves at Lookout Mountain". Gadsden Messenger. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  14. ^ "A Southern Writer's Journal: Johnny Cash at Nickajack". Chattanooga Pulse. April 18, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  15. ^ "Crystal Caverns cave spider". US Fish and Wildlife Service. September 30, 2003. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  16. ^ "Ruby Falls". Outdoor Chattanooga. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  17. ^ "USA Long Cave List". Cave-Exploring.com. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  18. ^ "Exposing Tennessee's Titanic Cave Chamber". National Geographic. 2002-02-24. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  19. ^ a b "SCCi Acquires Snail Shell Cave". Southeastern Cave Conservancy. 2008-06-02. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  20. ^ "Caves Amaze: There are 10,000 caverns in Tennessee, here are the best ones". WZTV. April 2, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
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