Official Kids Mag

BOTTOMLESS LAKES AND SODA STRAWS ARE COSMIC CAVE WONDERS By Suzanne Rhodes Photos by Wayne Rhodes Have you ever seen things that are out of place, like a hat on a fence post or a cellphone on a sidewalk? How about Santa Claus in a cave? How about bacon? Well, if you tour the amazing Cosmic Cavern in Berryville, Arkansas, and descend 400 feet into its underworld corridors and rooms, you'll see weird sights like those and more — ghosts, curly fries, clumps of worms — but they're all actually speleothems, commonly known as cave formations or features. Caves have stalactites, which point down from the ceiling like fingers, and stalagmites, which reach upward and are often fat and blunt. If they meet together, they form a column. One type of stalactite is called a soda straw because it's long and skinny. In one section of Cosmic Cavern called "Silent Splendor," you'll find the biggest soda straw in the Ozarks — it's nine feet long! You could drink a lot of soda pop with a straw that size! Another cool Cosmic feature is a curtain. These are very thin, often translucent sheets of folded minerals. Many have stripes that make them look like bacon. You'll also see cave popcorn on the walls that might tempt you as a snack, but you probably wouldn't like crunching down on those rocky bumps! So, maybe you're wondering how caves and their amazing shapes were created. Cosmic Cavern, like other caves in Arkansas, is made of limestone. Over time, water washes over the rock, and the acid in it eats away the limestone to form hollow underground spaces. As water rich in minerals constantly drips down from the cave ceiling, the minerals harden to form stalactites and stalagmites. These "grow" as the drips continue, but very s-l-o-w-l-y – like maybe less than an inch in 100 years. It also features two spectacular lakes — the South and North Lakes — that are the largest underground lakes in the Ozark mountains and reported to be bottomless. Divers who explored the depths to conduct scientific measurements could never find the bottom! During periods of heavy rainfall, the cavern tends to flood heavily, but fortunately, the water drains quickly — as fast as six inches in an hour. Not to worry — any flooded areas are roped off for tourists. Are you a fourth, fifth or sixth grader? If so, you might want to ask your teacher about taking part in a science program on site called the Aquifer Study. In the two-hour session, you'll learn to use special instruments to measure things like humidity, evaporation and the amount of rock that's dissolved in water. The cave was first discovered by a miner named John Moore in 1845 when he and his sons were searching for lead. They explored the cavern and found the first of the two mysterious underground lakes. Soon, other people came — not for lead but to mine the gemstone onyx near the cave's entrance. You can still see soot from their torches. Fourteen different people owned the cave before its current owners, Randy and Anita Langhover, bought it in 1980. You can imagine the excitement when Mr. Langhover found another room in the cave in 1993 that he and his crew had to excavate. "We dug by flashlight, and finally had to quit because we ran out of places to put the dirt and rock," he said. It was then that he saw the second lake, its silent, emerald waters kept undisturbed for centuries until that moment. And now Mr. Langhover and professional caving groups are digging to find a whole new area. So far they've dug 30 feet. "Maybe only 10 feet more to go," Mr. Langhover said. "We don't just do tours. We keep exploring!" Wouldn't it be thrilling to be the first to discover mystic wonders in the heart of the earth that no one's ever seen before? Before being called Cosmic Cavern, it was known by other names — Bear Cave, Majestic Cave and Mystery Cave. It's considered the warmest cave in the Ozark region, with a temperature that stays 64° year-round. It has a high humidity, too, so you can leave your jacket in the car when you take your tour, which lasts about an hour and 15 minutes and covers a third of a mile. Be sure to wear boots, cuz you're gonna get muddy! And don't forget your camera—you don't want to miss that picture of Santa. For hours and days of operation, tour information and more, visit www.cosmiccavern.com 6386 AR-21, Berryville, AR 72616 (30 minutes south of Branson, MO) 870-423-8454 38 • APRIL 2020 • Of f icialKidsMag.com

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