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CRYSTAL LAKE CAVE History of Cave
In 1868 a miner named James Rice discovered the Crystal Lake Cave. James and his crew of lead miners sank a 40-foot shaft in limestone in hopes of finding lead ore. Finding a crevice, James began to explore 700 feet of natural passage coming upon a large cave system. He realized that he was not looking at lead ore, but found something of greater value. James preserved the cave, calling it Riceís Cave, as a natural wonder. Anyone who was curious and interested in exploring the cave was allowed. Visitors entered the cave via a bucket that was lowered down by rope. Through
the years the cave passed through several owners. After James Rice a man named
Charles Linden re-named the cave Lindenís Cave. Not until the 1930ís did the
cave finally become Crystal Lake Cave. The owner, Bernard Markus, was the
son-in-law of Charles Linden. Bernard worked on and maintained the cave from
1932 until 1944 when he passed away. The cave then fell into the hands of
Herbert Knockel and his wife Evlyn, who was the granddaughter of Bernard Markus.
The couple was in charge of the cave till 1978 when the current owners, James
and Doris Rubel took over ownership. The Rubels have done an outstanding job in
improving the cave to make it a major sight in the Midwest. From the caveís
discovery in 1868, through the ownership of James Rice, Charles Linden and
current owners it still remains a Natural Wonderland. Crystal Lake Cave is composed of Galena Group Limestone. Slow moving ground water through geologic time has carved passageways from layers of the solid rock. From above water seeps into the caverns depositing a profusion of speleothems that cover some of the walls and every square inch of the ceiling. The amount, total number and type of the formations are truly astonishing. Water itself is capable of dissolving mineral material. Water consisting of dissolved minerals is known as hard water. So pure water by itself would take billions of years to dissolve large amounts of rock necessary to from such passages that are at Crystal Lake Cave.
Geologic Profile of Crystal Lake Cave
As rainwater falls to the ground it collects carbon dioxide from the air. It proceeds through the soil possibly collecting more carbon dioxide from decaying material. When water and carbon dioxide combine they form a weak acid, which is known as carbonic acid. The pH of this acid is fairly weak, even vinegar is stronger. Through geologic time this mixture follows cracks in rock layers or existing channels and increases their size into cavern passages large enough for humans to explore. The carbonic acid reacts with the limestone to make a solution of dissolved limestone. When the solution seeps through the rock layers, the cavern area is below the water table. As rivers in the area cut deeper into the valleys the caverns rise above the water table. Once the passages are above the water level, cave formations can develop. These include the minerals that were dissolved from the rock layers above. The main passages of Crystal Lake Cave go in an east-west direction with some of the smaller passages running south-north. This shows evidence of joint control. The ground water that dissolved the limestone was more likely to proceed along the cracks and joints already there.
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