Kentucky’s most popular National Park, Mammoth Cave, has more secrets to uncover in a recent discovery of more cave passages that stretch even beyond its own world record of being the longest cave system in the world.
On Sept.11, the park’s Facebook page posted, “The longest cave in the world is now even longer!!!” to announce the discovery of 8 extra miles to a total of 420 miles in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. This news came on the day of commemoration for the National Day of Service and the park’s partnership with the Cave Research Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated towards exploration, research, and cave conservation whose members made this discovery.
Mapping these passages offers numerous environmental benefits. Home to 130 species of wildlife and many geological marvels, these caves pave the way for future research endeavors. This data can be used to secure the surrounding area, as the Mammoth Cave is a part of the larger campground. The vast complex interior of the cave means that highway accidents, like chemical spills, could stream down the tunnels and hidden avenues of the cave and damage other areas of the park. Maps vitally aid the Cave Research Foundation’s understanding of the cave’s vulnerabilities and makes it safer to explore the 10 miles open to the 500,000 annual tourists.
Since its designation as the longest cave system in 1969 with a total of 65 surveyed miles, freelance researchers from the Foundation have surveyed more than 6 times that initial length. Equipped with compasses, measuring tape, laser finders and an instrument called an inclinometer, the cave mappers diligently measured the direction, distance and slope of cave passages. They then compiled their data little by little to form a picture of how underground rivers have carved these serpentine passages through limestone erosion, a unique natural process called karst topography.
“Many of the cave trips are long and arduous, involving climbing, vertical exposure, squeezes, crawlways, water, and mud,” Eastern Operations Manager Karen Willmes from the Cave Research Foundation said. “After the trip, cartographers turn the data collected on the cave trip into a map. Other volunteers provide surface support. It’s a first-rate effort for a world-class cave, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
Notably, the U.S. Department of the Interior estimates that up to 600 miles of cave still remain hidden away, a flexible number that will increase as water continues to erode the sedimentary rock.
