General Description
Tytoona Cave's entrance is located in an approximately 100-foot (30 m) deep sinkhole. A stream emerges from the base of a sheer wall of the sinkhole opposite the cave entrance. This stream flows about one hundred feet or so before entering the Tytoona cave entrance. An above-ground stream enters the sinkhole and joins the stream emerging from the cliff. The flow of the above-ground drainage is very dependent on the amount of recent rain; the flow of the stream emerging from the base of cliff also varies greatly. The entrance to the cave slopes from ground level on the left diagonally to a high point of about 12 feet on the right. In the cave, the stream bottom is fairly flat and rather wide (~25 feet). The stream bottom is covered with gravel. The cave has a clay-covered path over a rock shelf on the left-hand side, with several very short dead-end passages on the left.
The first few hundred feet of the cave can be explored by almost anyone; however, at about 400 feet in, a massive logjam almost completely blocks the passage. Up to this point, there are not many formations (such as flowstone, stalagmites/stalactites, soda straws, etc.) visible. Those familiar with the cave can bypass the logjam by walking in the stream, which passes through a gap beneath most of the logs. Past the logjam lies another 500-foot passage. A number of formations can be seen in this section, although some have been vandalized. Also, several decayed wooden beams can be seen, remnants of the early attempts at commercialization. The cave is walkable for about 900 feet total before a sump is encountered.
Past this sump lie several more rooms connected by sumps, the first of which contains magnificent formations and is apparently airtight - no matter how high the stream is, the rooms will never fill with water. However, the current owners of the cave have banned cave diving since the death of diver Roberta Swicegood in the cave in June 1988; even if diving was permitted, even a skilled cave diver likely could not pass the first sump, since debris has accumulated and visibility is close to zero.
Eventually, the stream connects with the nearby Arch Spring Cave, but underwater blockages and cave-ins prevent a complete trip through. The total length of the cave system, from the entrance to the exit at Arch Spring, is about 4200 feet.
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