Cumberland Caverns

Cumberland Caverns is the second to third longest cave in Tennessee, USA. It has a surveyed length of 27.616 miles (44.4 kilometers), which makes it the 14th longest cave in the United States and the 64th longest cave in the World.

The main entrance was discovered by Aaron Higgenbotham in 1810 while he was surveying the nearby Chickamauga Trail on Cardwell Mountain in what is now Warren County. According to legend, Higgenbotham was the first man to enter the cave and it was named Higgenbotham Cave in his honor. Another smaller cave, also located on Cardwell Mountain, was also discovered about this time and was named Henshaw Cave. Although not nearly as big as Higgenbotham Cave, Henshaw Cave proved to be a source of saltpeter (the main ingredient of gunpowder) and was operated as a saltpeter mine during perhaps both the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

Higgenbotham Cave became a favorite spot for local adventurers during the 19th century and groups would ride out to the entrance in Haywagons and make the strenuous trip to a point in the cave now known as the Ten Acre Room. In the days of the Haywagon parties, it was called the Big Room. Here, many visitors left their names and the date candled on the ceiling.

In the early 1940s, Higgenbotham Cave began to be explored by modern cave explorers who were members of the National Speleological Society (NSS). By the 1950s, they had greatly increased the known extent of the cave. In 1953 a connection was discovered between Henshaw Cave and Higgenbotham Cave. This connection was named the Meatgrinder due to its small size and shape. Soon afterwards, some of these explorers leased the cave from its owner, Mr. Andy Powell, and developed it into a commercial cave. The cave opened under the name Cumberland Caverns on July 4, 1956 and has been open to the public since that time.

Inside the cavern, there are several different areas of interest, including: Monument Pillar which is a large flowstone formation; Crystal Palace which contains many beautiful gypsum flowers and crystals; three spelunking tunnels called Devil's Backbone due to the limited winding walkway; the Lemon Squeezer, due to the highest point being only 11 inches (280 mm); Bubblegum Alley, which is about the same size as the Lemon Squeezer, but has damper ground which mixed with other elements makes it very sticky and hard to get through. The Hall of the Mountain King is a very large breakdown chamber located on the commercial tour and is one of the largest cave rooms in eastern North America. It is 600 ft (180 m) tall by 150 ft (46 m) wide by 140 ft (43 m) tall. A spectacular flowstone display on the far side is known as the Cathedral.