Natural Bridge Caverns are the largest known commercial caverns in the state of Texas.The name was derived from the 20 m (65 foot) natural limestone slab bridge that spans the amphitheater setting of the cavern's entrance. The span was left suspended when a sinkhole collapsed below it.
The caverns are located near the city of New Braunfels, Texas in the Texas Hill Country next to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, a drive-through wildlife safari park. The caverns feature several unique speleothems and other geological formations. The temperature inside the cave is 21 degrees Celsius (70°F) year-round and the deepest part of the public tour is 64.3 m (211 feet) below the surface.
The caverns are still very active and growing. Water flows and drips constantly throughout, causing the formations to retain a waxy luster that can be seen in few caverns.
Read more about Natural Bridge Caverns: History, Ongoing Exploration, Passages Renamed, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words natural, bridge and/or caverns:
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I was at work that morning. Someone came riding like mad
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—Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–1894)
“The within, all that inner space one never sees, the brain and the heart and other caverns where thought and feeling dance their sabbath.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)