The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-07-21
uEDgReRcUND sTREasss


SeSe - AcutuckE he.
written an article for The C.p,n-
on "The Mammoth Cave Of p
lucky" Mr.. Proctor says:
Passing southwark through T.
tucky ON the Louisville and N,ss
vile railway the observant trsvss.-
will notice that about 40 miles r.
Louisville the road climbs NJ
drow's hill, which is the northe--
escarpment of an elevated limess,.-
plateau sloping gently to the soma
and west. The road traverses III
plateau for about 100 miles and A.
sends a southern escarpment IN.
the basin of central Tennessee =
this distance only three streams A..
crossed-Nolin, Green and Baren
rivers-and between these riyerstA.
entire surface drainage passes aw.v
through subterranean channels o;-
ing rise to a curious sink holsr
topography which is peculiar to tb;,
region. These circular and ov,l
shaped depressions are so numerop,
that in places the rims almost toucA
one another, and one can sometime.
count several hundred to the SONAR.
mile. Through vents at the bottom
of these sinks tha surface wsts,
passes downward into caverns ana
underground streams, emptyinQ into
the above named rivers throuVh
arched ways near water level and IN
places beneath the surface of tbs
rivers.
The surface rock of this platesu
is the subcarboniferous limestone
which is here several hundred fees
thick, massive, remarkably homo
geneous rock, with no intervening
strata of shale or sandstone. condi.
tions most favorable for the forma.
ton of caverns. Consequently this
region contains more and larger
caves in a given area than any other
region in the world. In Edmonson
county, where the celebrated Nam.
moth cave is located, it is claimed
that there are as many as 500 known
caverns.
A range of hills of unifoI NJ height
running parallel with the railway
and several miles distant, will Be
observed to the north. On nearer
inspection tins will be seen to be a
level plateau rising out of the lime
stone PLAIN and held up by cap
ping of massive sandstone. II ia
beneath the protection of this sand
stone capped plateau that the larger
caves arc found Green river has
cut thro ugh this pla ;eau to depth
OF about $40 teet, ard as the sand.
stone cap is about az feet thick we
find about $50 feet of massive lime
stone exposed above the drainage
level As some of the domes and
upper avenues of the caves extend
up 10 the base of the sandstone and
some down to the drainage level we
II us have 250 feet as the present
limit of the vertical extension Of
these caves. The evidence is con-
elusive that these cares have been
cut down TO correspond with the
deepening of the channel cut By
Green river. In the re,:ion imme-
diately along the line of the rail
way, where the sandstone Gaping
and the upper limestone have been
removed by erosion. the caverns
have less vertical extension and cor
respond TO the lower avenues of the
Mammoth and other caves 10 the
north. Doubtless large caverns, cor
responding to those now remaining
beneath the sandstone plateau exist
ed here before the upper member OF
the limestone was eroded from this
area.
There is no means of estimating
the extent of the caverns and sub
terranean streams in this region
Every one of the innumerable de-
pressions, or sink holes-save where
the vents have been closed, thus
forming ponds-communicates with
an underground channel or cave,
and the aggregate length OF sucn
channels has been estimated al
many thousands of miles. Nor can
we form any estimate of the NUM-
ber and extent of large caverns yet
undiscovered But for the erosion
caused by a small stream cutting
through the roof of Mammoth cave
the present entrance would not nave
been broken open, and this, the
greatest of caves, might have re-
mained unknown. Several other OF
the largest and most beautiful caves
in this region have been founo Oy
accident. Hidden grandeurs doubt
less vet remain entombed beneath
the extensive uplands reaching out
on both sides of Green river
4