Carroll Cave

Carroll Cave was discovered in 1954. Serious exploration began in 1956, during a period when the cave was open to serious cave explorers (speleologists).^[1] The explorers eventually mapped approximately 20 miles of passageways leading to speleothem chambers and a large underground waterfall. After about three decades of exploration, the cave was completely closed to all visitors.^[1]

The U.S. National Park Service describes the Carroll Cave system as “a dendritic system of subsurface karst streams and tributaries.”^[2] A cave explorer has described wandering through and exploring the complex system of braided passageways implied by this description.^[1] The cave was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1977.^[2]