In August 2004 the Skunk crawled into the entrance of the Oregon Caves, located in the extreme southwest corner of the state.

Elijah Davidson, the first known man to enter Oregon Caves National Monument, entered in pursuit of his favorite dog Bruno and a bear in late November of 1874.Oregon Caves is a solutional cave, with passages totaling about 15,000 feet (2.84 miles) that formed in marble. The parent rock was originally limestone that metamorphosed to marble during the geologic processes that created the Klamath Mountains, including the Siskiyous. Although the limestone formed about 190 million years ago, the cave itself is no older than a few million years.

Oregon Caves is unusual in that it was formed in marble. Most caves created by dissolving of rocks are formed in limestone or dolomite.  Of the more than 3,900 caves managed by the National Park Service, only those in Oregon Caves National Monument, Kings Canyon National Park, and Great Basin National Park have marble caves.

You will see the marble formations in the following photos.  Surfaces are glossy rather than the usual dull surfaces found in limestone caves.

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Where are the Oregon Caves?  They are located in the extreme southwest of  Oregon near Cave Junction, OR.

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Some nice examples of stalactite and  (hanging from the top) and stalagmite (built up from the bottom).  Guess the ones that form pillars are stick-tights?  No, they are simply called columns
.

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Okay, what is going on here?  Broken stalactites and writing all over the marble?  Vandalism in to worst form?  Yes, but it occurred in the 1800's before people realized the value of preservation.  The signatures are those of a scientific expedition to the cave in the 1800's.  Follow the link below to learn more about it.

Click here for more about these signatures

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Beautiful flowing marble formations and patterns.  No, you may not take home a piece for your kitchen counter.

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Tiny "soda Straw" stalactites forming. 
Millions of years from now they
will be big columns. 

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Entrance to a side cavern. 
Small opening but it might
open into a room the size of
a football stadium. I do not
know if all the side caverns
have been explored or not.











This completes our spelunking expedition.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as the Skunk did.  If you find yourself in SW Oregon, I encourage you to explore this beautiful cave.