Caverns of Sonora - Sutton County, TX - U.S. National Natural Landmarks on Waymarking.com

"The Caverns of Sonora a unique cave located on private property about 15 miles west of Sonora [Texas]. The Caverns were discovered in 1905 when one of the [private owner's] ranch dogs chased a raccoon into a 20 inch opening in the rocks. Locals then began exploring the cave in the early 1920's but they would only explore back about 500 feet from the entrance. Visitors were allowed in the cave in the 30's but it opened to the public after the discovery and exploration of new sections of the cave in 1955 when Jack Prince crossed devils pit. They changed the name from Mayfield cave in 1955 to Secret cave so no one would know the two caves were one in the same to protect this beautiful cave they had discovered. They opened July, 16, 1960 and changed the name to Caverns of Sonora.

The Cavern is over seven and a half miles long but only two miles of trails are developed for tours. There are five levels of the cave that vary in depth form 20' to 180' below the surface. Caverns of Sonora is ranked as one of the Top Ten Caverns in the United States and it is one of the most active caves in the world with over 95% of its formations still growing. The Cavern is best known for its extremely delicate formations and the abundance and variety of formations. The cave is a constant 71 degrees with a 98% humidity level which makes it feel about 85 degrees.

Caverns of Sonora is world-class cave due to its stunning array of calcite crystal formations. The variety of formations is unbelievable - you'll find helictites, soda straws stalactites, speleothems, stalagmites, cave bacon, and other formations. [...]

The cave is very well prepared for tours with magnificent indirect lighting which showcases the formations and the various rooms of the cave. The trail is paved and meanders up and down the cavern and takes you through both narrow sections of the cave where you have to be careful not to bump any formations (or your head) and huge beautiful rooms like the Crystal Palace with unbelievable beauty. You'll visit a number of sections or rooms of the cave with names that reflect the formations in that section, like White Giants, Christmas Tree Room, Halo Lake, Valley of Ice, Baby Grand Canyon, or Palace of the Angels. This tour is appropriate for all ages - kids should love it."

Source: Texas Outside website.

(see also National Natural Landmark website)

Predominate Feature: Unusual cave formations, such as bladed helictites and coralloid growths Parking/Access Location: N 30° 33.313 W 100° 48.711 Ownership: Private - Open Access Terrain Rating: Admission Charged: yes Landmark's Website: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/21/2016 Raven visited it