Natural Tunnel - Duffield, VA
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DMflyer
N 36° 42.132 W 082° 44.663
17S E 344181 N 4063255
Daniel Boone was probably the first white man to see the tunnel. However, no one wrote of it until Lt. Col. Stephen H. Long explored the site in 1831 and published an article in a geology journal in 1832. The areas near the tunnel were mined for saltpeter during the Civil War. In 1890 the South Atlantic and Ohio Railroad arrived and, making use of the natural formation, laid tracks through the tunnel. In 1906 Southern Railway acquired the tracks and created a passenger line, the Natural Tunnel L
Waymark Code: WM3CZ
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 11/04/2005
Published By: TVN
Views: 123
Natural Tunnel is believed to be about one million years old and started forming during the early part of the Pleistocene Epoch. The cave was initially formed at or near the water table by ground water bearing carbonic acid that percolated through cracks and crevices and slowly dissolved the surrounding limestone and dolomitic bedrock. After the cave was formed and the regional water table lowered, Stock Creek, which flows south to join the Clinch River, was probably diverted underground. It has since used the tunnel as a path of least resistance through the end of Purchase Ridge. The tunnel has been further enlarged over the years by the erosive action of this stream