Grand Canyon Caverns - Peach Springs, AZ
Posted by: 
DopeyDuck
N 35° 31.065 W 113° 13.148
12S E 298768 N 3932726
Grand Canyon Caverns is a natural limestone cavern 210 feet underground and the largest dry cavern in the U.S. Only 3 out of every 100 caverns are dry, which makes these caverns rare and unique.
Waymark Code: WM8JXB
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 04/11/2010
Views: 15
"A Natural Wonder in the Making
The story of the Grand Canyon Caverns' formation starts 345 million years ago, at the bottom of an ancient sea. This was during the Mississippian Period of geologic time. The entire Southwestern U.S. was covered by ocean. As tiny sea animals lived and died, their shells and skeletons fell to the ocean floor creating a fine, oozy mud, very rich in lime deposits. This mud eventually became the limestone bedrock which is the base rock of the Caverns. Later on, forces deep within the earth, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, cause the ocean floor to rise several thousands of feet, becoming the mountaintops of today. The Caverns' elevation is now more than 5,000 feet above sea level. These upheavals split the earth's crust. Rainwater started entering these cracks and seeping into the limestone. This was the very beginning of the Grand Canyon Caverns.
Millions of years ago, there were periods of abundant rainfall and tropical downpours. The rainwater carried a mild acid solution. As this acid came in contact with the limestone, it dissolved away the softest parts. This created connecting passageways and cavities that soon filled with water. As climatic conditions changed and the rain fell less frequently, the water table began to lower until these cavities were left empty. By this time, millions of years had been involved in forming the Grand Canyon Caverns, but still millions more would be required to ornately adorn them. Due to further changes in conditions, evaporating water began to deposit calcium carbonate and to create the varied, beautiful formations you can see today.
6 million years is not a very long time in the age of caverns. Yet, that is all the longer water was in the Grand Canyon Caverns, leaving them dry for the last several million years. 97% of the world's caverns are wet. They still have water seeping in them. They still have growing formations. The Grand Canyon Caverns are dry, meaning no more formations are being formed. Only 3 out of every 100 caverns in the world are dry which makes these Caverns very rare and unique!"
From the GC Caverns Website (
visit link)