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remained the case until 1986, when the cave was acquired by geologists Blaze and Jean
Cunningham. The Cunninghams opened the cave (and surrounding property) to exploration by both the Minnesota Speleological Survey, and the Wisconsin Speleological Society, leading to the discovery of several additional passages. These new passages are considered “wild cave” meaning that no commercial development of them is planned. This policy continued when the cave came under new ownership in 2012; the cave was purchased by Eric, and Kristen McMaster.
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155:'s Superior lobe. The commonly accepted theory of the cave's formation is that it was formed by a weak carbonic acid solution formed from rainwater and snowmelt that mixed with biogenic carbon dioxide found in the topsoil, which then infiltrated existing joints and fractures in the bedrock, expanding them into the openings that make up the cave’s passageways. Some have advanced that the cave's formation is actually
201:. The land was purchased by Friede and shortly after, on November 2, 1941, work was started to remove the glacial debris left in the cave that filled many of the passages on the second and third levels. At this same time, Alvin Peterson, a local architect, was engaged by Friede to design the entrance building.
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Crystal Cave is a multi-level maze type of solutional cave consisting of three levels. It extends to a depth of 69 ft. (21 m.) and is 4600 ft. (1.4 km.) in length, contained completely in the
Prairie du Chen Group. The bedrock forming the cave walls formed during the Ordovician Period.
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The cave was discovered in 1881 by
William R. Vanasse, a local youth who discovered the entrance to the cave when he was exploring a leaf-filled sink in a farm field near his home. Initial exploration of the cave was performed by William and his younger brother George. The brothers rappeled into the
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Since the opening of the property to cave explorers, a number of other caves has been discovered. These caves are not generally open to the public, only being accessed during private events. The only exception to this is South Portal cave, which was opened to the public via "Wild Tours" in early
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The period following the 1942 opening of the cave to the public saw little exploration beyond the 400 m (1300 ft.) that was excavated to open the original tour route. This was because known side leads in the cave were considered too narrow for exploration by
Friedes and subsequent owners. This
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The third level is the most extensive of the three, having developed along existing
Northeast to Southwest trending joints in the bedrock. Dating the period the cave began to form has proven difficult because of erosion by glacial waters and the deposit of debris during the
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present in the cave take a number of forms, most commonly stalactites (including the variant known as soda straws), stalagmites, columns, flow stone, draperies, and ribbons, but also including helictites, and cave pearls in rarer instances.
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By April 1942 much of the debris had been removed and construction was begun on the entry building that had been designed by
Peterson. The newly christened “Crystal Cave” was set to open on the
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193:. Friede had been interested in opening a show cave for some time, having been inspired by the success of similar business ventures, such as Blue Mounds (now known as
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Cunningham, Jean; Dolliver, Holly A. S.; Cordua, William S. (2011). "Flaming meteors, dark caves, and raging waters—Geological curiosities of western
Wisconsin".
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The cave contains a variety of formations, mostly concentrated in the southeast portion of the cave, where conditions are optimal for their growth. The
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In late June 1942, the cave was designated a public bomb shelter when Henry Friede offered it for such a purpose to the
Village Board of
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weekend of 1942, but this plan was disrupted by heavy rains in the area. The opening of the cave was delayed until June 7, 1942.
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The cave and surrounding property was developed into a show cave by local advertiser and amateur geologist Henry A. Friede of
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on
Highway 29. The cave was discovered in 1881 by local brothers George and William Vanasse. Crystal Cave is a multi-level
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In
September 2014, a weather monitoring station was installed on the property. The station is operated by the
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when a warm shallow ocean covered much of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is Wisconsin’s longest known cave.
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bedrock in the Prairie du Chien Group. The dolomite was formed 485 million years ago during the Lower
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Archean to Anthropocene: Field Guides to the Geology of the Mid-Continent of North America
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able to hold the entire population of the town it was intended to protect.
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cave using rope via the original entrance, now located near the gift shop.
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to provide more accuracy in weather predictions for the surrounding area.
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Travertine soda straw stalactites and bulbous stalagmites in Crystal Cave
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323:"Crystal Cave, Spring Valley, Open With Program on Memorial Day".
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Miniature model of front entry arch present in picnic area
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338:"Crystal Cave Postponed Opening Set For Next Sunday".
258:. At the time, the cave was the only shelter in the
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294:. Vol. 24. Field Guides. pp. 411–424.
520:Tourist attractions in Pierce County, Wisconsin
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446:"Cave Now Official Valley Bomb Shelter".
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417:"Local weather station up and running"
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510:Landforms of Pierce County, Wisconsin
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462:"Clipped From The Dunn County News"
386:"Crystal Cave adds new "wild" tour"
355:"'It's been a good ride' (Part II)"
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415:Bird, Kaye (September 2, 2014).
384:Nigbor, Sarah (August 5, 2015).
244:Citizen Weather Observer Program
151:from the nearby terminus of the
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515:Show caves in the United States
353:Bird, Kaye (January 22, 2012).
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327:. Vol. XLIX, no. 22.
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392:. p. 3A. Archived from
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197:) and the show caves near
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256:Spring Valley, Wisconsin
468:. 1942-07-08. p. 4
86:44.832567°N 92.251950°W
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300:10.1130/2011.0024(19)
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191:Eau Claire, Wisconsin
124:Town of Spring Valley
114:is a cave located in
91:44.832567; -92.251950
490:Crystal Cave website
466:The Dunn County News
427:on December 17, 2018
396:on December 17, 2018
390:Pierce County Herald
365:on December 17, 2018
153:Laurentide Ice Sheet
149:Wisconsin Glaciation
220:Further exploration
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505:Caves of Wisconsin
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199:Harmony, Minnesota
195:Cave of the Mounds
448:Spring Valley Sun
340:Spring Valley Sun
325:Spring Valley Sun
309:978-0-8137-0024-3
185:Commercialization
136:Ordovician Period
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470:. Retrieved
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431:December 16,
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421:Gateway News
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367:. Retrieved
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359:Gateway News
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22:Crystal Cave
229:Other caves
169:speleothems
163:Speleothems
159:in origin.
122:, near the
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65:Coordinates
499:Categories
472:2020-04-16
266:References
130:formed in
77:92°15′07″W
74:44°49′57″N
176:Discovery
157:hypogenic
116:Wisconsin
102:Discovery
132:dolomite
260:Midwest
142:Geology
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433:2018
402:2018
371:2018
304:ISBN
105:1881
16:Cave
296:doi
118:’s
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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