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Upon digging out the first "room" of the caverns, he came into a large system of connected rooms, most of which were navigable and cleared from all obstructions. Ninety percent of the caverns were naturally accessible and other than the entrance area, only ten percent needed to be dug out. However,
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that was located approximately where the parking lot is currently situated. Normally, sinkholes are formed by the collapsing of a cavern roof, which takes the ground above with it. When he saw there was no water in the sinkhole, which meant there had to be a drain nearby, he believed he had
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the cavern floor was lined with approximately 14 inches (360 mm) of mud and clay, which had to be cleared before the caverns could be opened to the public on April 13, 1939. The use of scientific analysis makes the discovery of
Skyline Caverns extremely unusual.
290:. Anthodites are an unusual form of crystal, or perfect six-sided crystalline structures made of pure calcite. These crystals are protected by Virginia State Law and are kept behind closed doors that a tour guide must open for the public to view them.
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During the clearing of this mud, Amos and his men discovered another area in the caverns that had been blocked for many years, by a large amount of mud. Upon clearing the newly discovered area, the geologist discovered
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miles (1.8 km) of walking, and reaching a depth of 260 feet (79 m) below ground. Tours cover about twenty percent of the caverns; the remaining eighty percent is inaccessible to tourists.
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visible on the tour include stalactites, stalagmites, columns, "flow-stone", anthodites, and aragonites. Skyline
Caverns also features five flowing streams, three of which are visible on the tour.
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Today, guided tours (as opposed to self-guided tours) are given year-round, including on
Christmas Day. Tours depart every 15 to 20 minutes, lasting approximately one hour and cover about
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Knowing this, Amos began to search the edges for some opening to the possible cave system below. He found this opening on the lip of the sinkhole by noticing a small colony of
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Walter S. Amos was contracted by several private and government agencies to search for caves and caverns to open in conjunction with
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Jefferson
Medical College Hospital School of Nursing students wearing Skyline Caverns beanies c.1951
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The caverns are estimated to be approximately 50 to 60 million years old.
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Additional attractions include a miniature train ride and mirror maze.
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262:(which only live in damp, dark areas by nature) under a small ledge.
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351:. Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. Archived from
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is a series of geologic caves and a tourist attraction located in
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Walter Scott Amos at
Skyline Caverns surrounded by workers, 1939
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218:. The caverns were discovered by Walter S. Amos, a retired
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631:Tourist attractions in Warren County, Virginia
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16:Cave in Warren County, Virginia, United States
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250:. During his search, he came across a
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626:Landforms of Warren County, Virginia
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344:Hubbard, David A. Jr. (July 2008).
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616:Show caves in the United States
425:"Enchanted Dragon Mirror Maze"
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504:The Caverns at Natural Bridge
134:Show map of the United States
66:Show map of Shenandoah Valley
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539:Natural Tunnel State Park
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212:Warren County, Virginia
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621:Landmarks in Virginia
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255:discovered a cavern.
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175:38.89960°N 78.21614°W
294:Commercial operation
228:Winchester, Virginia
100:Show map of Virginia
358:on January 30, 2013
180:38.89960; -78.21614
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544:Shenandoah Caverns
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606:Caves of Virginia
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565:Bull Thistle Cave
489:Caves of Virginia
427:. Skyline Caverns
405:. Skyline Caverns
403:"Miniature Train"
383:. Skyline Caverns
322:Cavern formations
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431:December 27,
429:. Retrieved
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409:December 27,
407:. Retrieved
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387:December 27,
385:. Retrieved
362:December 27,
360:. Retrieved
353:the original
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224:mineralogist
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147:Natural area
575:Ogdens Cave
558:Other caves
216:Front Royal
178: /
153:Coordinates
600:Categories
331:References
288:anthodites
273:Anthodites
166:78°12′58″W
163:38°53′59″N
381:"History"
281:Anthodite
220:geologist
524:Gap Cave
252:sinkhole
346:"Caves"
315:⁄
234:History
196: (
191:Created
128:Caverns
124:Skyline
94:Caverns
90:Skyline
60:Caverns
56:Skyline
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356:(PDF)
349:(PDF)
226:from
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411:2016
389:2016
364:2016
222:and
198:1939
194:1939
144:Type
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
