BOONSBORO, MD - It's four stories high, glitters under light with ribbons streaming inside. Workers discovered it at a Limestone quarry site in 1920.
Jerry Downs, Crystal Grottoes' Owner, says, it "literally has more stalactites per square foot than any other cave known to man. it's one of the most heavily decorated solution caves there is."
Jerry's family inherited the cavern in 1966, and says most visitors come from out of state or even overseas.
He believes "the people in Washington County are probably some of the luckiest in the nation in my mind. I mean, we have more Federal State Parks than anybody has."
The cave features natural crystals, structures called ribbons, and two different types of columns: stalactites grow from the cave ceiling down, while stalagmites grow up from its ground. Both grow very slowly from dripping water, and most are thousands of years old. Cavers say, they grow about an inch every 150 years.
Outside you can walk on the cave's ceiling, which is only feet from the beauty within.
The crystal formations you see here in the cave are all made out of Calcium Carbonate, which is the same compound you find in your bones and even in Tums.
The cave is expanding this year, opening untouched corridors. A local caving club has already dug and hauled out over 3,000 buckets of clay. They dig once monthly on a volunteer basis.
Corey Hackley is an active caver in the community. He's explored more than 400 caves and has discovered nearly 100. He showed us exactly where the digging occurs and where the commercial walking tour will continue. Crystal Grottoes says there's only two more feet of clay to remove in the new passage.
Corey says caves are usually found under soluble and sponge-like, or "karst," land.
"All the farmland here in the Great Valley may contain caves underneath the surface, where water over thousands and thousands of years, have dissolved cavities in rock, stated Corey.
Sink holes, or a conically-shaped dip in the ground, are another sign that caves could be nearby.
Corey said that "a lot of the time our water gets very easily polluted in areas with very large karst zones, like Kentucky or Tennessee, and Maryland here, the entire Great Valley is a karst zone."
Drinking water can easily become contaminated if we dump trash outside near sink hole areas. Caverns are just another important reminder to protect outdoor treasures.
If you're interested in exploring caves, or even joining local caving groups, you can start by checking out this cave's website:
http://www.crystalgrottoescaverns.com.
Jerry Downs, Crystal Grottoes' Owner, says, it "literally has more stalactites per square foot than any other cave known to man. it's one of the most heavily decorated solution caves there is."
Jerry's family inherited the cavern in 1966, and says most visitors come from out of state or even overseas.
He believes "the people in Washington County are probably some of the luckiest in the nation in my mind. I mean, we have more Federal State Parks than anybody has."
The cave features natural crystals, structures called ribbons, and two different types of columns: stalactites grow from the cave ceiling down, while stalagmites grow up from its ground. Both grow very slowly from dripping water, and most are thousands of years old. Cavers say, they grow about an inch every 150 years.
Outside you can walk on the cave's ceiling, which is only feet from the beauty within.
The crystal formations you see here in the cave are all made out of Calcium Carbonate, which is the same compound you find in your bones and even in Tums.
The cave is expanding this year, opening untouched corridors. A local caving club has already dug and hauled out over 3,000 buckets of clay. They dig once monthly on a volunteer basis.
Corey Hackley is an active caver in the community. He's explored more than 400 caves and has discovered nearly 100. He showed us exactly where the digging occurs and where the commercial walking tour will continue. Crystal Grottoes says there's only two more feet of clay to remove in the new passage.
Corey says caves are usually found under soluble and sponge-like, or "karst," land.
"All the farmland here in the Great Valley may contain caves underneath the surface, where water over thousands and thousands of years, have dissolved cavities in rock, stated Corey.
Sink holes, or a conically-shaped dip in the ground, are another sign that caves could be nearby.
Corey said that "a lot of the time our water gets very easily polluted in areas with very large karst zones, like Kentucky or Tennessee, and Maryland here, the entire Great Valley is a karst zone."
Drinking water can easily become contaminated if we dump trash outside near sink hole areas. Caverns are just another important reminder to protect outdoor treasures.
If you're interested in exploring caves, or even joining local caving groups, you can start by checking out this cave's website:
http://www.crystalgrottoescaverns.com.
