Fantastic Caverns - Springfield, Missouri
Posted by: 
The Snowdog
N 37° 17.309 W 093° 21.598
15S E 468092 N 4126936
The original entrance to Fantastic Caverns, a large cave network north of Springfield, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WM11XFB
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/04/2020
Views: 4
The network of caves that later became known as Fantastic Caverns was discovered in 1862 by an Ozarks farmer - or more precisely, by his dog, who crawled through a small entrance in a hillside. The land owner kept the secret of the cave to himself - had they known, the military would have confiscated the cave for its nitrate-rich soil, much in demand for gunpowder production during the Civil War - and it wasn't until five years later that the first exploration took place: twelve women from Springfield, answering a newspaper ad seeking explorers, who ventured into the cave. They entered at this location, exploring by candle-lamp, and left their names on the wall; an image of those names is in the gallery.
Today, Fantastic Caverns is (to this date) the only ride-through cave in the United States. Jeep-drawn trams take guests on a one-hour tour through the caverns, following the path of the underground river that carved the caverns. Admission is about $27. The original entrance is seen at the exit point of the tour.
Web sites:
Fantastic Caverns home page
Fantastic Caverns on Wikipedia