Monday Walk: Cascade Caverns

Carved beneath the Texas Hill Country, The Cascade Caverns is the oldest cave attraction in Texas. It is the only “living” caves in Texas. Millions of glistening drops of water decorate the Diamond Ceiling while a underground waterfall cascades down the walls of the Cathedral Room.

The cave was opened for tours in 1932.

Cascade Caverns maintains an average temperature of 59–68 °F (15–20 °C) all year round.

When it was owned by the D. G. Sherrard, they used to load and unload the music instruments from this window (see image below) which maybe 30, 40 ft(?) above for having a concert at the Cathedral Room. D. G. also used the cavern as a dance hall, nightclub and restaurant.

There is no evidence showing this creation was carved by human being:

• The State of Texas acquired the land that Longhorn Cavern State Park occupies from rancher D. G. Sherrard in 1932.

• It took eight years (1934-42) for the CCC workers to carve a state park out of the rocky Hill Country terrain and transform the silt-filled cavern into a tourism draw. Using picks, axes, shovels, dynamite and wooden wheelbarrows with iron-rimmed wheels, the 200 laborers removed several tons of river sediment, bat guano and debris deposited over the millennia. Much of the excavated material was used to build Park during the Great Depression.

• Workers filled wheelbarrows by hand, hauling out more than 20,000 cubic yards of dirt, rock and gravel. More information….

Submitting to Jo’s Monday Walk. Jo is following mountain goats this week!

Photos were taken with my iPhone 6 +.  This post also fits Sally D’s Mobile Photography: Nature. Take a look of Sally’s Refraction photos.

Have a great week! Thank you for visiting. 🙂

• November 2, 2015
• Nature, Uncategory
• 81 Comments