Cave Regions of the Ozarks and Black Hills | Page 3

limestone forming the descent into Mammoth Cave is two hundred and thirty-two feet above Green River."
"The entrance to the cave, being thirty-eight feet lower than this bed of limestone, is one hundred and ninety-four feet above Green River. In the above two hundred and thirty-two feet there are several heavy masses of sandstone, viz.: at one hundred and twenty-five, one hundred and forty-five, one hundred and fifty, one hundred and sixty and two hundred and fifteen feet, but it is probable that most of these have tumbled from higher positions in the hill, as no alterations of sandstone have been observed at these levels in the cave. From an elevation of from two hundred and forty to two hundred and fifty feet, the prevalent rock is sandstone without pebbles, which can be seen extending up to three hundred and twelve feet to the foundation of the Cave Hotel. The united thickness of the limestone beds on this part of Green River, is about two hundred and thirty feet, capped with eighty feet of sandstone. About midway of the section on this part of Green River, are limestones of an obscure oolitic structure, but no true oolite was observed. Many of these limestones are of such composition as to be acted on freely by the elements of the atmosphere, which, in the form of nitric acid, combine with the earthy and alkaline bases of calcareous rock, and give rise to the formation of nitrates with the liberation of carbonic acid; hence the disintegrated rubbish of the caves yields nitrate of potash after being treated with the ley of ashes and subsequent evaporation of the saline lixivium. The wonderfully cavernous character of the subcarboniferous limestones of the Green River valley, and, indeed, of these particular members of the subcarboniferous group throughout a great part of its range in Kentucky and Indiana, is due in a great measure to this cause, together with the solvent and eroding effects of water charged with carbonic acid. The 'rock-houses' frequently encountered both in this formation and in the limestones of Silurian date, are produced by similar causes; the more easily disintegrated beds gradually crumbling away, while the more durable remain in overhanging ledges. By the oxidation of other elements, sulphates of oxide of iron and alkalies result, which, by double decomposition, with carbonate of lime, give rise to the formation of gypsums which appears in the form of rosettes, festoons and various other imitative forms on the walls and ceilings of the caves. Crystallizations of sulphate of soda and sulphate of magnesia are not uncommon, both in some of the caves and in sheltered situations under shelving rocks."
The explanations thus given of the excavation and subsequent refilling and decoration of the limestone caves of Kentucky and Indiana apply equally well to those of other states; but it is to be remembered that at the time of Dr. Owen's report, onyx, the most beautiful and valuable of dripstones, had not yet been discovered in the United States; while now especially fine deposits are known in California, Utah, Missouri, South Dakota and Arkansas; the Missouri supply being exceptionally valuable on account of the marvelous delicacy and beauty of its coloring; nor can it soon be exhausted, as deposits have been found in eight counties and further exploration will no doubt discover more.
Concerning the Subcarboniferous, or Mississippian Series in
Part I.,
Vol. IV., Missouri Geological Survey, Dr. C.R. Keyes says: "In the great interior basin of the Mississippi the basal series is exposed more or less continuously over broad areas, extending from northern Iowa to Alabama, and from Ohio to Mexico."
While this broadly extended series of limestone is honey-combed in many places and all directions by wonderful caverns, those of the Ozark regions in Missouri, although comparatively little known, are well worth knowing, and are possibly the most ancient limestone caves in the world. Of the region in which they occur, Dr. Keyes, in the volume last quoted, says: "The chief typographical feature of the state has long been known in the Ozark uplift, a broad plateau with gentle quaquaversal slopes rising to a height of more than one thousand five hundred feet above mean tide, and extending almost entirely across the southern part of the district. On all sides the borders of this highland area are deeply grooved by numberless streams flowing in narrow gorges. Against its nucleus of very ancient granites and porphyries the Ozark series of magnesian limestone was laid down. Then the area occupied by these rocks was elevated, and around its margins were deposited successively the other members of the Paleozoic. The Ozark region was thus the first land to appear within the borders of the present state of Missouri." He further says: "Although it has long been known that the Magnesian Limestones are older than