Boxwork, Popcorn and Animal Crackers in America's Little-Known Jewel: The Wind Cave

              After our trip to Mt. Rushmore, we drove about 30 mins to an hour down to the Wind Cave National Park. I first came across the Wind Cave in a National Parks book a friend had shown me (thanks Veronica!). What made it so interesting was not only the immense size of this cave (6th longest cave in the world measuring 140 KNOWN miles of passageway with about 4 miles being discovered yearly) but also the rock formations caused by erosion. The cave gets its name from the strong air currents that blow in and out of it, almost as if it's breathing. And for some Native American tribes the cave is a sacred place that plays a part in our creation.

             You can go on a few different types of tours through the Wind Cave for around $12 a person. We went on the Natural Entrance Cave tour which lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes with around 300 stairs going mostly downward. Be prepared to squinch up or duck your head in some of the very narrow passageways.

             The celebrity of this cave is the boxwork. Boxwork is an uncommon mineral structure and the Wind Cave boasts 95% of the world's known boxwork structures. It's made up of thin blades of calcite that project from the wall. The spaces in between the calcite veins used to be full of rock that dissolved away over time leaving the "honeycomb" pattern.

This was a really cool crevice where crystals jutted out of the rock, almost looks like an alligator smiling :)

Along parts of the cave ceiling were formations sometimes referred to as "animal crackers" because of their shape:

In other areas are small knobby growths of calcite called "popcorn" :

Unfortunately, we didn't see any frostwork, but the tour was a treat and our guide was really enjoyable. 

Next time we're in the South Dakota area, we'd like to try one of the Candlelight Cave tours where you go down to an unlighted part of the cave carrying a bucket with a candle in it. If you want to find out more about this awesome and little-known place go to the official website here: Wind Cave National Park.