California Caverns

California Cavern is a Limestone cave in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in Cave City, Calaveras County, California.

California Cavern
LocationCave City, California
Discovery1849 or 1850 by Captain Joseph Taylor
AccessShow cave
Reference no.956

The series of interconnected caverns are one of the earliest officially recorded caves in the Mother Lode region of California.[1] Although one of numerous caves in the Mother Lode region, California Caverns claims the distinction of having the most extensive system of caverns and passageways.

History

The cave was discovered by Captain Joseph Taylor in 1849 or 1850. He opened it for public tours, making it the first show cave in California. Taylor named it Mammoth Cave but by 1894 it was known as Cave City Cave.[2] During some downtime while not prospecting for gold, local folklore affirms Captain Taylor found the entrance to the cave by accident while setting up target practice.

California Cavern was the first to be operated as a tourist attraction in the Sierras. Early visitors included Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and John Muir, who wrote about his visit in his 1894 book, The Mountains of California. [2]

The caverns are registered as California Historical Landmark #956.[1]

As of 2018, the cavern was operated as a show cave by Sierra Nevada Recreation Corporation.[3][4]

References
  1. "California State Historical Landmarks in Calaveras County". California Natural Resources Agency. Archived from the original on 2010-10-08. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  2. Muir, John (1984). "Chapter 15, In the Sierra Foot-Hills". The Mountains of California. New York: Century Co. OCLC 557924162.
  3. Dougan, Michael (December 16, 2001). "Journey to center of the earth / Big drop, tight squeezes on spelunking tour". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  4. "Cave and Mine Adventures | Cave Tours and the California Zip Lines at Moaning Cavern Park". 2018-11-17. Archived from the original on 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2020-10-18.

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