A Cave Discovered In 1974 By Two College Kids That Turned Out To Be America's Most Pristine And Well Kept Cavern
It is a place so magical and synonymous with what it means to be human on a most basic level. It provided what ancestors needed as much as anything else for survival- a shelter from the elements. It is a cave. Though people don’t use caves for shelter as much anymore, they are still a place of refuge and reflection. A place where time doesn’t exist, or if it does it is so painfully slow that it might as well not exist. At constant temperature and perpetual darkness, the unknown, filled with creatures that are still being discovered, caves are found everywhere on the planet.
According to USA Today’s 2016 readers poll, the favorite cave in the United States is a limestone cave found south of Tucson, AZ, nearly to the southern border of the United States. Along with being the favorite, Kartchner Caverns easily has one of the most interesting stories in its discovery.
“Southeast Arizona is filled with caves,” says Jake McCoy, park manager of Kartchner Caverns, “Kartchner is the best preserved.” It all started in 1974. Two college kids, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts, set out to find a “cave that nobody has found before,” McCoy says. They found it. With an opening “no bigger than a grapefruit at first,” they wiggled their way into it and what they discovered was astounding - a living cave with extraordinary, even by cave standards, formations. For several years they kept their discovery silent. “They thought they were on Forest Service land, but found out it was on private owner's land - the Kartchner’s,” McCoy explains. After revealing their discovery in 1978 to the Kartchner’s, they consulted on the next step. Eventually they decided to approach the State Department in the hopes of it becoming a park.
The reason for being so secretive was the knowledge of what happens to caves if they are not protected. McCoy explains, “they get graffitied, trashed, people take home souvenirs... even touching a stalactite will stop it’s growth because of the oil from our hands.” The park has excellent measures in order to be preserved, however it’s journey to parkhood continues on a peculiar route.
The Kartchner Caverns State Park website humorously recounts how it was presented to the State. It recalls that the two men who found it repeatedly asked for an oath of secrecy from the department, which was not possible. However, they were able to get an official to come see “it,” even though the official had no idea what “it” was. In order to keep the location secret, the two men blindfolded and drove him around in circles, then finally drove him to the Kartchner’s house and led him to the cave. This was in 1985. After he saw it, they excitedly discussed next steps. The official couldn’t swear an oath of secrecy, but did promise to only speak of it to other state park officials. He kept his word and through many years, it was eventually acquired by the state. The caverns did not become a state park until 1999 because of “construction,” McCoy says “in order to preserve the caves ecosystem for generations.”
“It is in pristine condition,” McCoy says. McCoy, who has worked with the National Parks for over 20 years, has seen and worked at many different locations. “Working with so many people who care so deeply about the caverns is unique and my favorite thing about being here,” he says. In order to preserve it, park rangers “fog it in the morning to maintain humidity,” have “mist” that gets all the “lint and hair particles” off people’s clothing before entering, and only allow people to enter on accompanied tours via tramcars. Even one of the tours closes for 6 months out of the year in order to “give our maternity bats privacy when birthing and raising their young every year.”
“There is no evidence of humans entering the cave before Tenen and Tufts,” McCoy says, which, he explains, adds to its pristine condition. It has one of the longest soda straw formations at 21 feet long, the world’s most extensive collection of moonmilk, and many other unique formations untouched by humanity. Even though humans have not entered, animals have. They have found a giant sloth skeleton, “over 80,000 years old,” McCoy says, and “several skeletons of now-extinct horses.” “Over 100 different invertebrate have been discovered in the cave,” McCoy says, “it is an extraordinary place.”
Besides the two tours, one of which features a light show, there is a 23,000 square foot discovery center. “It is really neat,” McCoy says. It explains the history of the cave, the different formations that are found, and has bones from the giant sloth. Outside there is a beautiful hummingbird garden. There are hiking trails aplenty at the park and in the area. “It is just a beautiful part of the country,” McCoy says. In the winter, the area has pleasant 60-70 degree days and even in the summer, “we are about 15 degrees cooler than Phoenix.” The cave, though - is always a nice place to be. Averaging around 70 degrees, any time of year it provides visitors refuge and reflection and a point of pride for conservation thanks to two friends who wanted to find a cave no one has seen before.
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Butterfield RV Resort & Observatory, ensuring guests the cleanest facilities, attractive grounds, as well as a calendar full of fun and interesting activities. Centrally located to attractions such as Tombstone, Kartchner Caverns, Bisbee, Pima Air & Space Museum and more.