Howe Caverns

Howe Caverns is a cave in Howes Cave, Schoharie County, New York.

Geology Beliefs

The formation of the Caverns is believed to have begun several million. It is mainly composed of sedimentary rock limestone deposited in the location hundreds of millions of years ago when the Gulf Coast streteched far inshore and deposited that limestone. The cave also has a lake called the Lake of Venus and many speleothems. The cave lies 156ft below ground, or 15 stories underground.

History

The cave was discovered by a farmer named Lester Howe who discovered the cave May 22, 1842. His cows liked to gather by these bushes at the bottom of his hill on hot summer days, so Lester wanted to know whay they did so. Behind those two bushes there was a hole about arms width signifying an entrance to a cave. He then dug out the entrance and explored the cave.

Howe opened the cave to public tours in 1843. These tours were about eight hours long. As business grew, a hotel was built over the entrance.

As Lester encountered some financial difficulties, he sold his property until a limestone quarry bought it. The quarry bought the hillside which happened to include the natural entrance. The cave was then closed to the public until an organization was fromed in 1927 to reopen the cave. They spent the next 2 years doing development work and making another route into the cave (elevators). After development work, including brick walkways, an elevator, lighting, and handrails, the cave was reopened to tourism memorial day 1929 (the entrance, via the elevator, is not the natural entrance but where the natural dead-end is). Since then it has become the second busiest tourist attraction in New York after Niagara Falls. The site includes a hotel, restaurant, and more.

The tour is about eighty minutes long, and shows majority of the cave. The tour goes from the elevators to the end of the lake of venus which marks the end of Howe Caverns property, beyond that theres is about 2,100 feet of unconditioned and destroyed caverns which leads to the quarry and the natural entrance. After the boat ride you turn around then walk back the way you came with two additional stops. The opportunity of holding weddings deep in the cave is also offered and to go cave spelunking.