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Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve

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Coordinates: 39°02′54″N 78°19′00″W / 39.0482°N 78.3168°W / 39.0482; -78.3168
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Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve
Map showing the location of Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve
Map showing the location of Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve
LocationFrederick County, Virginia
Coordinates39°02′54″N 78°19′00″W / 39.0482°N 78.3168°W / 39.0482; -78.3168[1]
Area131 acres (53 ha)
Governing bodyVirginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve is a 131-acre (53 ha) Natural Area Preserve located in Frederick County, Virginia. The preserve protects a cave that carries a below-ground branch of Buffalo Marsh Run, which also flows overland through the preserve.[2]

With nearly one mile (1.6 km) of the cave mapped, Ogdens Cave is the longest known cave in Frederick County.[3] Several rare invertebrate species are found within the cave, including the thin-neck cave beetle (Pseudanophthalmus parvicollis), two amphipods, an isopod, and the Appalachian springsnail (Fontigens bottimeri).[2][3][4] These species are sustained by nutrients delivered by the cave's stream and by various animals, such as bats and crickets, that come and go from time to time.[2]

Above ground, the preserve covers a former farm that is reverting to a natural state. Management of the preserve includes the planting of native warm-season grasses in upland fields, and hardwood trees along Buffalo Marsh Run, to reconstruct the historic natural landscape of the area.[3]

The preserve is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. To protect the cave's delicate ecosystem, public access is not permitted.[2] Public, guided tours of the cave have been arranged in the past.[3][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ogdens Cave". ProtectedPlanet. United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "Virginia Cave Week to feature tours of Frederick County natural area". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Dillon, Robert T. Jr. "Fontigens bottimeri (Walker 1925) - Appalachian springsnail" (PDF). Freshwater Gastropods of North America. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  5. ^ Clayton, Laetitia (October 5, 2011). "Natural heritage: Local cave site one of 12 state areas open Saturday for tours". Northern Virginia Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2016.


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