Day 2: Lewis & Clark Caverns

Hey everyone,

Today was the second day of my Montana adventure. Me and my aunt got up at 9 AM and drove to the Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. We got a tour of the caves and learned about their formation.

This is the hiking trail leading up to the caverns. It is dominated particularly by juniper and pine trees, among several other plants I couldn't identify. It was fairly steep, but not too long. We were on the inside of a "bowl". I use that term since the mountains formed a bowl shape around us.


In the caverns, the lighting was spotty and I am not a fan of flash photography, so I tried to select the best possible pictures. The caverns were filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites are rock formations hanging from the roof of a cavern, while stalagmites are formed on the bottom.

Water containing minerals sits on the top of the cave, and the minerals deposit (separate) from the water, causing a tiny amount of stalactite to form. The main ingredient is called calcite (CaCO3). It's what gives the stalactite its white colour. Once a stalactite has formed a little, the water can slide down more easily and starts to form stalagmites. These are
made the same way, the water separates and over time, these form. Sometimes, the two meet and form a massive column. The picture to the left is a column that has fallen, and is estimated to weigh anywhere from 65 tons to 95 tons. 

This column here, to the left, weighs 300 tons. It is the heaviest in the cave. As stalagmites form, stalactites form over them, creating the web-like effect seen here.

During the tour, we went through a room called "The Room of the Gods". I took a video of it, and it can be viewed below. Again, the lighting isn't too great, but its as good as its going to get with my phone.

Anyways, that's all for today. Tomorrow, I will be doing Kayaking on the Yellowstone River. I'll try to bring my phone in a plastic bag to get some pictures and a video for you guys.

Goodbye,
Ben