Hurricane River Cave

Hurricane River Caverns

Useful Information

Location:	26 km south of Harrison on Hwy 65, between Pindall and Western Grove.
Open:	All year daily 9-17. [2011]
Fee:	Adults USD 11.75, Children (5-12) USD 5.75, Children (0-4) free. [2011]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=3,200 m, VR=35 m, A=3 m asl., T=14 °C. Cathedral room: 12 meters high
Guided tours:	L=400 m, VR=35 m, ST=17+27, D=45 min. Wild tours: D=3-5 h.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Hurricane River Cave, PO Box 240, Pindall, AR 72669, Tel. +1-870-429-6200. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

01-DEC-1875	explored by the owners of the nearby zinc mine.
1932	opened to the public.
1989	the skeleton of a Native Indian found, who died in the cave.
2009	owner dies and cave is closed.
2010	cave reopened under new management.

Description

Hurricane River Cave is a river cave, showing the typical erosional forms produced by flowing water. The cave river, obviously named Hurricave river, was used by a nearby sphalerite mine, which operated between 1870 and 1920. In this time the cave was discovered by the mine owners who tried to investigate their water supply. The graffiti of the mine owners early exploration can be seen on one spot on the ceiling.

The cave is advertised for its speleothems, like stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, draperies, soda straws, rimstone dams, columns, and moonmilk. The more unusual speleothems are cave popcorn, stalactoflats (?), and shields. We never heard the word stalactoflats, but guess they mean stalactites grown together forming plates along the flat surface. At some points the ceiling is formed by banks of harder limestone and very flat. Stalactites growing there formed a massive plate of limestone, which once fell down in one package during a heavy earthquake. Caves are generally extremely earth quake resistant, but this one was grade 8.0 and caused some damages for the speleothems.

There is a spectacular waterfall coming out of a cave right above the cave entrance. It falls into a pool in front of the entrance, which looks a bit like the cave was entered through a waterfall. Actually, while the cave itself has a cave river, there is no such thing as an upper level with a river. A former owner installed a pump to create this waterfall artificially. The river is flowing under the boardwalk in some parts of the cave, covered by concrete slabs. Other parts of the tour show dry sections of the cave.

The cave was accessible and known for a very long time. Numerous bones of many bears (Ursus americanus amplidens) and a saber-toothed cat (Smilodan floridanus) were found. In prehistoric times the cave was used by natives. Most impressive discovery from this time is a complete skeleton of a Native American boy, which is still in its place.

Only 400 m of the 3.2 kilometer long cave are developed, The cave now offers two different cave trekking tours into different parts of this cave. They are only for sportive visitors and take between three and five hours.

The newest addition is a sort of mini cave trekking tour on the regular guided tour. Visitors can climb up a ladder from the walkway into an upper level. After some easy climbs up and down through an S-shaped passage, they return to the walkway. This is optional and at no extra cost, and many visitors of all ages use this chance to get a glimpse of a wild cave. It does not require special skills except some surefootedness.