US National Parks & Monuments
There are several opportunities to see “cave pearls” when exploring Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA). Cave pearls form when acidic water drips onto grains of sand or tiny stones. The dripping water causes the grains to move so that they do not attach to the cave floor while the calcite within the water …
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My favorite of the many magnificent cave formations at Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA) was the Fairy Pools. Also located in the Dome Room, these delicate flowstone dam pools are perfectly framed by other cave formations which make them look like they do come out of some type of fairy tale: The Fairy …
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Along with the capital dome formation in the Dome Room at Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA) is one of the largest and most magnificent calcite (bright white – the whiter the calcite, the purer it is) flows I have encountered in the limited number of caves I have explored. It extends from the …
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The Dome Room at Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA) is one of the larger cave rooms with a number of interesting (and beautiful) cave formations. The Dome Room is named after a large cave formation which resembles the capital building dome.
On of the many unique (and rare) cave formations found in Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA) are cave shields. This one has draperies beginning to form as they flow over the cave shield:
One of many spectacular formations within Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA) is the Organ Room. This is a huge cave formation that, when viewed in its entirety, resembles the giant church organs of years gone by. The Organ Room also gives a good lesson on the effect which people have over time in …
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Once you leave Junction Room, you come to the Curtain Room at Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA). The room gets its name from the cave formations that hang down the edge of rocks to form what looks like a giant curtain:
After passing Emerald Pools and continuing to follow Yucca Creek within Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA), you soon come to Junction Room. This is the first large room that you come to in Crystal Cave, and as the name indicates, is a junction room that you will eventually come back to during the …
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The water that flows through Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA) is Yucca Creek which flows into Cascade Creek. As soon as you move into the entrance of Crystal Cave and pass through the spiderweb gate, you can here the gurgling of Yucca Creek as it passes through the cave: Yucca Creek also reveals …
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One of the first cave formation you will come to upon entering Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park (CA) is Emerald Pool. This is a series of fairly large rimstone dams (calcite and other minerals that build up in cave pools which create formations that often look like stairs) filled with water that are still …
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