Tag: cave soda straws

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Fairy Pools Crystal Cave Sequoia National Park

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:

Fairy Pools in Dome Room in Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park

The Fairy Pools are right along the cave path which allows you to inspect them closely (not from a distance as with many of the other popular formation within the cave). This allows you to see up close and personal how calcite makes many different types of cave formations in a single spot:

Lily Pads in the Fairy Pools formation in Crystal Cave

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Junction Room Crystal Cave Sequoia National Park

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 tour of Crystal Cave. The room is distinctive from the large rectangular rock formation in the center of the room:

Junction Room in Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park

In addition to being the junction area of the cave, Junction Room also has a nice display of soda straws and popcorn cave formations:

Junction Room in Crystal Cave

Yucca Creek also flows directly through Junction Room:

Yucca Creek flows through Junction Room in Crystal Cave

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Petrified Gardens Oregon Caves

It doesn’t take long into the Oregon Cave National Monument Cave tour to get to some beautiful and interesting cave formations. After leaving Watson’s Grotto, you almost immediately reach Petrified Gardens where there are a lot of flow stones along the walls:

Flow stones at Petrified Gardens in Oregon Caves

Flow stone closeup at Petrified Gardens in Oregon Caves

And soda straws on the cave ceiling:

soda straws at Petrified Gardens in Oregon Caves

The next stop on the Oregon Caves tour is at the Dry Room.