RtS: Black Chasm National Historic Landmark

Alex · 03-25-2007, 09:54 PM

Rank the Swank - Museums and Sights

Overall Swank Rank

Black Chasm National Historic Landmark
15701 Volcano Pioneer Road
Volcano, CA
3/24/07
http://www.caverntours.com/BlackRt.htm

The Lowdown
Casual day trip randomness leads to unexpectedly pleasant activity.

__________________________________________________

The Gig
Standard cave formations plus a very impressive wall of helictites

The Scene
Lani and I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday to do a back roads drive up into the Sierra foothills.

Our ostensible destination was the Indian casino at Jackson, California, but we didn't really care if we ever made it there. It was just a general target.

Along the way we saw signs for Black Chasm in Volcano, California. It claimed to be a "national natural landmark" but all of the signs were of obviously not Park Service origin so we assumed it would be some lame tourist trap. But we had nothing better to do and followed the signs.

Now, Black Chasm is not one of the great cave systems in the world. I've been to Carlsbad, Crystal Cavern, and around a few others.

But I was surprised just how impressive this 50-minute ($12.50) tour was. It hits just three rooms in the cave (the guide/manager said they hope to expand it to six or seven within a few years) but there are plenty of your basic cave formations to see.

The real reason to stop by if you're in the area, though, are the helictites. Helictites are a relatively rare cave formation that look like they grew in water, or a zero-g environment.

Take a look at this picture of the best formation (more pictures here) and if that doesn't make you want to see it yourself then you're boring.

The tour requires climbing down (and then up) about 200 steps but they aren't that bad and you're given plenty of time if you need it.

03-25-2007, 09:54 PM	#1
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	RtS: Black Chasm National Historic Landmark Rank the Swank - Museums and Sights Overall Swank Rank Black Chasm National Historic Landmark 15701 Volcano Pioneer Road Volcano, CA 3/24/07 http://www.caverntours.com/BlackRt.htm The Lowdown Casual day trip randomness leads to unexpectedly pleasant activity. __________________________________________________ The Gig Standard cave formations plus a very impressive wall of helictites The Scene Lani and I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday to do a back roads drive up into the Sierra foothills. Our ostensible destination was the Indian casino at Jackson, California, but we didn't really care if we ever made it there. It was just a general target. Along the way we saw signs for Black Chasm in Volcano, California. It claimed to be a "national natural landmark" but all of the signs were of obviously not Park Service origin so we assumed it would be some lame tourist trap. But we had nothing better to do and followed the signs. Now, Black Chasm is not one of the great cave systems in the world. I've been to Carlsbad, Crystal Cavern, and around a few others. But I was surprised just how impressive this 50-minute ($12.50) tour was. It hits just three rooms in the cave (the guide/manager said they hope to expand it to six or seven within a few years) but there are plenty of your basic cave formations to see. The real reason to stop by if you're in the area, though, are the helictites. Helictites are a relatively rare cave formation that look like they grew in water, or a zero-g environment. Take a look at this picture of the best formation (more pictures here) and if that doesn't make you want to see it yourself then you're boring. The tour requires climbing down (and then up) about 200 steps but they aren't that bad and you're given plenty of time if you need it.
	Submit to Quotes