These earlier tribes, who would never know any contact with Europeans, certainly would of been aware of the large entrance to the cave that would’ve been reachable via a six mile canoe trip up the Swatara Creek. Originally being an offshoot of the Iroquis from New York State the Susquehannock were believed to have conquered and assimilated Indians already living in the Susquehanna river valley in the 1300’s. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late 17th century it is likely that the local Susquehannock Indians knew of the cave existence although there is no archaeological evidence that they entered or used it in any fashion. Known today as Indian Echo Caverns, this large cave whose entrance opens onto the Swatara Creek 10 miles east of Harrisburg was originally deeded to a Hugh Hays in 1754 from the proprietors of the Pennsylvania colony.The cave was known then as the Swatara Grotto and most likely had been attracting visitors for a half century or more. One in particular had been known of for as long as Europeans had been active in the region. Some of them however are large enough to constitute well know landmarks. Most of the caves are small in size when compared to other karst regions in United States, but none the less would’ve been notable features of the local landscape. The Pennsylvania Dutch Country is home to hundreds of caves, thousands of springs and tens of thousands of sinkholes. These edenic lowlands not only gave rise to world class soil but also to a very distinctive type of landscape known as karst.Ĭaused by limestone’s chemical vulnerability to solutionally aggressive rain water, karst landscapes are typified by the presence of sinkholes, sinking streams, large springs and caves. Another characteristic of the limestone was it’s tendency to form the low lying, rolling topography in between ridges of more resistant shale and sandstone. This prime acreage they found mainly in the valleys and more often than not the bedrock beneath their farms was limestone whose chemical composition was ideal for the creation of mineral rich ultra-fertile topsoil. They surveyed the landscape and noted where the oak trees grew the biggest and the underbrush the thickest. They looked for well watered land with an abundance of springs and streams upon which to forge a new life, in a new world after a long and often deadly Atlantic crossing. As Germans flooded into the region in the early 18th century, fleeing wars and seeking land, they quickly settled on what would become some of the most productive farm land in the world. TY KY.There is a distinct connection between the agricultural potency of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country and the three commercial caves located within it - limestone. No bathrooms, just port a pots due to conservation efforts. Now, the current owners like to place random aliens, and other oddities around the property. In the 1960s they found a quantity of semi-fossilized human skeletal remains, several human skeletal remains, some thousands of years old! These bodies are no longer there - some were placed in permanent graves at the cave site, and others were taken away to be studied. Then it closed - only to reopen under new ownership in 2018. Cleon Turner found the cave in 1960, Ray Gossett financed the development and for five years they created trails, stairs and bridges. Apparently her dad thought that would be a good name for a little girl. The tour was only an hour long, but there were only four of us plus an amazing guide, Charolay (literally a type of white cow). This afternoon we had a good fortune to discover Crystal Onyx Cave. I would recommend this for families with children above 7 y.o. Social distancing was not strict but if you understand Covid 19’s mode of transmission you would want to protect yourself and others maintaining that good and safe distance. The tour guide was informative and friendly, it did not smell bad inside the cave, there was a few drops of H2O coming from the rock formations. is cheaper, I do not recommend this for children below 6 especially if they aren’t cautious, older adults with knee problems might find if difficult to climb some steep stairs, flash photograpy so far was ok, just be extra careful when climbing the stairs holding onto your cellphones or camera as it would take at least a day to recover it. Our guided tour was short, it took about 35 minutes to complete the guided tour, it was 73 degrees outside, inside the cave was 60 degrees, no need to bring a sweater this time of the year during our experience, in a Pandemic, masks were required in the shop and in the cave, online price was around $16.00 but paying with a cc is around $11-12 for adults,paying cash is even cheaper but with 4% service charge adult entrance costs $10.15 each, seniors and children below 11 y.o.
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