Science Rocks

I was looking over my old photos for an interesting nature picture to show you. I came across photos of a recent field trip. I thought you all might enjoy them and maybe they will inspire you to visit a nearby treasure if you haven't already!
I'm talking about Linville Caverns. This is series of underground caverns hidden under a mountain in Western North Carolina.
Our family visited this past December. We were looking for a fun day trip that didn't cost too much money. The admission to Linville Caverns is $6 an adult and $4 for children 5-12 years old. This includes a guided tour of the caves. Not too bad! To top it all off, after you have finished your tour of the caverns you can head over to Linville Falls.

First critters we got to see were the trouts swimming in the underground stream.

See if you can spot the next critter we saw. My six year old found this one!

We did see at least one cute little bat up close.


Here is a column. When stalagmites meet stalactites, they form columns. I always remember stalgmites come from the ground because of the g. Stalactites have a c, so they come from the ceiling.

This rock formation to the right is called Tobacco because it looked like stone tobacco leaves hung from the ceiling to dry.
There were lots of funny descriptions for the formations in the caverns: straws, skeletons, the alligator and the wedding, to name a few. It kept our imaginations going and we found ourselves naming them too. The guide told us a few historical stories and even allowed us to experience pure darkness.

Whew! After walking, climbing and crawling through the caves, we finally made it back up for fresh air and headed over to nearby Linville Falls.
Our first view was of two peaceful little waterfalls.


Then we turned around and saw a monster of a waterfall!
The stairs leading to the falls were a great example of sedimentary rock.

Hope you get to visit these places soon. Tell us about it if you do!

***clicking on title link will take you to the Linville Caverns website!***