Karst and Caves of the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

A. N. Palmer

doi:10.21701/bolgeomin.127.1.005

Authors

A. N. Palmer Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, State University of New York

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21701/bolgeomin.127.1.005

Abstract

The caves of the Black Hills are located in Carboniferous limestone and dolomite of the Madison Formation in western South Dakota. The climate is semi-arid, and surface karst features are few. Entrances to known caves are rather small, and the two largest caves, Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, were discovered only in the late 1880s and in 1900, respectively. Intermittent exploration and mapping have been conducted by local volunteers, National Park Service staff, and the National Speleological Society. Jewel Cave, in Jewel Cave National Monument, contains 290 km of mapped passages; and Wind Cave, in Wind Cave National Park, contains 230 km. They are the third and sixth longest known caves in the world.

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References

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