Article: Small miracles of the cave world: a tale of blind salamanders, endangered snails, and one man's underground crusade.(Tom Aley)

ON A REMOTE WOODED HILLSIDE IN THE SOUTHERN MISSOURI OZARKS, TOM AND CATHY ALEY HAVE BUILT A BIG STONE-AND-TIMBER HOUSE. BENEATH THE HILL THEY HAVE ANOTHER HOME, MADE BY NATURE: THE TWO-MILE-LONG TUMBLING CREEK CAVE. "QUITE A VIEW, ISN'T IT?" TOM SAID ONE NIGHT, SWEEPING A HEADLAMP ACROSS THE BIG ROOM--A 60-FOOT-HIGH CHAMBER GRACED WITH GIANT CRYSTAL LINE FORMATIONS AND A RUSHING CREEK THAT ECHOED DEAFENINGLY OFF THE WALLS 170 FEET BELOW THE GROUND. BESIDES THE NICE INTERIOR SCENERY, TUMBLING CREEK HAS BIOLOGICAL WONDERS. IT IS HOST TO 115 SPECIES OF ANIMALS, THE RICHEST ASSEMBLAGE OF FAUNA IN A SINGLE CAVE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI--DOZENS OF RARE SUBTERRANEAN CREATURES ...

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