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Article: Stalactite heaven: underground treasure in a Gold Country cave.(Black Chasm cavern, Jackson, California)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Sunset
- Article date:
- June 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Sunset Publishing Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For 150 years, Black Chasm cavern was a secret shared by few. The dark pit in California's Gold Country was dangerous to explore, and the landowners were not interested in developing it. That's changing now as new owners are gradually--and safely--opening the cave's most accessible chambers.
In September 2000, the first public tours in more than a century brought visitors down steep stairs and into the 170-foot-high Colossal Room, a dripping gallery of stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, and columns with an underground lake.
After a winter of further trail construction, the tour expanded last summer into the Landmark Room, home to a pristine collection ...