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23-429: Haynes Cave has been the only contender against Organ Cave as the discovery site for Thomas Jefferson 's famous fossil of Megalonyx jeffersonii ("Jefferson's ground sloth"). The lack of accurate records and the vagueness of the locality description left much doubt about the original location of the sloth skeleton. It was known that the saltpeter miners in the cave were using one of the sloth's leg-bones to prop up

46-399: A "natural nitrary" in a doline close to Molfetta , Italy, named Pulo di Molfetta . The two scientists discovered that niter formed inside the walls of the caves of the doline, under certain conditions of humidity and temperature. After the discovery, it was suggested that manure could be used for agriculture, in order to increase the production, rather than to make gunpowder. The discovery

69-468: A giant carnivore, and compared them to the bones of the African lion. In a footnote to the published article, he corrected his interpretation, comparing the remains to those of a giant ground sloth, Megatherium , from Argentina. In an accompanying paper in the same volume as Jefferson's paper, 1799, Caspar Wistar published drawings of the fossils and a more detailed description. Wistar correctly identified

92-564: A saltpeter vat to aid in the process of manufacturing gunpowder niter , but this leg was lost to time. Both Thomas Jefferson and the initial discoverer, Colonel John Stuart , hoped to find the skull of the beast, for the teeth would reveal its proper identity as a carnivore or herbivore. In 1797, Thomas Jefferson presented a paper on the bones to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. Jefferson

115-547: A term has been known since ancient times, although there is much historical confusion with natron (an impure sodium carbonate/bicarbonate), and not all of the ancient salts known by this name or similar names in the ancient world contained nitrate. The name is from the Ancient Greek νιτρων nitron from Ancient Egyptian netjeri , related to the Hebrew néter , for salt-derived ashes (their interrelationship

138-827: Is Organ Cave. Noted also for its saltpeter troughs and vats." (It is now the third-longest known cave in the state, after the Friars Hole Cave System in the same county and the Hellhole System in Pendleton County . ) Organ Cave has also been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005. Significant fossil discoveries bear witness to the early natural history of Organ Cave: giant ground sloth , grizzly bear , nine-banded armadillo , sabre-tooth cat , reindeer and an Ice Age porcupine . Organ Cave's human history

161-517: Is attested by flint arrowheads used by early Native Americans . Evidence of early white settlers in the cave is suggested by the date "1704" scratched on a wall, but this may be a later addition since the first white settlers to Greenbrier County came only in the 1740s. The cave was used since before 1835 as a source for nitre (saltpeter) for the manufacture of gunpowder . During the American Civil War , Confederate soldiers under

184-461: Is credited for initiating the science of vertebrate paleontology in the United States with the reading of his 1797 paper. The paper was later published, in 1799. Jefferson chose the name Megalonyx , meaning "Great-Claw," for the skeletal remains that he described. The "certain bones" consisted of three large claws and associated smaller bones. Jefferson initially thought the remains were of

207-632: Is not clear). The Hebrew néter may have been used as, or in conjunction with soap , as implied by Jeremiah 2:22, "For though thou wash thee with niter, and take thee much soap..." However, it is not certain which substance (or substances) the Biblical "neter" refers to, with some suggesting sodium carbonate . The Neo-Latin word for sodium , natrium , is derived from this same class of desert minerals called natron (French) through Spanish natrón from Greek νίτρον ( nitron ), derived from Ancient Egyptian netjeri , referring to

230-427: The area, but received the fossil from a local friend in 1796. In the early 20th century, a local man, Andrew Price of Marlinton , decided that the fossil had come from Organ Cave and popularized his theory. In 1995, however, Smithsonian paleontologist Frederick Grady proposed that Haynes Cave in nearby Monroe County was the true source. (His reasons had to do with historical land-ownership records.) In 2008,

253-545: The command of General Robert E. Lee again mined the cave for nitre. The cave today has the nation's largest collection of Civil War-era saltpeter hoppers. Studies have shown the cave dirt is high in calcium nitrate, which was turned into potassium nitrate using these hoppers. Organ Cave was first surveyed by members of the National Speleological Society in July 1948. For many years it was considered

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276-425: The extraction plant is a site of industrial archaeology , although currently not open to tourists. Related minerals are soda niter ( sodium nitrate ), ammonia niter or gwihabaite ( ammonium nitrate ), nitrostrontianite ( strontium nitrate ), nitrocalcite ( calcium nitrate ), nitromagnesite ( magnesium nitrate ), nitrobarite ( barium nitrate ) and two copper nitrates, gerhardtite and buttgenbachite; in fact all of

299-546: The governor of West Virginia held a ceremony at Organ Cave to present the owner with a certificate stating that M. jeffersoni was the "Official West Virginia State Fossil" and repeated the assertion that it was indeed found in Organ Cave, but without producing any new evidence. Nitre Niter or nitre is the mineral form of potassium nitrate , KNO 3 . It is a soft, white, highly soluble mineral found primarily in arid climates or cave deposits. Historically,

322-657: The longest cave in the world. As of 11 March 2022 , the Organ Cave System had 38.452 miles (61.882 km) of surveyed cave passage making it the 55th longest cave in the world, the 16th longest in the United States, and the 3rd longest in West Virginia. Formerly, a famous fossil discovery—that of Thomas Jefferson 's giant ground sloth ( Megalonyx jeffersonii )—had been assumed to have come originally from Organ Cave. Jefferson never visited

345-410: The natural elements in the first three columns of the periodic table and numerous other cations form nitrates which are uncommonly found for the reasons given, but have been described. Niter was used to refer specifically to nitrated salts known as various types of saltpeter (only nitrated salts were good for making gunpowder ) by the time niter and its derivative nitric acid were first used to name

368-694: The official "state fossil" of West Virginia . Organ Cave Organ Cave is a large and historic cave in Greenbrier County , West Virginia , USA. The surrounding community takes its name from the cave. In 1973, the Organ Cave System —also known as the Organ–Hedricks Cave System —was registered as a National Natural Landmark for being "the largest cave system in the State, containing many caves, one of which

391-467: The remains as belonging to a giant ground sloth . In 1822 A.G. Desmarest named the species Megalonyx jeffersonii in his honor. On September 19, 2008, the official news of this significant fossil discovery was released, and carbon dating from a Haynes Cave sloth scapula was proven a match to the skeleton excavated by John Stuart of Greenbrier County . Since March 2008, the Megalonyx has been

414-408: The sodium carbonate salts occurring in the deserts of Egypt, not the nitratine (nitrated sodium salts) typically occurring in the deserts of Chile (classically known as "Chilean saltpeter" and variants of this term). A term ( ἀφρόνιτρον , aphronitron or aphronitre ) which translates as "foam of niter" was a regular purchase in a fourth-century AD series of financial accounts, and since it

437-455: The soils of arid regions and as massive encrustations and efflorescent growths on cavern walls and ceilings where solutions containing alkali potassium and nitrate seep into the openings. It occasionally occurs as prismatic acicular crystal groups, and individual crystals commonly show pseudohexagonal twinning on [110]. Niter and other nitrates can also form in association with deposits of guano and similar organic materials. Niter as

460-575: The term niter was not well differentiated from natron , both of which have been very vaguely defined but generally refer to compounds of sodium or potassium joined with carbonate or nitrate ions. Niter is a colorless to white mineral crystallizing in the orthorhombic crystal system . It is the mineral form of potassium nitrate , KNO 3 , and is soft ( Mohs hardness 2), highly soluble in water, and easily fusible. Its crystal structure resembles that of aragonite , with potassium replacing calcium and nitrate replacing carbonate. It occurs in

483-557: The world's demand is now met by synthetically produced nitrates, though the natural mineral is still mined and is still of significant commercial value. Niter occurs naturally in certain places like the "Caves of Salnitre" ( Collbató ) known since the Neolithic. In the "Cova del Rat Penat", guano (bat excrements) deposited over thousands of years became saltpeter after being leached by the action of rainwater. In 1783, Giuseppe Maria Giovene and Alberto Fortis together discovered

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506-456: Was challenged by scholars until chemist Giuseppe Vairo and his pupil Antonio Pitaro confirmed the discovery. Naturalists sent by academies from all Europe came in large number to visit the site; since niter is a fundamental ingredient in the production of gunpowder, these deposits were of considerable strategic interest. The government started extraction. Shortly thereafter, Giovene discovered niter in other caves of Apulia . The remnants of

529-671: Was expressed as being "for the baths" was probably used as soap. Niter was used to refer specifically to nitrated salts known as various types of saltpeter (only nitrated salts were good for making gunpowder) by the time niter and its derivative nitric acid were first used to name the element nitrogen , in 1790. Because of its ready solubility in water, niter is most often found in arid environments and often in conjunction with other soluble minerals like halides , iodates , borates , gypsum , and rarer carbonates and sulphates. Potassium and other nitrates are of great importance for use in fertilizers and, historically, gunpowder . Much of

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