Spring Cave is a large, not completely explored cave in Colorado in the White River National Forest , in the South Fork Valley of the White River , that has been largely cut out by an underground river running through it. It contains a lake several hundred meters inside as well as several caverns only accessible through underwater diving . The cave is free to explore.
7-463: There are two entrances to the cave, both at the end of Spring Cave Trail. Most visitors prefer the nearest entrance, an over-two-meter-high passageway. From there one descends through several rooms leading to a permanent ladder, followed by more rooms leading to the river. It is the largest river inside a cave in Colorado. The level of the river rises and falls throughout the year, and can even rise to
14-488: A cave – such as the sea tide , changes in river flow, or the relationship with the local water table – sumps and ducks may fluctuate in water level and depth (and sometimes in length, due to the shape of adjacent passage). Short sumps may be passed simply by holding one's breath while ducking through the submerged section (for example, Sump 1 in Swildon's Hole ). This is known as "free diving" and can only be attempted if
21-480: A fungal disease that is devastating bat populations in the United States and Canada. Spring Cave may now be visited April 16 through August 14, by persons who have registered and observed decontamination procedures. It is closed August 15 - April 15. 39°51′36″N 107°32′18″W / 39.86001°N 107.53845°W / 39.86001; -107.53845 Sump (cave) A sump , or siphon ,
28-422: Is a passage in a cave that is submerged under water. A sump may be static, with no inward or outward flow, or active, with continuous through-flow. Static sumps may also be connected underwater to active stream passage. When short in length, a sump may be called a duck , however this can also refer to a section or passage with some (minimal) airspace above the water. Depending on hydrological factors specific to
35-399: The level of the cave entrance on rare occasions. There are several series of rooms above and past the river, a few of which lead to an underground lake. Past the lake lie several sumps which must be passed through diving. The full extent of the cavern and underground waterways in it is still not completely known. Spring Cave was closed to public access or use due to white nose syndrome ,
42-496: The rate at which the pump empties it, as well as a suitable place to collect the emptied water. Upstream sumps have been successfully emptied using hoses to siphon water out of them, such as at the Sinkhole Dersios during exploration in 2005. The water was sent deeper into the sinkhole , and the emptied sumps revealed virgin passage behind them. During a rescue from beyond a downstream sump at Sarkhos Cave in 2002, water
49-413: The sump is known to be short and not technically difficult (e.g. constricted or requiring navigation). Longer and more technically difficult sumps can only be passed by cave diving (as happened repeatedly in the exploration of Krubera Cave ). When practical, a sump can also be drained using buckets, pumps or siphons . Pumping the water away requires the inward flow of water into the sump to be less than
#196803