LAke Shasta Caverns offers easy glimpse of Cave Systems
Found by Charles Morton and J.A. Richardson in 1878, Lake Shasta Caverns is a National Natural Landmark open to the public. While people with claustrophobia and mobility issues may wish to stay in the visitors’ center near the caverns, guests who enter the cave will be greeted with a blast of cool air and some spectacular rock formations.
The 45 minute tour includes an explanation of stalagmites (on the ground) and stalactites, soda straws (tubular stalactites) and other formations that are created over hundreds of years as water drips from above into the caverns. Guests go through self rooms and are told about the history and the wildlife that can be found in the cave system. Salamanders, cave crickets, millipedes and bats live in Lake Shasta Caverns.
The Dome Room as an 80-foot ceiling, but is dwarfed by the Cathedral Room. The Crystal Room features cave coral, which is a rock formation that can only be formed under water, and guests are allowed to touch anything they can reach in the Basement Room. The Chimney Room has the original ladder that explorers used before the cave became a tourist attraction.
There are plenty of stairs, but the space doesn’t ever get too tight. This is a great introduction to what people can find in a cave system. Visitors take a boat across the lake to get to the caverns.
The 45 minute tour includes an explanation of stalagmites (on the ground) and stalactites, soda straws (tubular stalactites) and other formations that are created over hundreds of years as water drips from above into the caverns. Guests go through self rooms and are told about the history and the wildlife that can be found in the cave system. Salamanders, cave crickets, millipedes and bats live in Lake Shasta Caverns.
The Dome Room as an 80-foot ceiling, but is dwarfed by the Cathedral Room. The Crystal Room features cave coral, which is a rock formation that can only be formed under water, and guests are allowed to touch anything they can reach in the Basement Room. The Chimney Room has the original ladder that explorers used before the cave became a tourist attraction.
There are plenty of stairs, but the space doesn’t ever get too tight. This is a great introduction to what people can find in a cave system. Visitors take a boat across the lake to get to the caverns.