FIELD TRIP: Indian Echo Caverns
This crystal clear lake is in the depths of the caverns amid many beautiful stalactites & stalagmites!
We recently were excited and honored to be invited to a memorable birthday party at Indian Echo Caverns! I am sure I visited here as a child or teen, but the memories are foggy and it was so much fun to see it again as an adult! This trip served double duty as a homeschool field trip too, so here are some things we learned on our caving adventure.
We were grateful for sweatshirts and lights in the cave, two luxuries that people of times past wouldn’t have had!
Cave History & Observations
One of the first things we had to keep in mind was that the cave’s temperature is always around 52*F year round, so we made sure to bring some sweatshirts & jackets. It was interesting to learn about how Native Americans relied on that stable temperature to help them survive by storing food in summer and keeping warm(er) in winter. Many tribes used this cave over the years, but the first recorded tribe was the Susquehannocks who sadly were eradicated by disease and warfare by around 1760.
Because of its prime location near the Swatara Creek, many people have used it over the years whether for exploration or survival. Indian Echo’s website mentions how interesting it would be if the walls could tell us their stories and our guides told us a few such stories, such as one about the Pennsylvania Hermit who lived in the cave for nearly 20 years! They also talked about how the walls were stained with soot from use of fires to provide warmth and how explorers would sometimes splash kerosene on the walls to light the way. Some people left messages or their names scrawled on the walls, and I was amused to see 100+ year old graffiti that advertised fresh pretzels in the Lancaster area.
At one point of the tour while deep in the cave, our guides showed us what “total darkness” is like. We couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces, and I was impressed that the kids did quite well with this, with no screams or crying! It was incredible to think of the bravery of the first inhabitants and explorers who only would have had a torch to navigate their way around the cave in this darkness, because there likely were wild animals who called it home too.
The “cave guardian” keeping somber watch!
W was excited to see the stalactites & stalagmites in person since she had learned about them last year in her nature class!
As we ventured through the cave, the guides had a few whimsical stories to share about the rock formations. They were based off of rocks that looked like various things such as a birthday cake, a bunny rabbit and a dragon. The most notable story was one where a “giant” left a footprint on the ceiling after hearing a loud ACHOO (the kids thought it was uproariously funny because the guide yelled this part and it echoed off the walls) that turned out to be a “dragon” wearing a drapey stalactite scarf.
Cave Growth
We learned a bit about how caves grow too. It was a helpful reminder to hear the phrase that stalactites “hang tight” to the ceiling (they grow from top down) and stalagmites “might” make you trip (they grow up from the ground). It also was fun to learn about how the “cave guardian” pictured above has taken thousands of years to grow because the typical growth rate is only about 1 centimeter per year!
When a formation is actively growing it’s typically white, so some areas of the cave had the appearance of being covered in ice & snow! It was important that we didn’t touch the cave walls or formations because that can disturb the growth.
The baby stalactites were actually kinda cute, if such a thing can be said about rocks. Note the white color of the ones that are actively growing.
An up close look at some stalacmites!
One of the things I found most intriguing to think about from our visit is how this huge cave is underground all of the normal daily life going on above it. As we headed down to the cave entrance, they pointed out a house that is directly over the large “ballroom area” in the cave and from the top, you truly would have no inkling of this! It’s incredible to think of all the beautiful, wondrous things this world holds that are completely hidden from us!
The caverns are just inside this beautiful entrance! You’d never guess how vast they are from the outside!
Gem Mining
As a fun bonus after the tour, our friends gifted each of the kids a gem mining kit and the girls had a blast sifting through the gravelly sand in the sluice to uncover their beautiful stones. When we got home they matched up their rocks to the ones on the chart and they were so proud to realize how many they had “found”.
It was so cute to see their wonder-filled faces as they discovered their rocks!
Matching rocks up to their picture and trying to pronounce their complicated names!
Caves hold so much mysterious beauty! Though I certainly wouldn’t want to live in one, it was quite interesting to explore for an afternoon!
