View source for Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve

{{short description|National monument in Oregon, United States}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Use American English|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name            = Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve
| iucn_category   = 
| iucn_ref        = 
<!-- images -->
| photo           = Paradise Lost (9939473016).jpg
| photo_caption   = Formations resembling drapery in a dome-shaped pit in Oregon Caves
| photo_width     = 250
| photo_alt       =A cluster of bulbous stone formations of various sizes, large and small, line the surface of a dome-shaped pit. The formations, which are generally shades of brown and light yellow, overlap one another. Wider at their tops than their bottoms, they point down. Each is ribbed, like hanging drapery.
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| map             = USA Oregon#USA
| map_image       = 
| map_size        = 300
| map_caption     = Location of the cave in Oregon
| relief          = 1
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| location        = [[Cave Junction, Oregon|Cave Junction]], Josephine, Oregon, United States
| nearest_city    = 
| nearest_town    = 
| coordinates     = {{coord|42|05|44|N|123|24|21|W|display=inline,title}}
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| length          = 
| length_mi       = 
| length_km       = 
| width           = 
| width_mi        = 
| width_km        = 
| area_acre       = 4554
| area_ref        = <ref>{{cite web|author=Land Resources Division|title=National Park Service Listing of Acreage (summary)|url=https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/FileDownload/1297|date=December 31, 2016|publisher=National Park Service|format=PDF|access-date=April 16, 2017|archive-date=February 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220020352/https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/FileDownload/1297|url-status=live}}</ref>
| elevation       = {{convert|4377|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="gnis">{{cite web|work=[[Geographic Names Information System]] (GNIS)|publisher=United States Geological Survey|date=November 28, 1980|url={{Gnis3|1147260}}|title=Oregon Caves National Monument|access-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref>
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| designation     = 
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| authorized      = 
| created         = 
| designated      = 
| established     = July 12, 1909<ref name="Timeline"/>
| named_for       = 
| visitation_num  = 80,613 in 2016
| visitation_year = 
| visitation_ref  = <ref>{{cite web|title=Oregon Caves NM|url=https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Recreation%20Visitation%20%281904%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year%29?Park=ORCA|year=2017|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=January 19, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202061935/https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Recreation%20Visitation%20%281904%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year%29?Park=ORCA|url-status=live}}</ref>
| governing_body  = National Park Service
| administrator   = 
| operator        = 
| owner           =
<!-- website, embedded --> 
| website         = [https://www.nps.gov/orca/ Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve]
| embedded        = 
}}
<!-- Note: site is listed in IUCN database, and appears to conform with Category III -->

'''Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve''' is a [[protected area]] in the northern [[Siskiyou Mountains]] of southwestern [[Oregon]] in the United States. The 4,554-acre (1,843&nbsp;ha) park, including the [[marble]] cave, is 20 miles (32&nbsp;km) east of [[Cave Junction, Oregon|Cave Junction]], on [[Oregon Route 46]]. The protected area, managed by the [[National Park Service]] (NPS), is in southwestern [[Josephine County, Oregon|Josephine County]], near the Oregon–California border.

Elijah Davidson, a resident of nearby [[Williams, Oregon|Williams]], discovered the cave in 1874. Over the next two decades, private investors failed in efforts to run successful tourist ventures at the publicly owned site. After passage of the [[Antiquities Act]] by the [[59th United States Congress|United States Congress]], in 1909 President [[William Howard Taft]] established Oregon Caves National Monument, to be managed by the [[United States Forest Service]] (USFS). The growing usage of the automobile, construction of paved highways, and promotion of tourism by [[boosterism|boosters]] from [[Grants Pass, Oregon|Grants Pass]] led to large increases in cave visitation during the late 1920s and thereafter. Among the attractions at the remote monument is the [[Oregon Caves Chateau]], a six-story hotel built in a rustic style in 1934. It is a [[National Historic Landmark]] and is part of the [[Oregon Caves Historic District]] within the monument. The NPS, which assumed control of the monument in 1933, offers tours of the cave from mid-April through early November. In 2014, the protected area was expanded by about {{convert|4000|acre|ha}} and re-designated a National Monument and Preserve. At the same time, the segment of the creek that flows through the cave was renamed for the mythological [[Styx]] and added to the [[National Wild and Scenic Rivers System]].

Oregon Caves is a [[solutional cave]], with passages totaling about {{convert|15000|ft|m}}, formed in marble. The [[parent rock]] was originally [[limestone]] that [[metamorphosis (geology)|metamorphosed]] to marble during the geologic processes that created the [[Klamath Mountains]], including the Siskiyous. Although the limestone formed about 190&nbsp;million years ago, the cave itself is no older than a few million years. Valued as a tourist cave, the cavern also has scientific value; sections of the cave that are not on tour routes contain [[fossil]]s of national importance.

Activities at the park include cave touring, hiking, photography, and wildlife viewing. One of the park trails leads through the forest to Big Tree, which at {{convert|13|ft|m}} is the widest [[Douglas fir]] known in Oregon. Lodging and food are available at The Chateau and in Cave Junction. Camping is available in the preserve at the Cave Creek Campground, at a local USFS campground, and private sites in the area.

==Geography==
[[Image:Oregon Caves Cave Map.png|thumb|upright=1.36|Map of the cave]]
Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve is in the [[Siskiyou Mountains]], a coastal range that is part of the [[Klamath Mountains]] of northwestern [[California]] and southwestern Oregon. The monument consists of {{convert|484|acre|ha}}<ref name="Vital Signs App. C">{{cite web|title=Appendix C|work=Klamath Network Vital Signs Monitoring Plan|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|url=http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/klmn/monitoring/Documents/PhaseIII/Appendix_C_phase3_final_pdf.pdf|year=2007|pages=20–24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722021853/http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/klmn/monitoring/Documents/PhaseIII/Appendix_C_phase3_final_pdf.pdf|archive-date=July 22, 2012}}</ref> in the [[Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest]], about {{convert|6|mi|km|0}} north of the Oregon–California border in [[Josephine County, Oregon|Josephine County]].<ref name="DeLorme">{{cite book|title=Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer|publisher=[[DeLorme]]|location=Yarmouth, Maine|edition=7th|year=2008|pages=66–67|isbn=978-0-89933-347-2}}</ref> Elevations within the monument range from {{convert|3680|to|5480|ft|m}}.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> [[Mount Elijah]] in the preserve rises to {{convert|6390|ft|m}}.<ref name="Six Things"/>

In December 2014 as part of the [[Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015|National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015]], the U.S. Congress enlarged the protected area that includes the cave and changed its name from Oregon Caves National Monument to Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve.<ref>{{cite web|title=Defense Authorization Act Expands National Park System|url=https://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1663|publisher=National Park Service|date=December 19, 2014|access-date=December 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601195148/https://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1663|archive-date=June 1, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[national preserve|preserve]] covers {{convert|4070|acre|ha}},<ref name="Six Things"/> and both it and the [[United States National Monument|monument]], which abuts the preserve, are administered by the same staff.<ref>{{cite news|last=Richard|first=Terry|title=Oregon Caves National Monument Enlarged Nearly 10 Times with Presidential Signing of Act|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2014/12/oregon_caves_national_monument_2.html|journal=[[The Oregonian]]|date=December 19, 2014|publisher=Oregon Live|access-date=December 22, 2014|archive-date=December 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222222826/http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2014/12/oregon_caves_national_monument_2.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

By highway, Oregon Caves is {{convert|55|mi|km}} southwest of [[Grants Pass, Oregon|Grants Pass]], {{convert|300|mi|km}} south of [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]] and {{convert|450|mi|km}} north of [[San Francisco]].<ref name="FAQ">{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/faqs.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2009|access-date=August 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906214706/https://www.nps.gov/orca/faqs.htm|archive-date=September 6, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The caves are {{convert|20|mi|km}} east of the small city of [[Cave Junction, Oregon|Cave Junction]] via [[Oregon Route 46]] off [[U.S. Route 199]].<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> The main cave has known passages totaling about {{convert|15000|ft|m}} in length.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Eight separate smaller caves have also been discovered in the monument.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/>

Runoff from the heavily wooded monument forms small [[river source|headwater]] streams of the Illinois River, a major tributary of the [[Rogue River (Oregon)|Rogue River]]. One of five small [[spring (hydrosphere)|springs]] in the monument becomes Upper Cave Creek, which flows on the surface before disappearing into its bed and entering the cave. Supplemented by water entering the cave from above, the stream emerges from the main entrance as Cave Creek.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Within the cave, Cave Creek is known as the River Styx, named for the river [[Styx]] of Greek mythology connecting Earth to the [[Underworld]].<ref name="Six Things"/> In late 2014, Congress added the River Styx to the [[National Wild and Scenic Rivers System]],<ref>{{cite web|title=National Park Service-related Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 15|url=https://www.nps.gov/legal/2014%20DOD%20NPS%20Summary.html|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715074351/https://www.nps.gov/legal/2014%20DOD%20NPS%20Summary.html|archive-date=July 15, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> which added a level of protection aimed at keeping the stream free-flowing in perpetuity.<ref>{{cite web|title=A National System|url=https://www.rivers.gov/national-system.php|publisher=National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (US government)|access-date=April 22, 2017|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201022213/https://www.rivers.gov/national-system.php|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the only subterranean river in the Wild Rivers system.<ref name="Six Things">{{cite news|author=Urness, Zach|title=Six Things to Know About Oregon Caves Expansion|url=http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2014/12/04/six-things-know-oregon-caves-expansion/19923021/|journal=[[Statesman Journal]]|location=Salem, Oregon|date=December 4, 2014|access-date=December 22, 2014|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201022215/https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2014/12/04/six-things-know-oregon-caves-expansion/19923021/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
[[Archeologist]]s believe the first humans to inhabit the Rogue River region were nomadic hunters and gatherers.{{sfn|Douthit|2002|pp=5–6}} [[Radiocarbon dating]] suggests that they arrived in southwestern Oregon at least 8,500 years ago.{{sfn|Douthit|2002|pp=5–6}} At least 1,500 years before the first contact with whites, the natives established permanent villages along streams.{{sfn|Douthit|2002|pp=5–6}} Even so, no evidence has been found to suggest that any of the native peoples, such as the [[Takelma]] who lived along the Rogue and [[Applegate River|Applegate]] rivers in the 19th&nbsp;century, used the cave.<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web|title=Timeline|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/historyculture/timeline.htm|year=2007|access-date=August 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922170013/https://www.nps.gov/orca/learn/historyculture/timeline.htm|archive-date=September 22, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Largely bypassed by the [[Oregon Country|early non-native explorers]], fur traders, and settlers because of its remote location, the region attracted newcomers in quantity when prospectors found gold near [[Jacksonville, Oregon|Jacksonville]] in the Rogue River valley in 1851.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=17}} This led to the creation of [[Jackson County, Oregon|Jackson County]] in 1852 and, after gold discoveries near [[Waldo, Oregon|Waldo]] in the Illinois River valley, the creation of Josephine County, named for the daughter of a gold miner.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=24}} Even with an influx of miners and of settlers who farmed [[Donation Land Claim Act|donation land claims]], Josephine County's population was only 1,204 in 1870.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=25–26}}

[[File:Thomas condon of oregon.jpg|upright|thumb|alt=Formal half-length photo of a bearded man of about 70|[[Thomas Condon]], a University of Oregon geology professor who visited the cave with his students in 1884]]
Elijah Jones Davidson, who discovered the cave in 1874, had emigrated from Illinois to Oregon with his parents, who eventually settled along Williams Creek in Josephine County.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=28}} [[Williams, Oregon|Williams]], as the community came to be called, is about {{convert|12|mi|km}} northeast of the cave.<ref name="DeLorme"/>

Only a few people visited the cave during the next decade. Among them was [[Thomas Condon]], professor of geology at the [[University of Oregon]]. Guided by Davidson's brother, in 1884 he and a group of students hiked from Williams to the cavern, which they inspected by candlelight.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p= 31}} Shortly thereafter, Walter Burch, an acquaintance of the Davidson family, tried to develop the cave as a business.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=31}} Burch and his partners opened what they called Limestone Caves and charged visitors $1 each for a guided cave trip, a camping spot, pasture for horses, and cave water they described as medicinal.<ref name="Timeline"/> Although Burch and others hacked crude trails to the cave from Cave Junction and Williams, the trip was too difficult for most tourists, and Limestone Caves ceased operations in 1888.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=37–41}}

In the early 1890s, the Oregon Caves Improvement Company, headed by Alfonso B. Smith of [[San Diego]] and two men from [[Kerby, Oregon]], tried to raise capital for a larger tourist business at Oregon Caves.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=37–41}} Smith made outlandish claims about the cave and its business potential, saying that it was {{convert|22|mi|km}} long, that an ordinary [[horse and buggy]] could be driven through {{convert|10|mi|km}} of it, that it had 600 separate chambers, and that the company planned to build something like a [[tram|streetcar]] line from Williams to the cave.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=37–41}} Smith succeeded in wooing ''[[The San Francisco Examiner]]'', which twice sent reporters to the site. On the second visit, there was "an orgy of destruction"{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=40}} in which passages were widened, formations broken or deliberately removed, and directional arrows added to the cave walls.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=37–41}} After Smith had spent all of the company's money and borrowed more in its name, he disappeared in 1894, and the business collapsed.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=37–41}}

Neither Burch nor Smith had owned the cave or the land around it, which belonged to the public.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=36–37}} Beginning in the 1890s, the Federal government began regulating the use of public lands like these.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=43}} In 1903, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] designated millions of acres of forest lands for protection, including what became Siskiyou National Forest, which surrounds the cave. The USFS was created in 1905 to manage these reserves. Three years later, [[59th United States Congress|Congress]] passed the [[Antiquities Act]], which allowed the President to designate protected areas called National Monuments on public lands. In 1909, President [[William Howard Taft]] established Oregon Caves National Monument, to be managed by the USFS.<ref>[[wikisource:en:Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 20/Documents|Documents]], Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 20 (1919).</ref> A year later the USFS employed men to guard the cave and to serve as tour guides.<ref name="Timeline"/>

Isolated and difficult to reach, the monument initially attracted few visitors, by 1920 only 1,800 for the year.<ref name="Timeline"/> The situation changed markedly when large numbers of Americans began to travel by automobile on roads paid for largely with government funds. One highway connected Grants Pass with the California coast at [[Crescent City, California|Crescent City]].{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=63–66}} Another new road, the Oregon Caves Highway, led from the Grants Pass – Crescent City highway to the cave.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=63–66}} Campaigns to attract car-driving tourists included those of the Cavemen, a booster group from Grants Pass that dressed in animal skins, posed along tour routes, and staged annual events to promote the monument.{{#tag:ref|In 1931, the Cavemen dedicated Caveman Bridge over the Rogue River in Grants Pass. The bridge marks the northern end of the Redwood Highway (U.S. Route 199), which connects Grants Pass with Cave Junction and the Oregon Caves Highway. [[Grants Pass High School]] uses "Cavemen" as its mascot name.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=123–24}}|group=n}} By 1928, the number of visitors to the cave had risen to about 24,000 a year.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=63–66}}

[[File:Oregon Caves Chateau OR1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Chateau in 2009|alt=A rustic multi-story hotel sheathed in tree bark rests in a forest behind a reflecting pool.]]
The visitors' need for overnight lodging led to creation of public and private campsites and rustic cabins along highways near Cave Junction and the monument.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=66–70}} In 1923, the USFS signed a contract with the Oregon Caves Company, based in Grants Pass, to run the cave tours and improve the park accommodations.<ref name="Timeline"/> Public-private partnerships between the USFS or NPS and [[concession (contract)|concessionaires]] continued in various forms at Oregon Caves into the 21st century.<ref name="Timeline"/> The Chalet, a building with a kitchen, dining room, gift shop, ticket sales area, and a dormitory for women on the Oregon Caves Company staff, was completed later that year. Three years later, the company added seven two-bedroom cabins for tourists and a dormitory for male employees.<ref name="Timeline"/> In 1928, an Oregon Caves bill written by the USFS and introduced by Senator [[Charles L. McNary|Charles McNary]] of Oregon won [[70th United States Congress|Congressional]] approval.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=81–84}} It provided funds for electric lights, a power plant, a system of pipes and hoses to wash mud from the cave,{{#tag:ref|Historian Stephen R. Mark speculates that concern about mud "was likely based on how the Edenic ideal did not include dirty formations and inconvenience to visitors."{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=194}}|group=n}} and an artificial exit tunnel to eliminate the crowding that occurred when two groups on round-trip tours had to pass one another. The {{convert|500|ft|m|adj=on}} tunnel was completed in 1931.{{sfn|Mark|2006|pp=81–84, 194}}

Management of the monument was transferred from the Forest Service to the NPS in 1933, and a six-story hotel, the [[Oregon Caves Chateau]], was completed at the site in 1934.<ref name="Timeline"/> Gust Lium, a builder from Grants Pass, oversaw construction of the Chateau and some of the park's other buildings, which he designed in a [[National Park Service Rustic|rustic style]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gust Lium|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/historyculture/gustlium.htm|year=2006|access-date=August 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519041757/https://www.nps.gov/orca/learn/historyculture/gustlium.htm|archive-date=May 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Mason Manufacturing of Los Angeles produced the Chateau's furniture in a style called [[Monterey Furniture|''Monterey'']], valued in the 21st&nbsp;century at up to $5,000 for a single chair.<ref>{{cite web|title=Great Lodges of the National Parks Pacific Northwest: Oregon Caves|url=https://www.pbs.org/opb/greatlodges/nationalparks/pacific/caves.html|publisher=[[Oregon Public Broadcasting]]|year=2008|access-date=November 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514195114/http://www.pbs.org/opb/greatlodges/nationalparks/pacific/caves.html|archive-date=May 14, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>  During the 1930s and early 1940s, the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] (CCC) installed water and telephone lines, improved trails, and worked on landscaping at the park.<ref name="Timeline"/> The Chalet was rebuilt in 1942 to include a third story and a larger dormitory for women.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=112}}

Although the Chateau suffered $100,000 in damage from a 1964 flood, it was repaired.<ref name="Timeline"/> By 1968, a total of one&nbsp;million people had visited the cave.<ref name="Timeline"/> In 1987, the Chateau was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]],<ref name="Timeline"/> and in 1992, {{convert|60|acre|ha}} of the monument, including the Chateau and other rustic structures, were listed as the [[Oregon Caves Historic District]] on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name ="historic district">{{cite web|last=Mark|first=Stephen R.|url={{NRHP url|id=92000058}}|format=PDF|title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Oregon Caves Historic District|date=June 1991|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 11, 2012}}</ref> In 2001, the NPS began running the cave tours formerly offered by private contractors, and two years later all the structures at the monument became public property managed by the NPS.<ref name="Timeline"/> The Illinois Valley Community Development Organization (IVCDO), a non-profit organization based in Cave Junction, runs the monument's gift shop.<ref name="Timeline"/>

In 2014, the protected area was expanded by {{convert|4070|acre|ha}} that was transferred from the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest to create the National Monument and Preserve.<ref>{{cite web|title=Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-113publ291/html/PLAW-113publ291.htm|publisher=Government Printing Office|page=Section 3041|access-date=April 16, 2017|archive-date=April 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427103506/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-113publ291/html/PLAW-113publ291.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The preserve consists of forest, subalpine meadows, mountains, and creeks formerly managed by the USFS and now by the NPS.<ref name="Six Things"/> Named features within the addition include Mount Elijah ({{convert|6390|ft|m|disp=or|abbr=on}}), Bigelow Lake,<ref name="Six Things"/> and a network of existing trails linked to the monument trails.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mt. Elijah/Bigelow Lakes Trailhead|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/rogue-siskiyou/recreation/recarea/?recid=70602|publisher=United States Forest Service|access-date=January 19, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001635/https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/rogue-siskiyou/recreation/recarea/?recid=70602|url-status=live}}</ref> Although hunting is allowed in the preserve but not in the monument, the new arrangement seeks to end cattle grazing in the Cave Creek – River Styx watershed.<ref name="Six Things"/>

==Geology and paleontology==
[[File:Miller's Chapel (9939448605).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Stalactites, stalagmites, and column in Miller's Chapel|alt=Stalactites, stalagmites, and a column of dripstone in a large cave chamber called Miller's Chapel]]

Most caves created from [[dissolution (chemistry)|dissolved]] rocks are formed in [[limestone]] or [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]], but Oregon Caves was formed in marble.<ref name="Schubert"/> Of the more than 3,900 cave systems managed by the NPS, only those in Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, [[Kings Canyon National Park]], and [[Great Basin National Park]] have marble caves.<ref name="Schubert">{{cite web|last=Schubert|first=Mary|title=Study of a Karst-Geochemical Data Set from a Marble Cave: Oregon Caves National Monument|url=http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/biospeleology/nckms2007/Papers/schubert.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021042634/http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/biospeleology/nckms2007/Papers/schubert.pdf|publisher=[[University of Texas]]|work=2007 National Cave and Karst Management Symposium|pages=219–32|archive-date=October 21, 2012}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Eighty one parks managed by the NPS have caves.<ref name="Cave and Karst">{{cite web|title=Tour of Park Geology - Cave and Karst Parks|url=http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/tour/caves.cfm|publisher=National Park Service|date=December 13, 2010|access-date=December 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514194734/http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/tour/caves.cfm|archive-date=May 14, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Not all are solution caves formed by dissolving of rock. Some are [[lava cave]]s, others are [[scree|talus]] caves formed by rocks falling atop narrow crevices, and some are [[sea cave]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cave & Karst Parks Tour|url=http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/caves/tour.htm|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302092829/http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/caves/tour.htm|year=2006|archive-date=March 2, 2013}}</ref> [[Lava Beds National Monument]] alone has more than 450 separate lava caves.<ref name="Cave and Karst"/>|group=n}}

The [[parent rock]] in which the cave developed was formed about 190&nbsp;million years ago as limestone that was part of a [[tectonic plate]] beneath the Pacific Ocean.{{sfn|Orr|Orr|1999|pp=70–71}} [[Granite|Granitic]] [[pluton]]s intruded this part of the ocean crust, the Applegate [[terrane]], about 160&nbsp;million years ago.{{sfn|Bishop|2004|pp=50–52}} As the oceanic crust carrying the terrane [[subduction|subducted]] under the North American plate, the terrane [[accretion (geology)|accreted]] onto the North American Plate and the limestone was subjected to heat and pressure that [[metamorphism|metamorphosed]] it to marble.{{sfn|Orr|Orr|1999|pp=70–71}} Further tectonic movements eventually [[tectonic uplift|lifted]] the marble to about {{convert|4000|ft|m}} above sea level.<ref>{{cite web|title=Environmental Factors|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/naturescience/environmentalfactors.htm|year=2006|access-date=August 29, 2011|archive-date=October 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026042451/http://www.nps.gov/orca/naturescience/environmentalfactors.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The marble block containing the cave is at least {{convert|1080|ft|m}} long, {{convert|490|ft|m}} wide, and about {{convert|390|ft|m}} high.{{sfn|Halliday|2009|p=298}}

The cave's creation took place long after the marble formed.{{sfn|Bishop|2004|pp=50–52}} As groundwater seeped into cracks in the marble, it eventually dissolved enough rock to expand some of the cracks to the size of tunnels.{{sfn|Orr|Orr|1999|pp=70–71}} Generally, the age of a cave cannot be determined directly because the cave itself is an empty space,<ref name="age constraints"/> but scientists can sometimes determine the age of [[speleothem]]s or sediments in a cave.<ref name="age constraints">{{cite journal|last=Stock|first=Greg M.|author2=Riihimaki, Catherine A.|author3=Anderson, Robert S.|title=Age Constraints on Cave Development and Landscape Evolution in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming|url=http://www.caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/V68/v68n2-Stock.pdf|journal=Journal of Cave and Karst Studies|volume=68|pages=76–84|issue=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316031906/http://caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/V68/v68n2-Stock.pdf|archive-date=March 16, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> An early 21st-century study of speleothem development in Oregon Caves focused on the past 380,000 years.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Edwards |first1=Vasile |title=Environmental Influences on Speleothem Growth in Southwestern Oregon During the Last 380,000 Years |url=http://geo.orst.edu/files/geo/Ersek-2009-EPSL.pdf |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |publisher=Elsevier |year=2009 |pages=316–25 |issue=3–4 |bibcode=2009E&PSL.279..316E |volume=279 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2009.01.008 |first2=Steven W. |last2=Hostetler |last3=Cheng |first3=Hai |last4=Clark |first4=Peter U. |last5=Anslow |first5=Faron S. |last6=Mix |first6=Alan C. |last7=Edwards |first7=R. Lawrence |display-authors=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518090448/http://geo.orst.edu/files/geo/Ersek-2009-EPSL.pdf |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Based on the available evidence, the cave is thought to be at least a million years old and "probably not much older than a few million" years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Roth|first=John|title=Oregon Caves National Monument Subsurface Management Plan Environmental Assessment|publisher=National Park Service|date=September 2005|url=http://www.caves.org/region/western/Docs/ea-subsuface-plan.9.05.releaseversion.pdf|page=22|access-date=October 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514194352/http://caves.org/region/western/Docs/ea-subsuface-plan.9.05.releaseversion.pdf|archive-date=May 14, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Calcite Crystals (9939943773).jpg|Calcite crystals in Oregon Caves|thumb|left|alt=A cluster of needle-shaped rock crystals on a cave wall]]

Marble has a more coarse-grained texture than limestone, but both are made of [[calcite]] ({{chem|[[calcium|Ca]]|[[carbon|C]]|[[oxygen|O]]|3}}).{{sfn|Plummer|McGeary|1988|p=136}} Caves often develop when slightly acidic groundwater dissolves calcite along natural [[fracture (geology)|fractures]] in the rock.{{sfn|Plummer|McGeary|1988|pp=247–50}} A reversal of the dissolving process can create [[flowstone]] and dripstone such as [[stalactite]]s, which hang from cave ceilings like icicles, and [[stalagmite]]s, cone-shaped masses that form on cave floors, usually directly below stalactites.{{sfn|Plummer|McGeary|1988|pp=247–50}} These structures form when acidic groundwater with a high concentration of dissolved calcite drips slowly from the ceiling of an air-filled cave, becomes less acidic, and leaves some of its calcite behind as a solid [[precipitation (chemistry)|precipitate]].{{sfn|Plummer|McGeary|1988|pp=247–50}} Oregon Caves includes a variety of cave formations created through precipitation of calcite.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cave Photographs|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/learn/photosmultimedia/cave-photographs.htm|year=2010|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=September 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915075845/https://www.nps.gov/orca/learn/photosmultimedia/cave-photographs.htm|archive-date=September 15, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The chemical equation for the process is H<sub>2</sub>O + CO<sub>2</sub> + CaCO<sub>3</sub>&nbsp;&nbsp;<math>\rightleftarrows</math>&nbsp;&nbsp;Ca<sup>++</sup> + 2HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>; that is, water plus carbon dioxide plus calcite can yield calcium [[ion]]s plus bicarbonate ions and vice versa. The carbon dioxide can either be acquired from the atmosphere (or soils), making the water more acidic, or it can be released to the atmosphere, making the water less acidic. The equation is read from left to right for cave formation (dissolution) and from right to left for flowstone and dripstone formation (precipitation).{{sfn|Plummer|McGeary|1988|pp=247–50}}|group=n}} Although many of the speleothems in the public sections of the cave have been broken, discolored by human skin oils, or otherwise damaged, the narrow twisting passages of the "show cave" have been largely preserved.{{sfn|Halliday|2006|p=56}}

The cave is not pure marble. Streams have deposited silts and gravels from the surface. [[Dike (geology)|Dikes]] of [[diorite]], an [[igneous rock]] that was part of a pluton, and [[shale]]s and [[sandstone]]s, sedimentary rocks [[interbedding|interbedded]] with the marble, are part of the cave.{{sfn|Bishop|2004|pp=50–52}}  

The monument has more than 50 [[paleontology|paleontological]] sites ranging in age from [[Late Pleistocene]] to [[Holocene]].<ref name="50 sites">{{cite web|last=Covington|first=Sid|title=Oregon Caves National Monument Geologic Resources Management Issues Scoping Summary|url=http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/publications/s_summaries/ORCA_scoping_summary_20041025.pdf|publisher=National Park Service|date=September 10, 2004|access-date=October 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029083821/http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/publications/s_summaries/ORCA_scoping_summary_20041025.pdf|archive-date=October 29, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> A [[fossil]] of a [[grizzly bear]] more than 50,000 years old and a [[jaguar]] fossil between 40,000 and 20,000 years old have been found in the cave.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Other fossils include amphibians,<ref name="50 sites"/> and rare finds of the [[mountain beaver]] and the [[blue grouse]].<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> The monument's
mammalian fossils, found in non-public sections of the cave,{{sfn|Halliday|2006|p=51}} are of national significance.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/>
{{clear}}

==Climate==
The monument is in the mountains at elevations varying from {{convert|3680|to|5480|ft|m}} above sea level. The park's nearness to the ocean contributes to its relatively mild climate. Temperatures generally range between {{convert|20|and|40|F|C}} in winter and {{convert|50|and|90|F|C}} in summer.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Inside the cave the temperature is always about {{convert|44|F|C}}.<ref name="plan your visit">{{cite web|title=Plan Your Visit|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/index.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2017|access-date=January 18, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001728/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The transition zones near the cave's entrances are exceptions. For example, icicles sometimes form in below-freezing temperatures at the mouth of the main entrance.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lachman|first=Phil|title=Earth Science Picture of the Day: Ice Stalactites in Oregon Caves National Monument|url=http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2010/11/ice-stalactites-in-.html|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|date=November 8, 2010|access-date=October 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905200313/http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2010/11/ice-stalactites-in-.html|archive-date=September 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=n}} Annual precipitation, arriving mostly as wet snow, averages {{convert|55|in|mm}}. Moderate winds are common.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/>

==Flora and fauna==
[[File:Cave Cricket - Oregon Caves.jpg|right|thumb|[[Rhaphidophoridae|Cave cricket]] in Oregon Caves|alt=A dark brown humpbacked "bug" with large hind legs, long forelegs, and long antennae]]

Located within the Klamath–Siskiyou region, known for its high [[biodiversity]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Nature|publisher=National Park Service|year=2010|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/naturescience/index.htm|access-date=January 18, 2017|archive-date=February 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217040815/http://www.nps.gov/orca/naturescience/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the monument supports 391 [[vascular plant]] species as well as many species of [[bryophyte]], [[lichen]], and [[mushroom|macrofungi]].<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Trees in the monument include [[Douglas fir]], [[oak]], [[white fir]], and [[alder]]. Among the oldest trees is Big Tree, thought to be the widest Douglas fir in the state.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> It is {{convert|41|ft|m}} in circumference near the base.<ref name="Big Tree Trail">{{cite web|title=The Big Tree Trail|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/forkids/upload/bigtree.pdf|access-date=October 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822082857/https://www.nps.gov/orca/forkids/upload/bigtree.pdf|archive-date=August 22, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Its age is estimated at 600 to 800 years,<ref name ="Big Tree Trail"/> and it was described in the 1930s as {{convert|14|ft|m}} in diameter.{{sfn|Mark|2006|p=102}}{{#tag:ref|Calculated using a circumference, c, of {{convert|41|ft|m}} in the formula c = {{pi}} × d, where {{pi}} is rounded to 3.14, and the diameter, d, is about {{convert|13|ft|m}}.|group=n}} The monument contains no plants with special [[conservation status]].<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/>

Species lists for the park include about 50 mammals, 86 birds, 11 reptiles and [[amphibian]]s, 8 bats, more than 200 [[arthropod]]s, 8 snails and slugs, 75 butterflies, more than 55 moths, and 8 aquatic [[macroinvertebrate]]s.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Of these species, 160 are found inside the cave.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Outside the cave, the [[black-tailed deer]], [[Steller's jay]], the [[common raven]], and [[Townsend's chipmunk]] are among animals often seen in the park.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C" /> Less commonly sighted are the [[American black bear|black bear]], [[cougar]], [[northern flying squirrel]], and [[Pacific giant salamander]].<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/> Springs and other wet places support [[flatworm]]s, frogs, and snails.<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/>

Animal species in the park with special conservation status are the [[northern spotted owl]], [[California mountain kingsnake]], [[tailed frog]], [[Del Norte salamander]], [[northern goshawk]], [[olive-sided flycatcher]], little [[willow flycatcher]], [[Nebria gebleri siskiyouensis|Siskiyou gazelle beetle]], and [[Fisher (animal)|Pacific fisher]]. Five [[Species of Concern|at-risk]] bat species are found in the cave: [[Townsend's big-eared bat]], and the [[long-eared myotis|long-eared]], [[fringed myotis|fringed]], [[long-legged myotis|long-legged]], and [[Yuma myotis]].<ref name="Vital Signs App. C"/>

==Recreation and lodging==
[[File:Belly of the Whale (9939833084).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Walkway through ''Belly of the Whale''|alt=A lighted walkway with a two-tiered handrail passes through a cave passage shaped like a tunnel.]]

Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve is open year-round, although snow sometimes blocks the road to the park, and the visitor center is open when the cave is open for tours. Cave tours are usually offered from mid-April to early November, but the schedule depends in spring and fall on weather conditions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Operating Hours and Seasons|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/hours.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2017|access-date=January 18, 2017|archive-date=February 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203014308/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/hours.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Illinois Valley Visitor Center in Cave Junction, managed by the IVCDO under an NPS contract, also has information about the cave.<ref>{{cite web|title=Illinois Valley Visitor Center|url=http://www.ivcdo.org/iv-visitor-center.html|publisher=Illinois Valley Community Development Organization|access-date=April 16, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418081853/http://www.ivcdo.org/iv-visitor-center.html|archive-date=April 18, 2017}}</ref>

Cave-tour tickets are available online through the Recreation.gov website, and a limited number of tour tickets may sometimes be had first-come, first-served.<ref name="tour tickets">{{cite web|title=Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve Tours|url=https://www.recreation.gov/tourList.do?parkId=74302&contractCode=NRSO|publisher=Recreation.gov|access-date=January 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119053955/https://www.recreation.gov/tourList.do?parkId=74302&contractCode=NRSO|archive-date=2017-01-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tours vary in length and duration.<ref name= "plan your visit"/> The basic ranger-guided "discovery cave tour", 90 minutes long, requires negotiating more than 500 steep and uneven stairs and passageways with as little as {{convert|45|in|cm}} between floor and ceiling.<ref name="plan your visit"/> Not recommended by the NPS for anyone with heart, lung, or mobility problems, the tour involves a total climb of {{convert|230|ft|m}}.<ref name= "plan your visit"/> Children under {{convert|42|in|cm}} tall or who are unable to climb a set of test stairs on their own are not allowed on the full cave tour.<ref name= "plan your visit"/> The NPS offers a limited number of off-trail "introduction to caving" tours by reservation only.<ref>{{cite web|title=Off-Trail Caving Tours|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/off-trail-caving-tours.htm|year=2011|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=October 15, 2011|archive-date=November 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104004355/http://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/off-trail-caving-tours.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the cave is only {{convert|44|F|C}} inside regardless of the outdoor temperature, the NPS recommends warm clothing for its tours. Good walking shoes are needed to negotiate slippery and uneven surfaces. Not allowed on the tours are flashlights, backpacks, large purses, tripods, or pets. To protect bats from [[white nose syndrome]], visitors must not take any clothing or equipment into Oregon Caves that have previously entered any other cave or mine.<ref name= "plan your visit"/>

[[File:ORCA Hiking trail map.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Park trail map. "P" identifies the parking lot for the hotel and visitor center, represented by the ranger and small hut icon.|alt=Map of trails in and near the monument. Symbols show the locations of the parking lot, the hotel, the visitor center, and Big Tree.]]

Lodging is available in the monument at the Chateau, which has 23 rooms to rent.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lodging|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/lodging.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2011|access-date=October 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609040304/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/lodging.htm|archive-date=June 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Several hiking trails wind through the monument and adjacent forest lands. Big Tree Trail, {{convert|3.3|mi|km}} long, gains {{convert|1100|ft|m}} in elevation between the visitor center and Big Tree.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Big Tree Trail|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/bigtree.htm|year=2011|access-date=October 12, 2011|archive-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927082240/http://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/bigtree.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> No Name Trail, {{convert|1.3|mi|km}} long, begins behind the visitor center, follows Cave Creek, crosses it, and then climbs steeply to the west side of the monument. Two short side trails lead from the main trail to waterfalls along No Name Creek.<ref>{{cite web|title=No Name Trail|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/no_name_trail.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2011|access-date=October 12, 2011|archive-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927072942/http://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/no_name_trail.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Cliff Nature Trail, passing over marble outcrops and through fir forests, winds for about {{convert|1|mi|km}} from near the cave entrance past the cave exit to Big Tree Trail.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hiking Trails|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/trails.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2017|access-date=January 18, 2017|archive-date=January 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131185728/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/trails.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Old Growth Trail, {{convert|0.8|mi|km}} long, links the Chateau and visitor center to the main parking lot.<ref>{{cite web|title=Old Growth Trail|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/old_growth_trail.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2011|access-date=October 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415023653/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/old_growth_trail.htm|archive-date=April 15, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Other named trails entering the park include Cave Creek, Mt. Elijah, and Limestone.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hiking Trails|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=393958|format=PDF|year=2010|access-date=October 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101202423/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security%2Fgetfile&PageID=393958|archive-date=November 1, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, the Oregon Caves Historic District was expanded to include several segments of the trail system.<ref name="historic district expansion">{{cite web|last=Glanville|first=Abby|url=http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/national_register_recent/Josephine_OregonCavesHistoricDistrictBoundaryIncrease_nrnom.pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Oregon Caves Historic District Boundary Increase|date=2010|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013221551/http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/national_register_recent/Josephine_OregonCavesHistoricDistrictBoundaryIncrease_nrnom.pdf|archive-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref>

Hotels, [[bed and breakfast]]s, motels, and resorts in the vicinity offer a variety of accommodations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lodging Near the Monument|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/lodging_near_monu.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2010|access-date=October 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801093823/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/lodging_near_monu.htm|archive-date=August 1, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Although no camping is allowed in the monument, the NPS maintains the Cave Creek Campground within the preserve. Additionally, the USFS maintains a campground nearby, and there are private campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks in the vicinity.<ref>{{cite web|title=Camping and RV Parks in the Area|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/camping.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2010|access-date=October 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107030534/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/camping.htm|archive-date=November 7, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The Chateau, generally open from early May to late October, has a restaurant, coffee shop, and [[delicatessen]], and Cave Junction has several restaurants. The monument grounds include several picnic tables.<ref>{{cite web|title=Where to Eat|url=https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/wheretoeat.htm|publisher=National Park Service|year=2010|access-date=October 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008095459/https://www.nps.gov/orca/planyourvisit/wheretoeat.htm|archive-date=October 8, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of national monuments of the United States]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group= n}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Bishop |first=Ellen Morris |year=2004 |title=Hiking Oregon's Geology |edition=2nd |location=Seattle |publisher=[[The Mountaineers Books]] |isbn=0-89886-847-5 }}
* {{cite book |last=Douthit |first=Nathan |year=2002 |title=Uncertain Encounters: Indians and Whites at Peace and War in Southern Oregon |location=Corvallis |publisher=[[Oregon State University Press]] |isbn=0-87071-549-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/uncertainencount0000dout }}
* {{cite book |last=Halliday |first=William R. |editor1=Oliphant, Joe |editor2=Oliphant, Tina |year=2006 |chapter=Geology of Oregon Cave Revisited |title=Alpine Karst Volume 2 |location=Dayton, Ohio |publisher=[[Cave Books]] |isbn=978-0-939748-64-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Halliday |first=William R. |editor1=Palmer, A. N. |editor2=Palmer, M. V. |year=2009 |chapter=Oregon and Washington |title=Caves and Karst of the USA |location=Huntsville, Alabama |publisher=[[National Speleological Society]] |isbn=978-1-879961-28-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Mark |first=Stephen R. |year=2006 |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/orca/hrs/index.htm |title=Domain of the Cavemen: A Historic Resource Study of Oregon Caves National Monument |location=Seattle |publisher=National Park Service, Pacific West Region |isbn=978-0-16-077093-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024050746/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/orca/hrs/index.htm |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last1=Orr |first1=Elizabeth L. |last2=Orr |first2=William N. |year=1999 |title=Geology of Oregon |edition=5th |location=Dubuque, Iowa |publisher=Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company |isbn=0-7872-6608-6 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Plummer |first1=Charles C. |last2=McGeary |first2=David |year=1988 |title=Physical Geology |edition=4th |location=Dubuque, Iowa |publisher=Wm. C. Brown Publishers |isbn=0-697-05092-0 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Oregon Caves National Monument}}
{{Wikivoyage|Oregon Caves National Monument}}
{{Portal|Oregon}}

* [https://www.nps.gov/orca/index.htm Official website] at the [https://www.nps.gov/index.htm National Park Service]
* [https://friendsocac.org/ Friends of Oregon Caves and Chateau]
* [http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_caves_national_monument/#.U3pPDiiorqw Oregon Caves National Monument] – ''The Oregon Encyclopedia''
* [https://www.nps.gov/orca/photosmultimedia/webcam.htm Webcam] – real-time view from the main visitor center

{{National Monuments of the United States}}
{{National Preserves of the United States}}
{{Protected areas of Oregon}}
{{National Register of Historic Places Oregon}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1909 establishments in Oregon]]
[[Category:Caves of Oregon]]
[[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon]]
[[Category:Landforms of Josephine County, Oregon]]
[[Category:Limestone caves]]
[[Category:National Park Service national monuments in Oregon]]
[[Category:Marble caves]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1909]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Josephine County, Oregon]]
[[Category:Show caves in the United States]]
[[Category:National preserves of the United States]]