Last week, we were in Virginia visiting family and decided to take a day trip to see the Luray Caverns near the Shenandoah National Park. I have always wanted to see a cavern and Lurary Caverns is known for its beauty and grandeur being the fourth largest cavern in the United States.
Labeled parts of a cavern. Photo source: Wikipedia Free Commons. A stalactite (meaning “to drop” is a type of formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves whereas a stalagmite (meaning “dropping, trickling”) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Source: Wikipedia.
Discovered in 1878 by a tinsmith and local photographer who happened to stumble upon a large sinkhole and started to dig, the Luray Caverns has been one of the most visited and popular caverns on the East Coast and is a U.S. Natural Landmark. Formed over the course of 450 million years and still changing, the caverns are simply spectacular. Visitors can take an hour-long tour through the maze of cathedral-sized rooms taking in the breathtaking formations of the stalactites and stalagmites that are each an amazing work of art.