Josephine County
Oregon Caves National Monument
Oregon Caves National Monument is located in southwestern Oregon about twenty miles east of Cave Junction. The dramatic cave complex was formed about 190,000 years ago, during the same period that the Klamath and Siskiyou Mountains were formed. The original rock was limestone, but it was transformed into marble during the metamorphosis. Subsequently, ground water seeped into cracks and dissolved enough of the marble to form the caves. Geologists think that the caves themselves are about a million years old. Fossils found in the cave of grizzly bear and jaguar are believed to be twenty to fifty thousand years old. There is no evidence that Native Americans used the cave. Oregon Caves has the distinction of being one of the very few marble caves in the world, and one of only three in the United States.
In 1874, Elijah Davidson discovered the cave while hunting bear with his dog. There followed a succession of efforts to capitalize on the touristic value of the caves, but none of them were very successful. In 1907, Joaquin Miller visited and called national attention to the caves, dubbing them "the Marble Halls of Oregon." In 1909, President Howard Taft signed legislation creating the Oregon Caves National Monument. During the twenties, the advent of the automobile and the construction of new roads from the coast made the Oregon Caves a popular destination. In addition to the caves themselves, there are hiking trails in the Monument and the surrounding forest contains some of the largest Douglas Fir trees in the world. In 1934, a small rustic hotel was built in the monument for tourists. It is still in operation and is one of this country's classic park hotels, There are camping sites available nearby, but best check with the Park Service to see if things are open when you want to visit. Snow usually closes the access road in winter and cave tours are limited.
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