Kartchner Caverns: How Two Cavers Discovered and Saved One of the Wonders of the Natural World
by Neil Miller
University of Arizona Press, 2008 Paper: 978-0-8165-2516-4 Library of Congress Classification GV200.655. A62K375 2008 Dewey Decimal Classification 796.5250922
ABOUT THIS BOOK | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
It was all routine even if hundreds of pounds of earth were pressing down on their heads, even though the ceiling might potentially collapse at any moment, even if they were surrounded by a sea of darkness and had no idea what lay in front of them.
Award-winning author Neil Miller soon tells us that what lay in front of amateur spelunkers Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen was anything but routine. These young men had crawled into a virgin cave, a landscape untouched and unseen for hundreds of thousands of years. In cave terminology, this underground oasis was “living”—water still seeped down the limestone walls, depositing minerals that slowly built up into stunningly beautiful formations.
In a time when countless caves had been destroyed by vandals and looters who had defaced the walls and had broken formations, this pristine discovery was every caver’s dream. While duplicating that moment might seem difficult, this fascinating account of the fight to preserve Kartchner Caverns lends us the same sense of awe and urgency. In an arresting tale spanning the twenty-five-year period in which Tufts and Tenen struggled to protect their find, Miller skillfully weaves together personal interviews, biographical information, political maneuvering, and geological facts. Presented in full color with dazzling photographs showcasing the natural wonder of the caverns, this is an invitation to take in the mysterious, stunning beauty of a cave as if discovering it for the first time.
The triumph of the conservationists and the opening of Kartchner Caverns as a state park are known to anyone who has visited the caves as a tourist. But this narrative offers a chance to go beyond the guidebooks with its revealing look at this unspoiled natural wonder and the science of cave conservation. With as much depth and colorful detail as the caverns themselves, this page-turning account will captivate anyone interested in caves and the preservation of natural wonders.
REVIEWS
Publication of this book is made possible in part by a generous contribution from the Friends of Kartchner Caverns.""One comes away from Miller's page-turner with a reverence, almost an unalloyed love for Tenen, Tufts, and the Kartchner family that owned the land under which the young spelunkers discovered the cave." —Tucson Weekly“This fascinating new book provides both exciting new details and breathtaking images in full color”— Tucson Citizen
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[FMT]Contents[\]
List of Illustrations 000
I The Road to Xanadu
1 The Discovery 000
2 Two Spelunkers 000
3 The Golden Age of Arizona Caving 000
4 Exploring Xanadu 000
5 Playing for Time 000
6 Encountering the Kartchners 000
II The Making of Kartchner Caverns
7 Lewis and Clark in Tucson 000
8 The Years in the Wilderness 000
9 The Stars Line Up 000
10 From Desert Outpost to State Park 000
11 Epilogue 000
Acknowledgments 000
Timeline 000
People Interviewed 000
Notes 000
Bibliography 000
Index 000
^m
[FMT]Illustrations[\]
The Kartchner landscape 000
The sinkhole 000
Randy Tufts squeezes through the blowhole 000
Soda straws, stalactites, and stalagmites 000
Layout of Kartchner Caverns 000
Stalactites in the mud flats area 000
Randy Tufts after UA student body election 000
Helictite growing parallel to the ceiling 000
Trash and graffiti at Peppersauce Cave 000
Randy Tufts in the Big Room 000
Cave bacon 000
A formation resembling a fried egg 000
Randy Tufts in the Big Room 000
Soda straws, stalactites, and stalagmites in the Strawberry Room 000
Randy Tufts in the Shelf Passage 000
Rimstone dams with spar crystals 000
Myotis velifer cave bat 000
Rocks with calcite coating 000
Pen and nitrocalcite formation 000
Transient pooling water in the Strawberry Room 000
Gary Tenen at the Throne Room overlook 000
Kubla Khan formation 000
21.2-foot soda straw stalactite 000
Turnip formation 000
Soda straws in the Mushroom Passage 000
Stalactites 000
Randy Tufts in Angel's Wing area 000
James A. and Lois Kartchner 000
James A. Kartchner crawls through the blowhole 000
Mud flats area 000
The Kartchner family during their first trip to the cave 000
James A. Kartchner and son Fred 000
The Kartchner family on caving trip with Tufts and Tenen 000
Randy Tufts's "Bob Clark" business card 000
Randy Tufts surrounded by butcher paper 000
Secrecy agreement 000
Gary Tenen in deep water in the Rotunda Room 000
Dean Kartchner and his children after cave visit 000
Randy Tufts at Cul de Sac Passage 000
Charles Eatherly, Arizona State Parks 000
Strawberry Room with "Strawberry Sundae" 000
Cave bacon in Throne Room overlook 000
Formations near end of Big Room 000
Bill Roe, Arizona Nature Conservancy Board 000
Soda straws and helictites in Throne Room overlook 000
Caver Steve Holland 000
Arizona State Parks Executive Director Ken Travous with Tenen and Tufts 000
Angel's Wing shield 000
Shields and soda straws in Mushroom Passage 000
State Representative Larry Hawke and Arizona Nature Conservancy Executive
Director Dan Campbell 000
Columns and soda straws in Shelf Passage 000
Lois Kartchner, her son Max, and Arizona Governor Rose Mofford with cave
photo 000
Setting lead wire for the infrared camera 000
Bob Buecher 000
Debbie Buecher 000
Jeff Dexter in the Strawberry Room 000
Pipe bringing air into tunnel 000
Mucker used to remove rock 000
Drilling holes for dynamiting 000
Workmen installing a stabilizing column 000
Randy Tufts at the cave worksite 000
Chuck Duncan with wheelbarrow 000
Kartchner Caverns State Park Discovery Center 000
Discovery Center exhibit 000
"Strawberry Sundae" formation 000
Throne Room overlook 000
Randy Tufts and Ericha Scott Tufts 000
Tufts and Tenen in front of mesquite trees at the cave site 000
Kartchner Caverns: How Two Cavers Discovered and Saved One of the Wonders of the Natural World
by Neil Miller
University of Arizona Press, 2008 Paper: 978-0-8165-2516-4
It was all routine even if hundreds of pounds of earth were pressing down on their heads, even though the ceiling might potentially collapse at any moment, even if they were surrounded by a sea of darkness and had no idea what lay in front of them.
Award-winning author Neil Miller soon tells us that what lay in front of amateur spelunkers Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen was anything but routine. These young men had crawled into a virgin cave, a landscape untouched and unseen for hundreds of thousands of years. In cave terminology, this underground oasis was “living”—water still seeped down the limestone walls, depositing minerals that slowly built up into stunningly beautiful formations.
In a time when countless caves had been destroyed by vandals and looters who had defaced the walls and had broken formations, this pristine discovery was every caver’s dream. While duplicating that moment might seem difficult, this fascinating account of the fight to preserve Kartchner Caverns lends us the same sense of awe and urgency. In an arresting tale spanning the twenty-five-year period in which Tufts and Tenen struggled to protect their find, Miller skillfully weaves together personal interviews, biographical information, political maneuvering, and geological facts. Presented in full color with dazzling photographs showcasing the natural wonder of the caverns, this is an invitation to take in the mysterious, stunning beauty of a cave as if discovering it for the first time.
The triumph of the conservationists and the opening of Kartchner Caverns as a state park are known to anyone who has visited the caves as a tourist. But this narrative offers a chance to go beyond the guidebooks with its revealing look at this unspoiled natural wonder and the science of cave conservation. With as much depth and colorful detail as the caverns themselves, this page-turning account will captivate anyone interested in caves and the preservation of natural wonders.
REVIEWS
Publication of this book is made possible in part by a generous contribution from the Friends of Kartchner Caverns.""One comes away from Miller's page-turner with a reverence, almost an unalloyed love for Tenen, Tufts, and the Kartchner family that owned the land under which the young spelunkers discovered the cave." —Tucson Weekly“This fascinating new book provides both exciting new details and breathtaking images in full color”— Tucson Citizen
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[FMT]Contents[\]
List of Illustrations 000
I The Road to Xanadu
1 The Discovery 000
2 Two Spelunkers 000
3 The Golden Age of Arizona Caving 000
4 Exploring Xanadu 000
5 Playing for Time 000
6 Encountering the Kartchners 000
II The Making of Kartchner Caverns
7 Lewis and Clark in Tucson 000
8 The Years in the Wilderness 000
9 The Stars Line Up 000
10 From Desert Outpost to State Park 000
11 Epilogue 000
Acknowledgments 000
Timeline 000
People Interviewed 000
Notes 000
Bibliography 000
Index 000
^m
[FMT]Illustrations[\]
The Kartchner landscape 000
The sinkhole 000
Randy Tufts squeezes through the blowhole 000
Soda straws, stalactites, and stalagmites 000
Layout of Kartchner Caverns 000
Stalactites in the mud flats area 000
Randy Tufts after UA student body election 000
Helictite growing parallel to the ceiling 000
Trash and graffiti at Peppersauce Cave 000
Randy Tufts in the Big Room 000
Cave bacon 000
A formation resembling a fried egg 000
Randy Tufts in the Big Room 000
Soda straws, stalactites, and stalagmites in the Strawberry Room 000
Randy Tufts in the Shelf Passage 000
Rimstone dams with spar crystals 000
Myotis velifer cave bat 000
Rocks with calcite coating 000
Pen and nitrocalcite formation 000
Transient pooling water in the Strawberry Room 000
Gary Tenen at the Throne Room overlook 000
Kubla Khan formation 000
21.2-foot soda straw stalactite 000
Turnip formation 000
Soda straws in the Mushroom Passage 000
Stalactites 000
Randy Tufts in Angel's Wing area 000
James A. and Lois Kartchner 000
James A. Kartchner crawls through the blowhole 000
Mud flats area 000
The Kartchner family during their first trip to the cave 000
James A. Kartchner and son Fred 000
The Kartchner family on caving trip with Tufts and Tenen 000
Randy Tufts's "Bob Clark" business card 000
Randy Tufts surrounded by butcher paper 000
Secrecy agreement 000
Gary Tenen in deep water in the Rotunda Room 000
Dean Kartchner and his children after cave visit 000
Randy Tufts at Cul de Sac Passage 000
Charles Eatherly, Arizona State Parks 000
Strawberry Room with "Strawberry Sundae" 000
Cave bacon in Throne Room overlook 000
Formations near end of Big Room 000
Bill Roe, Arizona Nature Conservancy Board 000
Soda straws and helictites in Throne Room overlook 000
Caver Steve Holland 000
Arizona State Parks Executive Director Ken Travous with Tenen and Tufts 000
Angel's Wing shield 000
Shields and soda straws in Mushroom Passage 000
State Representative Larry Hawke and Arizona Nature Conservancy Executive
Director Dan Campbell 000
Columns and soda straws in Shelf Passage 000
Lois Kartchner, her son Max, and Arizona Governor Rose Mofford with cave
photo 000
Setting lead wire for the infrared camera 000
Bob Buecher 000
Debbie Buecher 000
Jeff Dexter in the Strawberry Room 000
Pipe bringing air into tunnel 000
Mucker used to remove rock 000
Drilling holes for dynamiting 000
Workmen installing a stabilizing column 000
Randy Tufts at the cave worksite 000
Chuck Duncan with wheelbarrow 000
Kartchner Caverns State Park Discovery Center 000
Discovery Center exhibit 000
"Strawberry Sundae" formation 000
Throne Room overlook 000
Randy Tufts and Ericha Scott Tufts 000
Tufts and Tenen in front of mesquite trees at the cave site 000