Located in northeastern California, Lava Beds National Monument is a hot spot of geologic oddities and bizarre natural attractions. There's definitely a lot to see at this unique park, but caving is by far one of the most popular activities. Boasting 25 marked entrances into various lava tubes, the park has developed an extensive network of trails available for public access and exploration. One of the longest cave systems in the park is the Catacombs, and entering it will show you a whole other world that's beneath the earth's surface.
The numerous lava tube caves at Lava Beds National Monument were formed up to 65,000 years ago by flows of smooth lava. Today, the 20+ caves make for an excellent place to spend the day exploring underground, especially the Catacombs cave.
There are caves of all kinds at Lava Beds, including easily traversed caves with high ceilings and smooth floors. Catacombs is not one of them. In fact, Catacombs is considered one of the most challenging caves to explore at the park, but it's worth it!
At 6,903-feet long, the Catacombs are the longest cave system at the park. You can enter the cave easily enough, but exploring the cave gets trickier the farther along you go. Prepare for some tight squeezes if you plan to explore the entire cave.
Upon entering the cave, you'll feel as if you've fallen into a whole other world. The cave has an ecosystem of its own and is home to a myriad of cave creatures including bats, cave crickets, rubber boa, and millipede. Do your best to keep the cave's ecosystem intact and treat these critters and their home with respect.
After descending the stairs at the entrance of the cave, explorers are able to walk upright for the first 800-feet or so. After this, the ceiling will rarely exceed 3-feet of clearance. Be sure to pick up a map at the park's visitor center since there are several rooms in the cave system.
One of the most unique sections of the cave is called the Elephant Room. It's one of the largest rooms in the cave and it earned its name from its one-of-a-kind structure. Soon after the Elephant Room is when things get pretty tight and army-crawling is required to reach the end.
Those who make it to the end of this challenging cave system will get the opportunity to sign their name in a book to mark their accomplishment. If you have what it takes to fit in tight spaces, then be sure to check out the Catacombs cave system. An entire world waits for you beneath the surface.
Have you explored this massive cave system in Lava Beds National Monument? It's definitely not for somebody who's afraid of tight spaces, that's for sure! Check out more caving opportunities with this list of 7 Amazing Caves In Northern California.
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