Mammoth Cave — the longest recorded cave in the world — is even longer than previously charted.
The Cave Research Foundation recently uncovered eight more miles at Mammoth Cave National Park, which is around 90 miles south of Louisville near Bowling Green.
The cave now contains 420 miles of known passages.
On Mammoth Cave’s page on the National Park Service website, there’s detailed explanation of how the cave gets mapped by volunteers on a yearly basis.
Part of the page reads: "The maps also help us in the management of caves and the park. The National Park Service is tasked with managing park resources so they will remain unimpaired now and for future generations. Mapping the cave systems allows the park to see what parts of a cave might be vulnerable to a highway chemical spill, or where park trail improvement plans should use additional caution because of the location of historic artifacts. Similarly, knowing where caves lie helps us to manage projects that take place outside of the cave, too. For example: If we know where a cave with hibernating bats is located, then we can be careful to avoid excess smoke from prescribed fires that would disturb the bats from the activity.”
Mammoth Cave National Park is currently open to visitors, and masks are required inside the caves and all park buildings. For more details for visiting, click here.
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