Devilstep Hollow Cave is a natural

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

located within Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park. The cave, part of the Mill Cave System, drains

Grassy Cove Grassy Cove is an cove (Appalachian Mountains), enclosed valley in Cumberland County, Tennessee, Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. The valley is notable for its karst formations, which have been designated a National Natural Landmark. ...

, which is the largest sinkhole in North America. It contains numerous instances of

Mississippian Mississippian may refer to: * Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago * Mississippian cultures, a network of precontact cultures across the midwest and Easte ...

era Native American

cave art In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...

. The entrance is 125 feet by 150 feet. The cave stream forms the nearby Head of Sequatchie spring, the source of the Sequatchie River.

Artwork

The artwork within Devilstep Hollow Cave was created by the Mississippian culture, and contains 22 known images. These include woodpeckers, fish, and an image of the falcon man. The glyphs are thought to be around 1,100 years old.

References

{{coord missing, Tennessee Caves of Tennessee Caves containing pictograms Mississippian culture