Skeleton Cave is a

lava tube A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ...

within

Deschutes County Deschutes County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 198,253. The county seat is Bend. The county was created in 1916 out of part of Crook County and was named for the Deschutes ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The cave is within

Deschutes National Forest The Deschutes National Forest is a United States National Forest located in parts of Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties in central Oregon. It comprises along the east side of the Cascade Range. In 1908, the Deschutes National ...

and is located on the northern flank of

Newberry Volcano Newberry Volcano is a large active shield-shaped stratovolcano located about south of Bend, Oregon, United States, east of the major crest of the Cascade Range, within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Its highest point is Paulina Pea ...

near the city of Bend. The cave is between 75,000 and 400,000 years old.

Origin of the name

The cave was first documented by American settlers circa 1924, although a stick was found inside the cave with pencilled markings showing visitation from 1894. Perhaps on that same visit, an

illegal Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the cr ...

moonshiner's still was found inside the cave. At one time the lava tube may have been referred to as Bone Cave but it received its current moniker as Skeleton Cave from Phil Brogan who observed many assorted pieces of skeletons within. One theory put forth by Dr. James W. Gidley, a scientist from the National Museum, claimed all the fossils fell into the cave from cracks in the ceiling created by earthquakes. Gidley believed this because he couldn't fathom why an animal would crawl all the way into the cave to die. The skylight entrance to the cave served as a natural trap in which animals could not escape. Several newspaper accounts note fossils within. The most noteworthy remnants belonged to a horse from the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

that was later identified as '' Equus niobrarensis''. A bear at least "one third larger than any living species" was also found in the cave. Many other pieces of bone were found inside the cave. A list of the known skeletal remains include: * North American short-faced bear (''

Arctodus ''Arctodus'' is an extinct genus of short-faced bear that inhabited North America during the Pleistocene (~2.5 Mya until 12,000 years ago). There are two recognized species: the lesser short-faced bear (''Arctodus pristinus'') and the giant short- ...

'') *

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

Elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The com ...

Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in ...

Gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...

(Newton's and Townsend's) *

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

Rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

s *

Dire Wolf The dire wolf (''Aenocyon dirus'' ) is an extinct canine. It is one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America, along with its extinct competitor '' Smilodon''. The dire wolf lived in the Americas and eastern Asia during the ...

(nearly as large as ''Canis occidentalis'') * A large hyena-like

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relativ ...

Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

-sized carnivore

History

The cave was surveyed by Walter J. Perry and Phil Brogan using a compass and pace method. They measured a length of 3,036 feet. Perry then later sketched the outline of the cave passage. He noted a side passage at about 1,734 feet into the cave, which was later named the Bear Passage. This same passage is where the majority of the skeletons and bone dust were found. Perry would later be filmed in the cave by MGM and FOX News for a history film about the area. In a book published by

Ronald Greeley Ronald Greeley (August 25, 1939 – October 27, 2011) was a Regents’ Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) at Arizona State University (ASU), the Director of the NASA-ASU Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF), an ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

, the cave was surveyed and his map produced a length of 3,300 feet. But it did not include the small portion south of the entrance. In 1971, a complete survey by Jim Nieland discerned a more accurate length of 3,560 feet.

Boyd Cave Boyd Cave is a lava tube within Deschutes County, Oregon, of the United States. The cave is within Deschutes National Forest and is located on the northern flank of Newberry Volcano near the city of Bend. Geology Boyd Cave is between 75,000 a ...

is a part of the same lava flow as Skeleton Cave and trends toward the Bear Passage, also known as the Tributary Tube. In recent times, the cave, along with others nearby, was evaluated and an

environmental impact assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

done. Skeleton Cave in particular had its parking lot relocated to minimize impact to the vegetation and cave resources. A seasonal closure was placed from October 15 to May 1 of every year for bat hibernation. The cave was historically known to be a bat cave (harboring bats) and was possibly mapped by the Bend Commercial club. Today, Wanderlust Tours is the only company permitted to lead tours through Boyd Cave.

References

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External links

Oregon High Desert Grotto's cave information
( Caving club affiliated with the

National Speleological Society The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally headquartered in Washington D.C., its current offices are in H ...

)
Vandalism Leads To Staircase Removal at Skeleton Cave
Lava tubes Landforms of Deschutes County, Oregon Caves of Oregon