Snail Shell Cave is a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

Rockvale, Tennessee Rockvale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The 2020 population of the CDP was 1,279. Geography The latitude of Rockvale is 35.757N. The longitude is -86.531W. Snail Shell Cave in Rockval ...

. Snail Shell Cave lies on an preserve near

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropo ...

. Snail Shell cave is owned by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, which has called it "one of the most biologically significant cave sites in the southeastern

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 ...

."SCCi Acquires Snail Shell Cave: 88-Acre Preserve Established near Murfreesboro, Tennessee
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Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc. The Southeastern Cave Conservancy (SCCi) is a United States not-for-profit corporation dedicated to cave conservation, caver education, and cave management. It was formed in 1991 by a group of southeastern United States cavers. The SCCi is an ...

website (accessed March 23, 2008) The cave has more than of surveyed passages, making it the longest continuous cave in the Tennessee Central Basin region. It is part of a system of caves known to have more than of passages. The mouth of Snail Shell Cave is a sinkhole, with nearly vertical walls, 125 feet in diameter and 60 feet deep. The cave stream flows across the bottom and may be followed upstream or downstream. The entrance to Snail Shell Cave was known to local residents, but deep water prevented serious exploration. Tom Barr and Bert Denton located the entrance in September 1951 and became the first modern cave explorers in the cave. "The Snail Shell System of Tennessee" by Jeff Sims and Charles Cark, NSS News, August, 1982, pages 206-215. Anyone wishing to visit Snail Shell Cave must have permission from the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc. to enter the cave. At least one member of any group entering the cave is required to be either an SCCi or an NSS (National Speleological Society) member. Due to the deep water and flooding conditions encountered in this cave, this cave must be considered extremely dangerous and should not, under any circumstances, be entered by anyone who is not a highly skilled cave explorer. Several people have already died in this cave. For the most complete information available on Snail Shell Cave and the other caves that compose the Snail Shell Cave System, you may wish to consult the book "Snail Shell Cave" (August, 2012) by Larry E. Matthews and Bob Biddix. Published by the National Speleological Society, this book is 241 pages long and contains numerous maps and photographs of the caves. ("Snail Shell Cave", )

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Snail Shell Cave Management Plan
Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc., Approved 26 January 2002, Revised November 10, 2007 {{coord, 35, 46, 57, N, 86, 32, 10, W, display=title Caves of Tennessee Protected areas of Rutherford County, Tennessee Nature reserves in Tennessee Landforms of Rutherford County, Tennessee

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