Spook Cave is a flooded cave located about west of McGregor in rural

Clayton County, Iowa Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,043. Its county seat is Elkader. The county was established in 1837 and was named in honor of John M. Clayton, United States Senator fr ...

. It is privately owned and operated as a tourist attraction offering escorted boat rides into the cave. The cave was first discovered in 1953 and opened for business in 1955. The cave entrance is located on a property that also includes a campground and cabins. The cave is in the drainage of Bloody Run Creek, a small tributary of the

Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River. History In terms of geologic and hydrographic history, the Uppe ...

. A lock and dam maintain water levels sufficient for boat access; the cave's stream is allowed to drain to its natural, shin-high depth during the winter. Geologically, the cave is in the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. Never covered by ice during the last ...

of Iowa, a region characterized by

karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ...

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 ...

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

s, disappearing streams, and cold springs.

References

External links

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Spook Cave and Campground Official site
Caves of Iowa Landforms of Clayton County, Iowa Driftless Area Show caves in the United States Limestone caves Tourist attractions in Clayton County, Iowa {{ClaytonCountyIA-geo-stub