”Cave of Sant’ Angelo”, Ascoli Piceno
Caving in Abruzzo region, in central Italy, can be a very pleasant and joyful experience for the enthusiast of the underground landscape.
One reason to visit Ohio, besides the natural beauty and numerous activities, is the natural wonder that sits peacefully hundreds of years waiting for you to discover it, the Ohio Caverns. The first glimpse of these amazing caverns for the public was in 1897, when a local farm boy tried to find out where the water was going, because it was drained out of the field.
After digging several feet he found out an opening to a cave. That was the trigger for many more explorations and the magnificent Ohio Caverns captured the nickname as being the most beautiful and largest cave in the entire Ohio. The cavern is still an active system, which means that formations are still being formed by the continuous drip of water.
The exquisite formations of crystal – white stalactite and stalagmite are nowhere to be found in larger profusion of artistic settings. Be sure to bring your camera, as the formations are still in development phase and you would probably want to keep the memories of the unexcelled coloring and diversity of formations.
In the cave you will meet a short descent of some steps. The rest of the cave is rather flat, but when you reach the exit, you will have to climb 65 steps to go out. Along with the marvelous formations and colors, the largest stalactite in Ohio of 5 ft/1.5 m long, The Crystal King is included. Another attraction inside the cave is The Crystal Sea and Natural Bridge, which is an artificial water-retention pool that holds excess water out of the pathway.
Fantasy Land and The Old Town Pump took its name by the many formations in the room and holds more helictites and soda straws than any other area in the caverns. The Deepest Point is the designated deepest point of the cave, which is 103 ft/31 m underground.
The Palace of The Gods is the most photographed room in the caves, due to its variety of formations and colors and also Dual Formations, which are extremely rare. The Jewel Room is the room that once helped Ohio Caverns to earn the nickname America’s Most Colorful Caverns.
Last but not least The Historic Section, also known as The Old Cave and Ream’s Cave, functions since 1997 as an extension of the regular path, with gravel soil and bare light bulbs, similar to early years of Ohio Caverns tours.
There is a 25 mi/40.3 km of explored and ravaged section by the Reams’ early visitors that is not opened to public and many more miles of unexplored mystery waiting for you to unwrap them.