The Book of the National ParksYard, Robert Sterling
History
The Book of the National Parks
Yard, Robert Sterling
National parks and reserves -- United States
Forty miles as the crow flies east of Monterey, California, in a spur
of the low Coast Range, is a region which erosion has carved into many
fantastic shapes. Because of its crowded pointed rocks, it has been set
apart under the title of the Pinnacles National Monument. For more than
a century and a quarter it was known as Vancouver's Pinnacles because
the great explorer visited it while his ships lay at anchor in Monterey
Bay, and afterward described it in his "Voyages and Discoveries." It is
unfortunate that the historical allusion was lost when it became a
national reservation.
Two deep gorges, bordered by fantastic walls six hundred to a thousand
feet high, and a broad semi-circular, flower-grown amphitheatre,
constitute the central feature. Deep and narrow tributary gorges furnish
many of the curious and intricate forms which for many years have made
the spot popular among sightseers. Rock masses have fallen upon the side
walls of several of these lesser gorges, converting them into
picturesque winding tunnels and changing deep alcoves into caves which
require candles to see.
It is a region of very unusual interest and charm.
SHOSHONE CAVERN NATIONAL MONUMENT
On the way to the Yellowstone National Park by way of the Wyoming
entrance at Cody, and three miles east of the great Shoshone Dam, a
limestone cave has been set apart under the title of the Shoshone Cavern
National Monument. The way in is rough and precipitous and, after
entering the cave, a descent by rope is necessary to reach the chambers
of unusual beauty. One may then journey for more than a mile through
galleries some of which are heavily incrusted with crystals.
LEWIS AND CLARK CAVERN NATIONAL MONUMENT
Approaching the crest of the Rockies on the Northern Pacific Railroad,
the Lewis and Clark Cavern is passed fifty miles before reaching Butte.
Its entrance is perched thirteen hundred feet above the broad valley of
the Jefferson River, which the celebrated explorers followed on their
westward journey; it overlooks fifty miles of their course.
The cavern, which has the usual characteristics of a limestone cave,
slopes sharply back from its main entrance, following the dip of the
strata. Some of its vaults are decorated in great splendor. The
depredations of vandals were so damaging that in 1916 its entrance was
closed by an iron gate.
This cavern is the only memorial of the Lewis and Clark expedition in
the national parks system; there is no record that the explorers entered
it or knew of its existence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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