Local Spotlight

Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Lost River Cave is a seven-mile cave system. The Lost River flows into the cave after starting outside of it. One of the largest natural entrances in the Eastern United States may be found in this cave. Boat trips are provided all year, except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day, when they are closed. Because the blue hole is almost 437 feet deep and the river is barely 400 feet long, the river was formerly named by Ripley’s Believe it or Not as the “Shortest, Deepest River in the World.” The blue hole is actually just 16 feet deep, but it is connected to another underground river. Western Kentucky University and the non-profit own the 72-acre cave site together.

The Ste. Genevieve Limestone and St. Louis Limestone, both of which were put down in the middle to late Mississippian Period, are overlain by Chert (known as the Lost River Chert). Before pouring into the cave’s entrance, the river shows above ground in three short intervals. The blue hole, which is the reason for the Lost River’s designation as the “Shortest, Deepest River in the World” by Ripley’s Believe it or Not, is the most intriguing portion. The blue hole was 437 feet deep, according to plum bobs, but the river is barely 400 feet long. The blue hole, on the other hand, is connected to another subterranean river. Plumb bobs were swept as a result of this.