The Colossal Cave Mountain Park on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona is one of the largest dry caves in North America, which maintains a pleasant seventy degrees Fahrenheit temperature all year round. Located in the Rincon Mountains at an elevation of 3,700 feet, the entrance commands a panoramic view of the Sonoran Desert.

The cave is not fully explored, but scientists estimate that there are at least 39 miles of natural tunnels inside the cavern. Due to the enormously complex, three-dimensional maze, it took over two years to map the two miles of passageways that are fully explored.

Groundwater seeping through limestone formed the cave. Over millions of years, stalactites, stalagmites, columns and draperies formed slowly from water dripping from the ceiling. As the climate became more arid, the cave gradually dried up. Today, Colossal Cave is “dry” and the formations are no longer growing.

According to legend, the cavern served as a bandit hideout twice in 1887, after two train robberies. According to rumour, up to sixty thousand dollars were hidden away in the cave and later retrieved by one of the robbers.

The cave was officially discovered in 1879, but artifacts and soot-blackened ceilings testify to use by prehistoric cultures.

Water flow that over millions of years now resembles draperies or curtains!