Luray Caverns, VA

The Caverns are situated in the Shenandoah Valley just to the east of the Allegheny Range of the Appalachian Mountains in Luray, Virginia and were discovered in 1878. The cavern is yellow, brown or red because of water, chemicals and minerals. The new stalactites growing from the old, and made of hard carbonates that had already once been used, are usually white as snow though often pink or amber-colored. Formations at Luray Caverns result from a solution of calcium carbonate giving up some of its carbon dioxide, thus allowing a precipitation of lime to form. This precipitation begins as a thin deposit ring of crystallized calcite, but continues to collect, creating stalactites and other types of drip stone and flowstone. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc). The caverns are perhaps best known for the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a lithophone made from solenoid fired strikers that tap stalactites of various sizes to produce tones similar to those of xylophones, tuning forks, or bells.

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Travel & Events

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• luray
• caverns
• virginia
• va
• cavern
• shenandoah
• valley
• appalachian
• mountains
• underground
• speleothems
• columns
• mud
• flows
• stalactites
• stalagmites
• flowstone
• mirrored
• pools
• great
• stalacpipe
• organ
• lithophone
• solenoid
• fired
• strikers
• various
• sizes
• xylophones
• cavernas
• cueva
• caverna
• estalactita
• estalagmita
• egg
• ghost

[AnimeObsess93]

i love going too the luray caverns, im going there this friday :)

[MrJacMac1986]

Aug 23 2011:Did the earthquake today shake anything really bad in the caverns?I heard the epicenter wasnt to far from Luray.

[ninjabunnies4eva]

of 2010 is real... im going there O_o

[letsgohardcorewithit]

that water was so pretty