The Lost Sea- Sweetwater, Tennessee

Posted by Nathan

The last stop on our way back north was the Lost Sea Caverns located in Sweetwater Tennessee. Billed as the cave with the largest undergound lake in America (A Guiness Book record holder) the brochure described how tour groups take glass bottom boats on the lake and the huge rainbow trout that live there.

The cave is located seven miles from Interstate 75. We parked and made our way to the main office. A small gift shop has the expected trinkets and souveniers. We purchased our tickets ($12 each) and explored the gift shop until our tour began.

A small display showcased a model skull of a Pleistocene jaguar. 20,000 years ago, the animal lost its way and died within the cave. The real skull is located in the American Musuem of Natural History in New York.

Another display that caught our eye was a mounted rainbow trout that had been caught in the lake. Two things about this fish surprised me. The first was that the fish still had most of it's coloring. The second was that it weighed more than sixteen pounds!

When people settled in the area, the cave was used to refrigerate food as it maintains a constant 58 degrees year-round. In the time leading up to the Civil War, the cave served as a saltpeter mine.

Throughout the early history, there were consistent rumors of a large underground lake somewhere deep within the cave, but it was not actually discovered until 1905. Thirteen year old Ben Sands found a tiny hole 300 feet underground. He found himself in a large room half filled with water. His torch light didn't touch the walls. He threw dirt clods in all directions and was rewarded with nothing but the splashes of water.

When our tour began, we were ushered down a long yellow tunnel to the cave below. We were told the history of the cave as we descended. The cave is fairly dark and extraneous lights were kept to a minimum. One thing I found neat were ferns growing around all the lights. Our guide told us seeds were carried in on our clothes and plant life took advantage of any available light.

Cave flower formations is another claim to fame. Continuously dripping water helped form the delicate shapes at a rate of a quarter of a centimeter every thousand years. Lost Sea boasts more than half the world's formations.

We walked downward and passed a hole in the ground called "The Devil's Hole." More for the tourists, our guide said that a lady once looked in the hole and screamed. She swore she saw The Devil looking back up at her.

Continuing downward, we heard running water. A small waterfall poured from the ceiling and formed a series of small pools. Looking closer, I saw tiny minnows.

We walked through a blasted open doorway. Our guide had us look upward and pointed out a tiny opening. This was the hole Ben Sands crawled through. Instead of forcing future guests to follow suit, the passageway was blasted open and a walkway was built.

We crossed a wooden bridge and stepped out into a huge cavern with the lake stretching before us. Blackness swallowed the walls, save only for a few lights shining up from underwater.

We were greeted by a pair of men who led us down to a primitive dock. We boarded two homemade pontoons with plexiglass floors. Near silent trolling motors hummed to life as we pulled away from shore.

Our guides told us that of the area the lake covered, even larger caverns existed below that were also filled with water. Exploration by divers had mapped some caverns, but equipment, money, and time had limited the amount of work done.

As we approached the back of the room, I spotted objects in the water. Turning to Nathan, I asked him what it was. As soon as the words left my mouth I realized what I was seeing were the fish!

Our guides had brought some food for the fish. As the food hit the water, it disappeared into the fishs' mouth. Not only did it allow us to see the fish up close, it also provided food for the fish that would have been unavailable otherwise.

I was surprised to find out that the trout were not native to Lost Sea. Previous cave owners had stocked the cave with them to help draw tourists and the tradition lasted through the years. Every five to seven years, the fish are replaced. Trout need three things to spawn; plentiful food, deep water, and a strong current. With no current in the cave, spawning cannot take place.

We pulled back into the dock after our tour and clambored out. We were told we were nearly five hundred feet down and that we would be taking our time walking out.

As we approached the top, a curious rock caught my eye as it was in the middle of the trail. Our guide called it the Bear's Paw. He went on to say that if a person shook the bear's paw, they would have a week's good look. If one were to hug the Paw, a month's good luck was the reward. While Nathan declined, I gave the paw a big hug! (As it were, Nathan had a girl back into his car a week later. Coincidence?)

We exited the cave and explored the other attractions. We purchased the obligatory magnet and postcard.

Near the parking lot, several buildings housed a variety of merchandise and displays. One showcased tools of the trade at a blacksmith shop. Another sold more souveniers. A third was a snack bar with locally made icecream and other treats. A nature trail wrapped around the property.

The last building was a glass blower's shop. A framed article on the wall attested to the man's talent as it described how he made the Christmas ornaments for the White House during the Regan administration one year.

We made our way back to the car for the last leg of our trip home. Lost Sea was a great stopping point. We spent about three hours there and saw everything we wanted and felt we got our money's worth.