# Caves & 145' tall waterfall, Ruby Falls



## mitsugirly (Jul 10, 2009)

These are a few shots of Ruby Falls Caverns.

The waterfall is 145' tall and located 1120 feet beneath the surface of Lookout Mountain and is one of the deepest underground waterfalls accessible to the public in the world.

Science Trivia

    * Ruby Falls is 837 feet above sea level.
    * The best estimate to the actual age of Ruby Falls is 30 million years.
* The rate at which formations grow varies from cave to cave and can actually vary from place to place in the same cave. The rate is affected by the amount of ground water moving through the rocks, air circulation in the cave, temperature of the cave, and relative humidity. The average is one cubic inch every one hundred to one hundred fifty years.
 * When you are at the waterfall, you are actually about 10 feet higher than you were when you started the tour. As you walk towards the waterfall, the mountain gets taller above you which is why you end up 1,120 feet underground.
    * The temperature at Ruby Falls reflects the average temperature of Chattanooga (59.4).
    * The waterfall keeps the relative humidity of the cave at around 100%.
    * Due to its size and location, the Leaning Tower is thought to be between 3 and 5 million years old.
    * People who explore caves are called spelunkers. People who study caves are called speleologists.
* Lookout Mountain has a sandstone cap that runs from Point Park along the top of the mountain. Several hundred feet below that is a layer of shale nearly 400 feet thick. The rest of the mountain is solid limestone.
    * The water from Ruby Falls flows through the cave into the Tennessee River.


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## enufced904 (Jul 10, 2009)

This is a great set.  I need to go there sometime as it's only about 2 hours away from me (Nashville area).  I didn't know how beautiful it was.


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## mitsugirly (Jul 10, 2009)

enufced904 said:


> This is a great set.  I need to go there sometime as it's only about 2 hours away from me (Nashville area).  I didn't know how beautiful it was.



Only 2 hours away and you've never been¿  Shame on you. :gah:


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