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Cave in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA
Photo: Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Jewel Cave National Monument is in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The cave is the third longest known cave in the world, with over 208 mi of mapped and surveyed passages as of 2020, and more being added each year. The cave was named after the large amounts of calcite (calcium carbonate) crystals found in the cave.
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The cave's most popular tour. See a variety of speleothems (cave formations). Moderately strenuous, lasts 1 hour 20 minutes.
A quick introduction to Jewel Cave's natural and cultural histories, at the large "Target Room." Easy (but with stairs), lasts 20 minutes.
Carry an old-style lantern 0.25 mi down the original cave entrance, through narrow passageways and steep wooden steps. This tour is unpaved and requires some stooping, and lasts about 1 hour 45 minutes.
Put on a hard hat and squeeze through the cave in its natural state. You scramble over cave "breakdown," chimney between cave walls, use a rope assist to climb a nearly vertical wall, and belly-crawl through tight passages; you must pass through an 8-1/2 inch by 24-inch crawl space before the tour. Along the way you learn about low-impact caving, caving techniques and safety. The tour lasts 3 to 4 hours.
0.25 mi loop.
3.5 mi loop.
By plane
The nearest airport is in Rapid City, 54 mi from the visitor center. Car rental services are available.
The above-ground portion of the monument is only about . Walking paths and trails are found on the surface.
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Rapid City · Regional · RAP
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