Cavechat.org

http://pottsbrothers.com/index.php?ap=1&pid=48342 Property 106 is Mystery Falls. As of today (Mon.11th) the offer is $200,000.00

Egad!!! I just saw this, I had no idea. Looking at the list of bidders, there were a couple of cavers putting in bids (Wm. Shrewsbury, P. Springer (Patty?)), but that was when it was quite a bit cheaper. Whoever Jim Chapin is, he appears to be very serious about winning, as he jumped the bid from 10K to 200K. I wonder if he will continue to allow access, or maybe he is planning to develop it. I've often wondered why the Ruby Falls people never did that, because to me Mystery is a much nicer and more spectacular cave. I sure hope this is not the end of our access to this fine pit!

Trogman

The Chapins are the current owners. They are the family that owns Rock City. The father, E.Y. Chapin, died a little over a year ago and his Trust is auctioning it. The family may very well intend to buy it back. Everyone in the caving community that needs to know is well aware, as long with several other land conservancies in the area. We'll see come Thursday evening.

"Everyone in the caving community that needs to know is well aware"

Could I possibly get a list of the "caving community" so I can cross reference?

Has this cave been linked to Ruby Falls? I realize it's a short cave, but was the water source for the falls connected?

that information is on a need-to-know basis.

Kevin

Well, you peaked my interest, unless you are joking. Being only 1,367 feet horizontal, I assume every passage has been fully explored. My map doesn't show unsurveyed leads in Mystery except part of the stream and I assume that's because it's a sump? The water was declared unsafe to drink in 1911 (high mineral content) and the water ceased to be an area (St. Elmo) water source at that time. The resurgence used to be Anderson springs which since 1913 has been under the TN river. One death has occurred in Mystery in August of 1959 when someone was being lowered into the pit and the rope broke. After a quick Google search, Ruby Falls resurgence has been die traced to the TN river. What secret am I missing Kevin?

Ruby Falls and Mystery Falls streams most likely come together downstream. Both systems gravitate toward the low point in the synclinal trough. Old trip reports combined with dye trace data would indicate that Lookout mountain cave, Ruby Falls, and Mystery Falls were all one large system. This cave emptied into the Tennessee river via Anderson Spring.

Is Bynums Cave thought to be a part of this system as well? There are a number of domes in there with water coming from above.

The Ruby/Lookout /Mystery cave is a perched complex seeking the center of the syncline. Bynum cave is at and below water table taking advantage of a drag fold in the Cranmore Cove fault at the base of Lookout on the east side. They are essentially two parallel systems discharging into the river. Anderson spring was visible at waters edge before Nickajack impoundment. Bynum's water is discharged as a non visible spring in the floor of the river.

l lambert wrote:The Ruby/Lookout /Mystery cave is a perched complex seeking the center of the syncline. Bynum cave is at and below water table taking advantage of a drag fold in the Cranmore Cove fault at the base of Lookout on the east side. They are essentially two parallel systems discharging into the river. Anderson spring was visible at waters edge before Nickajack impoundment. Bynum's water is discharged as a non visible spring in the floor of the river.

Your post raised a question in my mind- what is a "drag fold?" There is a cave in GA by that name, and I was always curious why it was named that. I am guessing it is some sort of geological feature?

Trogman

BrianFrank wrote:Kevin
What secret am I missing Kevin?

lol I was playing off off something Patrick Wilson said above

trogman wrote:

Your post raised a question in my mind- what is a "drag fold?" There is a cave in GA by that name, and I was always curious why it was named that. I am guessing it is some sort of geological feature?

Trogman

If I remember correctly, a drag fold is where the rock bends, or folds, as it is being dragged along a fault. That's probably an oversimplified explanation.
Not sure how it applies to Drag Fold Cave, but it probably has something to do with a fault in the area.

l lambert wrote:"Everyone in the caving community that needs to know is well aware"

Could I possibly get a list of the "caving community" so I can cross reference?

Hah! What I meant was, those who might want to acquire for a certain conservancy-type-organization that shall go unnamed because I don't speak on their behalf.

Btw, it sold @ $225k.

Hmmm....SCCI


Graveleye nailed it. Drag fold is fold occurring from interaction between two sides of a fault moving past each other.