Well,
Thanks to the generous help of the NSS Cave Files here are the numbers they have
by State. The 2nd number after the / is the "cavechat" number we had. The Cave Files custodian cautioned that the NSS numbers are based on literature or documented references in the NSS archives and the cooperation of the
State Surveys some of which often do NOT freely share data with the NSS. Since the NSS only keeps location data
by county this seems somewhat absurd to me. Obvious differences between the NSS numbers and our informal survey are apparent. As are the similarities for some states. I would urge everyone who is knowledgeable about the cave data in their
state to consider contacting the NSS Cave Files custodian, Dick Blenz at
rblenz@indiana.edu with data on reported
caves in their
state....at least to the county level.
Sorry Wendy, guess NC only has 109
caves STATE # OF
CAVES ALASKA 510
ALABAMA 4306 / 4165
ARKANSAS 437
ARIZONA 575
CALIFORNIA 1807
COLORADO 583
CONNECTICUT 190
DELAWARE 3 / 1
FLORIDA 251 / 1300
GEORGIA 581 / 1600
HAWAI'I 1776
IDAHO 229
ILLINOIS 308
INDIANA 3423 / 3200
IOWA 498
KANSAS 412
KENTUCKY 1102 / 5200
LOUISIANA 7 / 1-10
MAINE 228
MARYLAND 179 / 150
MASSACHUSETTS 199
MICHIGAN 49
MINNESOTA 216
MISSISSIPPI 50 / 32
MISSOURI 2270 / 6210
MONTANA 349
NEBRASKA 5
NEVADA 185
NEW HAMPSHIRE 188
NEW JERSEY 87 / 100
NEW MEXICO 2156
NEW YORK 767
NORTH CAROLINA 109 / 1300
NORTH DAKOTA 4
OHIO 216
OKLAHOMA 508
OREGON 303
PENNSYLVANIA 1954 / 1500
RHODE ISLAND 4 / 1
SOUTH CAROLINA 173 / 500
SOUTH DAKOTA 138 / 325
TENNESSEE 9285 / 9000
TEXAS 5872
UTAH 357
VIRGINIA 4339 / 4378
VERMONT 227
WASHINGTON 473
WISCONSIN 367
WEST VIRGINIA 4740 / 4700
WYOMING 349 / 386
I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)