Visitors at Natural Bridge Caverns wade in aquifer

[Wayne Harrison]

<img src="http://images.news8austin.com/media/2007/7/29/images/01____cave.jpg" align="left">The Glen Rose Aquifer near New Braunfels rose to record levels filling parts of Natural Bridge Caverns with millions of gallons of water.

It's not unusual for water to drip off limestone formations in Natural Bridge Caverns, but for the first time in cave history, you have to wade in. It gives park visitors a rare look at the inside of a working aquifer.

"This is the very first time in the history of operation that our guests have the opportunity to put their feet into the Glen Rose Aquifer," Joye Wuest of Natural Bridge Caverns said.

Geologists said the high water levels won't damage cave formations and the foot traffic won't pollute the water supply. This is the highest water level recorded since the cave was discovered in 1960s.

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[Phil Winkler]

Wow, a bunch of us did some original exploration in the South Passage (35 ft lower then the main tour passage) back in 1972. That passage will never be on the tour and we went in after the last tour of the day.

It amazes me that the aquifer has risen this high, but considering all the flooding they had lately i guess records are being broken everywhere.

I think the original discoverer was a caver named Orion Knox.