by Larry E. Matthews » Oct 12, 2005 7:46 am
Having just spent quite a bit of time in Dunbar Cave the past year and a half while researching my book "Dunbar Cave: The Showplace of the South", I must say I see nothing remarkable about the geology of Dunbar Cave, To me, it just appears to be a typical, albeit longer than average, Highland Rim Cave.
The Entrance is the outlet for the underground cave stream which drains the overlying sinkhole plain. As is typical, this stream outlet is near local base level, the Red River.
Structure in the area in very minor. Dunbar Cave is an active stream cave, draining perhaps 10 square miles. Both local Clarksville cavers and Indiana cavers are still exploring the cave and perhaps as much as one-half mile of new cave has been discovered since by book was published in May, 2005.
The staff at Dunbar Cave was quite helpful to me when I did my study, which was mostly historical in nature. I'm sure if someone wanted to study the geology of the cave, they could get permission to do so.
Larry E. Matthews
Professional Geologist