Today we are going to talk about the Mammoth Cave:

The Mammoth Cave is the largest known underground cave system in the World.

The first person to ever enter the cave probably visited more than 4,000 years ago, but it wasn’t until 2,000 years ago that Native Americans of the Early Woodland Period started using the cave for mining. These primitive miners searched the complex, dark systems for precious minerals. Traces of their past can be evaluated based on the objects they left behind: slippers, torches, mussel shells.

In the 18th century, European settlers discovered the cave. They found the cave was abundant with calcium nitrate, which could be used to make black gunpowder — a precious commodity during the War of 1812. The cave’s worth increased dramatically and the settlers enlisted slaves to extract the substance. After the war, in 1816, interest in the cave as spectacle peaked, and there have been tours ever since. Since then, the cave has been used as  a hospital, a choir space and a church, among other things. It was established as Mammoth Cave National Park in 1945.

Other key dates in Mammoth Cave’s history:

• July 1, 1941 – Mammoth Cave National Park is established.
• September 18, 1946 – With the end of World War II, Mammoth Cave undergoes its formal introduction as the 26th unit of the National Park Service.
• October 27, 1981 – Mammoth Cave National Park is designated as a World Heritage Site.
• September 26, 1990 – Mammoth Cave National Park is designated as an International Biosphere Reserve.