Agencies
Services
Nature Preserve Area
7
County
Monroe
Location And Access
From Waterloo take Highway 3 south 2.5 miles to a county road (Kaskaskia Rd.). Turn southwest on this road and go 6.25 miles to another county road. Turn east on this road and go 1 mile to another county road. Turn south on this road and go 0.5 mile. The preserve is on the east side of the road. Special Note: In order to protect the fragile resources of this cave, access to the preserve is by permission only.
Description
This is one of the largest and least disturbed cave systems in Illinois. Several miles of underground streams drain approximately 10,000 acres of sinkhole plain in southern Monroe County, an area that is geologically similar to the Ozark region of Missouri. The cave supports a large and diverse animal population, including several bat species, and an outstanding invertebrate cave fauna. The Indiana bat, a federally endangered species, is known to inhabit the cave. A newly discovered species of beetle is known only from this site.
Ownership
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Dedicated
August 1989
Size
27.3 acres
Topographic Quad
Ames
Topo Map
For Further Information
Illinois Department of Natural Resources - World Shooting Complex, Natural Heritage Biologist, One Main Event Drive, Suite 140, Sparta, IL 62286 (618/295-2877)