Mammoth Cave Curiosities (eBook)

A Guide to Rockphobia, Dating, Saber-toothed Cats, and Other Subterranean Marvels

Colleen O'Connor Olson (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017
264 Seiten
The University Press of Kentucky (Verlag)
978-0-8131-6926-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Sir Elton John, blind fish, the original Twinkie, President Ronald Reagan's Secret Service detail, and mummies don't usually come up in the same conversationunless you're at Mammoth Cave National Park! Home to the earth's longest known cave system, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the oldest tourist attractions in North America. Although this remarkable place has been immortalized in works ranging from Herman Melville's Moby Dick to H. P. Lovecraft's "e;The Beast in the Cave,"e; the realities of life at Mammoth Cave can be stranger than fiction.In this charming book, Colleen O'Connor Olson takes readers on a tour through a labyrinth of topics. She discusses scientific subjects such as the fossils of prehistoric animals and the secret lives of subterranean critters, and she provides essential information on dating in the cave (the age of rocks and artifacts, not courtship). Olson also explores Mammoth Cave's rich history, covering its use as the world's first tuberculosis sanatorium as well as its operation as a saltpeter mine during the War of 1812, and shares the inspirational story of the park's first female ranger.Throughout, Olson offers up humorous accounts of celebrity visits and astounding adventures and even includes a chapter dedicated to jokes told in the cave over the years. Whether you're visiting the national park, thinking about visiting, or just curious about a place recognized as one of the world's greatest natural wonders, don't miss this delightful guide to the wild and wonderful subterranean world of Mammoth Cave.

Autor

Colleen O'Connor Olson has been guiding tours at Mammoth Cave National Park for over twenty years. She is the author of Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave, Nine Miles to Mammoth Cave: The Story of the Mammoth Cave Railroad, Mammoth Cave by Lantern Light, and Prehistoric Cavers of Mammoth Cave.

Inhalt

Introduction
1. The Mammoth Cave Dating Guide (Not How to Get a Date with a Mammoth Cave Guide)
2. Rockphobia: Rockfall, Earthquakes, and Caves
3. Bones: What's Left of Exciting but Dead Animals in Mammoth Cave
4. Secret Lives of Cave Critters Revealed!
5. The Gypsum-Twinkie Connection: And Other Uses of Cave Minerals
6. Prairie Park Companion: Mammoth Cave National Park's Prairie Restoration
7. Prehistoric Cavers
8. Saltpeter: An Explosive Subject
9. The Cave Cure: Old and New Ideas on the Healing Power of Caves
10. Exploring the World's Longest Cave
11. The Cave Wars
12. Want a 2:00 A.M. Cave Tour? Come to Great Onyx!
13. Cave Guide Coy Hanson: Electric Lights, the Mammoth Cave Railroad, and Other Stuff
14. Lost John: The Discovery of a Mummy
15. CCC Boy Fred K. Hanie Jr.
16. Ronald Reagan's Visit to Mammoth Cave
17. Rachel Wilson, a Woman in the Underground World of Men
18. Nuclear-Fallout Shelters in Mammoth Cave
19. The Literary Mammoth
20. Celebrities Underground
21. Colossal Cave Adventure: Cave Meets Computer
22. Cave Jokes: The Lowest Form of Humor
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 24.2.2017
• Zusatzinfo: 49 b&w halftones
• Verlagsort: Lexington
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 140 x 140 mm
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Comic / Humor / Manga ► Humor / Satire
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Natur / Ökologie
• Themenwelt: Reisen ► Reiseführer
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Schlagworte: Bats • cave history • caves • cave science • Cedar Sink • central kentucky • Folklore • fossils • Gothic Avenue • Green River • Green River valley • Hiking • Kentucky • kentucky history • Mammoth Cave National Park • Nolin Rivers • park ranger tours • Sinkholes • spelunking • stories about celebrity visits • Storytelling • tourist attractions • Trails • UNESCO World Heritage Site • western kentucky • wildlife • world's longest known cave system
• ISBN-10: 0-8131-6926-7 / 0813169267
• ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-6926-2 / 9780813169262