Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Due to the expected impact of the winter storm, all Virginia State Park overnight facilities will be closed from Friday, Jan. 23 through Tuesday, Jan. 27. This decision is based on the forecast for unsafe conditions and potential power outages. For updates click here.
LOCALITY |
OWNER |
ACRES |
ACCESS |
NEWS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee | DCR | 171 | By Permission from DCR |
SITE DESCRIPTION:
A significant portion of Virginia's biological diversity is located underground in caves of western Virginia. Numerous invertebrate animals such as amphipods, isopods, beetles and pseudoscorpions have adapted to conditions of total darkness, limited sources of food and a low constant temperature. Mud banks, cobbles in cave streams, drip pools and cave walls provide habitat for these organisms. Caves of the Upper Tennessee River drainage in extreme southwestern Virginia are especially noteworthy for the diversity of their fauna. Many species found in these caves are known from only one or a few cave systems and nowhere else in the world. Unthanks Cave is an exemplary cave noted for the diversity of life that it supports. It is one of the most biologically significant caves in the southern Appalachians. The streams in Unthanks Cave provide subterranean drainage for a large karst area south of the Powell River. The cave was protected by the Virginia Office of the Nature Conservancy and was generously given to the Department of Conservation and Recreation in 2004.
VISITATION:
Unthanks Cave has been gated to protect the delicate natural communities and species which inhabit the cave passage. Access to the cave is limited to data collection
and monitoring purposes.
CONTACT:
