Stunning, Enormous Cave Near Lake Of The Ozarks Is Donated; Here's A Peek Inside [PHOTOS]

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — A cave with 20 miles of passageways and breathtaking formations, just south of the Lake of the Ozarks, has been donated to a non-profit devoted to conserving local caves and the watershed connected to them.

Carroll Cave, located near Montreal, Mo., is the third-longest cave in Missouri. The cave is managed by the Carroll Cave Conservancy (CCC), a regional non-profit with a mission to preserve, protect and study the Carroll Cave watershed. The known biodiversity of the cave includes salamanders, numerous species of bats, the world’s largest known population of Southern blind cave fish and many other life forms.

This cave is special, says Rick Hines, who is the founder of the conservancy and currently serves as the president. Hines explains many of the stark, white flowstone formations seen throughout the cave are the result of calcium-carbonate coming from drops of water falling through the cave ceiling.

Carroll Cave - Azure Pool — photo courtesy Rick Hines

Only conservancy members are allowed in. But Hines emphasized that all who are interested in caving are welcome to join the CCC for a $15 membership fee; members are allowed to occasionally explore the Carroll Cave.

Photos Of The Stunning Carroll Cave: Third-Largest In Missouri

photos courtesy of Rick Hines, Carroll Cave Conservancy

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photo courtesy Rick Hines

photo courtesy Rick Hines

photo courtesy Rick Hines

photo courtesy Rick Hines

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View even more cave photos at carrollcave.org.

The CCC is governed by an elected Board of Directors and has a current (quite diverse) membership of 40 people known as "cavers." For the past 20 years, the CCC has leased property around a shaft entrance to Carroll Cave and has assisted owners of land above Carroll Cave in the conservation of the cave and their karst resources. Land owners are encouraged to learn how surface activity has an impact on the ecology of the cave.

Recently, a landowner donated the three acres of land at the shaft, plus the cave rights under all 479 acres of his land that overlies the cave. Since the CCC is a 501c(3) nonprofit, the donations gave the landowner a significant tax deduction. Funds were also donated by a CCC member to purchase an additional three acres.

Every year landowners are given the opportunity to explore the cave via access through the shaft entrance. This “back door” entrance was constructed by the CCC with the help of Dr. Paul Worsey of Missouri University for Science and Technology (Rolla), and Jim Stamper, a local well driller. After a nine-inch pilot hole was drilled into the cave, Dr. Worsey, a mining and explosives expert, assisted the CCC in carefully creating the three-foot-in-diameter vertical shaft 120 feet straight down into the cave.

Over a nine-month period, 63 blasts of dynamite and an explosive called “Senetal Powersplit” were used to reach the depth needed to access the cave. A structure was built over this shaft and a ladder was installed for easy ingress.

The CCC can also provide information to land owners who wish to donate cave rights to the CCC for a tax deduction. For more information and contact information, visit carrollcave.org.