Manitou Springs is a small town at the foot of Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Above the town is a narrow canyon called Williams Canyon. Deep inside its rock walls is one of the most famous caves in Colorado: the Cave of the Winds. The Apache and Ute people knew about this area long ago. The Apache told a story about a cave where the Great Spirit of the Wind lived.
In 1880, two young brothers, George and John Pickett, were on a hike in Williams Canyon. They came across a dark opening in the rock and went inside with candles. According to the story, the wind moved through the cave and made a strange, crying sound. Then it blew out their candles! The boys didn't know what was happening. They thought ghosts were chasing them, so they ran out of the cave as fast as they could. They were running for their lives!
Later that year, a stonecutter from Ohio named George Snider heard about the cave. He wanted to find out how far it went, so he started digging. He opened up several new passages. Finally, he found a huge room, almost 200 feet long. Thousands of stalactites hung from the ceiling, and stalagmites grew up from the floor. Today this room is called Canopy Hall.
Snider told people in town about his discovery. The next day, crowds rushed to the cave. Many visitors broke off stalactites and took them home as souvenirs. Sadly, those formations will take thousands of years to grow back. On February 15, 1881, the first guided tours began. The cave has been open to visitors ever since.
Do you know how the cave formed? About 500 million years ago, a warm, shallow sea covered Colorado. Shells and tiny sea animals piled up on the sea floor and slowly turned into limestone. About 70 million years ago, the Rocky Mountains rose up. Then, about 4 to 7 million years ago, rainwater mixed with carbon dioxide and became a weak acid. Little by little, the acid dissolved the limestone and made the passages and rooms of the cave.
After the rooms were empty, water dripped from the ceilings. Each drop left behind a tiny bit of mineral. Drop by drop, the cave decorated itself with stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone. Some formations can take hundreds of years to grow just one inch.
In 1907, the owners put in electric lights, so visitors didn't need candles anymore. Today, the cave stays about 54 °F (12 °C) all year, so bring a jacket, even in summer! On the Discovery Tour, you'll walk about half a mile and climb 196 stairs. If you want something scarier, you can take the Lantern Tour. It has no electric lights, only the lanterns in your hands.
In 1984, explorers found a new room called Silent Splendor. Its formations are so delicate that the room is closed with a gate to protect them. Bats and cave crickets still live in the dark parts of the cave. Outside, the park has adventures for brave visitors, too. On a ride called the Terror-Dactyl, you sit on the edge of a 200-foot cliff, and then it drops you about 140 feet down into Williams Canyon!
If you ever visit Manitou Springs, go inside and see the cave for yourself. With the sound of the wind in the dark passages, the cave almost seems alive. If the wind blew out your candle, what would you do?