Spring Valley Caverns

 

Bat River Cave

Bat River Cave, located in S.E. Minnesota, is home to the largest concentration of roosting bats (in any natural cave) in the upper midwest. This cave has been known to exist since pre settlement times. However, in 2007 John Preston dove through a water filled sump at the end of the cave, outfitted with SCUBA gear, and discovered a huge room with a tremendous waterfall crashing down into it. He reported that the cave continued ahead, and shortly thereafter John Ackerman and Phil Gemuenden followed Preston through the sump and explored over one mile of spacious decorated passages lined with bats. A safe man made entrance has now been created to further exploration and scientific studies.

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Read the HISTORY

   

Natureal Cave Entrance
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Clay Kraus at the natural spring entrance.
Tim Stenerson, John Preston and John Ackerman. Discovery Trip.
Discovery Trip
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Disvered New Section
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This is where we surfaced into the new cave.
Tami Thomsen, John Ackerman, Dave Wysocki, Dan Pertzborn preparing to enter the new section.
Tami and John dove through the sump with radio gear to pinpoint a suitable new man made entrance.
Passing through low airspace.
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Possible entrance site.
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Once through the sump Tami and John remove their diving gear and make their way through almost one mile of spacious newly discovered cave passages. Here Tami sends low frequency radio pulses to the surface, where they are successfully received by Clay Kraus and Charles Graling.

Clay places a stake at the precise location above the in-cave transmitter. This exact spot marks the future man made entrance.

New entry site.
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Drilling test hole.
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Ready to drill test hole to verify the accuracy of the cave radio readings.
Clay lowers a camera into the cave to verify the exact proposed entrance location.
Success! The main cave passage is clearly visible 65 feet below the surface.
Looking into cave.
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Drilling to install case.
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A specialty rig prepares to remove dirt and loose rock until solid bedrock is reached.
Steel casing was then installed on top of the bedrock.
Installing Casing
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Drilling Main Hole
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A customized drilling machine is positioned over the casing and bores the main 30” diameter shaft down to the cave ceiling, which is 57’ below the surface.
John returns from his first trip down the newly created entrance.
First person down.
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Instaling Ladders
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After the ladder sections were installed a secure steel lid was attached. Final grading and planting of native grasses have completed the project.

--- Underground ---

TNew entrance site.
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New entrance site.
Looking up from the cave.
65' Entry
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Notice Bats on wall.
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We are not the only visitors to the cave.
We found over one mile of breathtaking passages with a mixture of textures and colors.
 Textures and Colors
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Inside Cave
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Decorated passage on way to the waterfalls.
There are many unexplored side leads.
Inside Cave
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Inside Cave
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Some of the passages are 25' tall.
Jim Edberg and Clay Kraus amongst draperies and other unique formations.
Unique Formations
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Inside Cave
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This is an incredible cave system.
Jim Edberg and Clay Kraus travel through the main passage.
Unique Formations
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Rare Formations
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Ancient rare formations .
The water that flows through this cave system creates many natural pools, dams and waterfalls.
Rimstone Dam
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Flying Bat
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This cave system contains the largest hibernating bat colony in any natural cave in the Tri-State area. Over 4000 bats return to Bat River Cave each fall to seek shelter and safety.
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Water crashes down into a large room below.
Waterfall
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Prestons Room
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The water temperature is 48 degrees. Without special wetsuits to keep cavers warm they would soon succumb to hypothermia.


The normal water flow is typically low and calm, as shown on this photo displayed above.TNew entrance site. A steady rain had fallen during the day on August 18, 2007, which presented a perfect opportunity to witness the effects on the cave. Three cavers entered the cave with the intention of traveling only a short distance along the main route. During that time period a sudden intense cloud burst occurred and a violent water surge raged through the cave, almost carrying the cavers to their deaths.

 
3:43 p.m.
Jim enters the cave. Note that the water level has risen.
Rising Water
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Ceiling Shower
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4:03 p.m.
We encounter a fantastic waterfall where only a dry ceiling existed before.
4:17 p.m.
The water begins to rise and becomes turbulent. Even though the main passage is spacious we decide to abort the tour.
Becoming more Turbulant
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Current getting stronger.
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4:22 p.m.
We round a bend and struggle against the current to retreat.



4:40 p.m.
Panic sets in as we loose our footing against the incredible force of the water surge.

Violent surge.
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Safe at ladder.
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4:59 p.m.
Seconds after this photo was taken it was almost impossible to stand in the passage without getting swept away.

Bat River Cave History
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