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Derrick Cave
Derrick Cave is a lava tube located in the remote northwest corner of Lake County, Oregon. The cave is approximately 1,200 feet (370 m) long. It is up to 80 feet (24 m) wide and 46 feet (14 m) high in places. It was named in honor of H.E. Derrick, a pioneer rancher with a homestead 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the cave. The land around the cave is managed by the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Derrick Cave is open to the public year-round; however, camping is no longer permitted in the cave.
Derrick Cave is a classic lava tube structure. It was created by lava flowing downhill from a volcanic vent located north of the cave. Lava from the vent also created Devils Garden, a 45 square miles (120 km2) lava bed southwest of the cave. Most of the lava deposited around the Devils Garden area was delivered through the Derrick Cave lava tube.
Derrick Cave began as an open channel of lava flowing south from a large volcanic vent. Eventually, a lava crust solidified over the top of the flowing lava. This formed a roof over the river, enclosing it in a lava tunnel or tube. When the eruption from the vent stopped, the lava drained out of the tube leaving a lava tube cave behind. After the cave cooled, several sections of its roof collapsed. These collapsed ceiling sections provided entrances to both the north and south parts of the cave.
The age of the eruption that formed Derrick Cave has not been definitively determined. However, it is known that the flow is no older than 13,000 years and no younger than 6,845 year-old, dated from overlaying Mount Mazama tephra that blankets the entire Devils Garden area including the surface area above Derrick Cave.
The cave was named for H. E. Derrick, a pioneer rancher with a homestead 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the cave. Because it was large and cool, early homesteaders in the Fort Rock area often used the cave as a summer recreation site. During social gatherings at the cave, families used the ice found in the cavern to make ice cream.
During the early days of World War II, local residents planned to use Derrick Cave as an air-raid shelter if the Japanese began bombing the west coast of the United States. While residents of Central Oregon never needed an air raid shelter during World War II, Derrick Cave was designated as a nuclear fallout shelter in 1963. Supplies of food and water for up to 1,200 people were stored at the site. The supplies were stored in a small branch of the cave behind a locked steel door. However, vandals broke into the supply vault on several occasions and plundered the food cache. The vandals left the civil defense water cans, probably because they had frozen solid. By 1970, all of the supplies had been stolen by vandals or removed by civil defense authorities.
The National Aeronautic and Space Administration also used Derrick Cave in the 1960s. As the agency was planning lunar landings, it was interested in determining if caverns could be detected from high altitude using gravimetric instruments. To support the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, North American Aviation and Pacific Northwest Bell conducted high altitude gravimetric tests using Derrick Cave as the underground target.
In 1994, the Bureau of Land Management issued new rules for Derrick Cave. These new rules closed the cave to camping, camp fires, and cigarette smoking. Also, large group gatherings were discouraged. These activities raised the temperature inside the cave, disturbing bats and fragile microorganisms. Climbing with bolts was prohibited as well. The rules were posted on a sign near the entrance to the cave.
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Derrick Cave
Derrick Cave is a lava tube located in the remote northwest corner of Lake County, Oregon. The cave is approximately 1,200 feet (370 m) long. It is up to 80 feet (24 m) wide and 46 feet (14 m) high in places. It was named in honor of H.E. Derrick, a pioneer rancher with a homestead 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the cave. The land around the cave is managed by the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Derrick Cave is open to the public year-round; however, camping is no longer permitted in the cave.
Derrick Cave is a classic lava tube structure. It was created by lava flowing downhill from a volcanic vent located north of the cave. Lava from the vent also created Devils Garden, a 45 square miles (120 km2) lava bed southwest of the cave. Most of the lava deposited around the Devils Garden area was delivered through the Derrick Cave lava tube.
Derrick Cave began as an open channel of lava flowing south from a large volcanic vent. Eventually, a lava crust solidified over the top of the flowing lava. This formed a roof over the river, enclosing it in a lava tunnel or tube. When the eruption from the vent stopped, the lava drained out of the tube leaving a lava tube cave behind. After the cave cooled, several sections of its roof collapsed. These collapsed ceiling sections provided entrances to both the north and south parts of the cave.
The age of the eruption that formed Derrick Cave has not been definitively determined. However, it is known that the flow is no older than 13,000 years and no younger than 6,845 year-old, dated from overlaying Mount Mazama tephra that blankets the entire Devils Garden area including the surface area above Derrick Cave.
The cave was named for H. E. Derrick, a pioneer rancher with a homestead 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the cave. Because it was large and cool, early homesteaders in the Fort Rock area often used the cave as a summer recreation site. During social gatherings at the cave, families used the ice found in the cavern to make ice cream.
During the early days of World War II, local residents planned to use Derrick Cave as an air-raid shelter if the Japanese began bombing the west coast of the United States. While residents of Central Oregon never needed an air raid shelter during World War II, Derrick Cave was designated as a nuclear fallout shelter in 1963. Supplies of food and water for up to 1,200 people were stored at the site. The supplies were stored in a small branch of the cave behind a locked steel door. However, vandals broke into the supply vault on several occasions and plundered the food cache. The vandals left the civil defense water cans, probably because they had frozen solid. By 1970, all of the supplies had been stolen by vandals or removed by civil defense authorities.
The National Aeronautic and Space Administration also used Derrick Cave in the 1960s. As the agency was planning lunar landings, it was interested in determining if caverns could be detected from high altitude using gravimetric instruments. To support the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, North American Aviation and Pacific Northwest Bell conducted high altitude gravimetric tests using Derrick Cave as the underground target.
In 1994, the Bureau of Land Management issued new rules for Derrick Cave. These new rules closed the cave to camping, camp fires, and cigarette smoking. Also, large group gatherings were discouraged. These activities raised the temperature inside the cave, disturbing bats and fragile microorganisms. Climbing with bolts was prohibited as well. The rules were posted on a sign near the entrance to the cave.