Name/Title
S07.06.011Description
An entrance to Skull Cave in the Paint Creek wildlife area south of Greenfield, Ross County, Ohio. Skull cave was previously known as Three Entrance Cave. The largest entrance, shown here, has a small stream issuing from it which flows on the surface through a ravine and is at grade with Paint Creek. The cave is formed within the Greenfield Dolomite of the Silurian Geologic Period.
Information for this slide comes from Philip M. Smith's presentation notes for Exploring Ohio's Caves: An illustrated discussion of Ohio's underground caverns prepared for the information program of the Ohio Division of Geological Survey. The notes are in Box 1154, Folder 3 of the Geology Subject Files compiled by Pauline Smyth. This is slide 13 in the notes: Through a lowering of the water table, or through the uplift of land areas, the cave passages become drained and can be traversed by man. Present streams, like this one issuing from Three Entrance Cave near Greenfield, are not necessarily related to the water movement causing the original solution of the cavern passages. Ground water seepage often produces localized streams within caves. The solutional activity of this stream water is thought to be minor in the overall process.
In 1952, the Central Ohio Grotto of the National Speleological Society in cooperation with the Ohio Geological Survey established a comprehensive survey of Ohio caves and caverns. This photo is part of that project described by Philip M. Smith in his article The Ohio Cave Survey.
For more information about the Skull Cave, see the following resources:
Pholeos, Journal of Wittenberg University Speleological Society, v. 1 (1981) pages 15-24.
Rainbows of Rock, Tables of Stone: The Natural Arches and Pillars of Ohio by Timothy A. Snyder (McDonald & Woodward: Granville, Ohio, 2009).
The Ohio Cave Survey by Philip M. Smith (Ohio Journal of Science, vol. 53, no. 6, Nov. 1953, pages 325-236).
Let’s Save Ohio’s Caves. Smith, Philip M. Ohio Conservation Bulletin, v. 17, no. 4 (1953). Pages 6-7, 31 (4 figs.).
This slide image included in the USGS National Digital Catalog for NGGDPP Grant G15AP00115 in FY2015.Context
Entrance to a cave. Skull Cave in Paint Creek Wildlife Area in Greenfield,Ohio.