GEOLOGIC RECONNAISSANCE INVESTIGATION OF PENN’S CAVE - CANDIDATE FOR PROTECTION BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

At the request of the National Park Service (NPS), and having been vetted by the Seneca Nation of Indians, we contributed to a geologic reconnaissance of Penn’s Cave for consideration of becoming a national park. Our first task was a literature review. Then, we made a site visit with several members of the NPS, US Congressman Glenn Thompson, and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Dr. Joe Stahlman. We toured both the cave and the animal safari. We then rendered a recommendation for whether the cave might become a national park. Penn’s cave is renowned for the unique opportunity that allows visitors to tour the cave by boat. Limiting visitors’ reach to an arms-length from the gunnel vastly helps retain the caves elaborate speleothems in their high quality. In addition, the cave offers promise for the physically challenged to admire the cave just as any less challenged visitor would, as the boat provides safe and easy access. Indeed, the cave has long been a popular tourist attraction, opening to the public in 1885. Its present owners have acquired surrounding lands to provide source water protection for the cave. Even before the earliest record of ownership of Penn’s Cave in 1773, however, it was accessed by Seneca Indians. Legends associated with the cave have provided the namesake of Penn State University’s mascot, the Nittany Lion, as well as the geographic monikers Nittany Mountain and Nittany Valley. Since Penn’s Cave offers unique features and a notable history, we supported Penn’s Cave as a candidate for additional research and recommended its escalated consideration by the NPS.