Combining Hot Springs, Caves, and Mineral Deposits, the Elephant Mountain Caves
Are A Geological Treasure
These pages document the Caves and the mines that intersected them. Located not far
from Carbonate Creek, They are a site where a Tertiary-age igneous body intruded into a mixed gypsum / limestone
/ shale facies of the Pennsylvanian Eagle Valley evaporites, resulting in contact metamorphism of the gypsum to
alabaster and decorative building stone.
Robert Congdon found the caves in 1987 following old published newspaper reports reprinted in Caves of Colorado. At that time, all the entrances were sealed..
Three entrances are currently open and one is collapsed (9/5/04). |
