The Tuckaleechee Caverns (pronounced as /หtสk.ษ.หliห.tสiห หkรฆv.ษrns/ โ, TUCK-ษ-LEE-chee KAV-erns) is a tourist attraction and the largest and highest rated cave or cavern by the AAA east of the Mississippi River.[3][4][5] The caverns run under the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and have an opening in Townsend, Tennessee.
History
editThe Tuckaleechee Caverns were first used by the Cherokees in the 17th and 18th century, but they were re-discovered in the mid-19th century by sawmill employees in the area. The caverns were opened for tours in 1931 by Earl McCampbell, but the business shut down after one year due to the economic impacts of the Great Depression. The caverns were re-opened to the public by Townsend locals Bill Vananda and Harry Myers in 1953. The first tours after the re-opening were taken by kerosene lamps until electricity was wired through the caverns in 1955.
Features
editThe Tuckaleechee Caverns are known for the "Big Room"; it is a cave chamber that can almost fit an entire football field inside it.[3] The "Big Room" has many stalagmites, some of which reaching 24 feet (7.3ย m) tall, and flow-stone formations hundreds of feet in length and width. Another large room exists beyond the "Big Room", but is not opened for tours as part of the cavern would have to be destroyed in order to make it accessible to the public. In the 1980s, the Myers sold their shares of the business to the Vanandas, who have operated the caverns since.[6]
The Tuckaleechee Caverns also has a 210-foot (64ย m) two-tier underground waterfall named "Silver Falls".[6] The caverns originate at White Oak Sinks in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
SeismicTKL
editThe caverns also host SeismicTKL, a seismograph system monitored by the United States Department of Defense and the United States Geological Survey.[7][8][9] SeismicTKL is the most sensitive seismograph system on Earth.[7]
References
edit- ^ Epperson, Dallas (October 30, 2012). "Another World". Panoramio.com. Panoramio. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
- ^ Epperson, Dallas (October 30, 2012). "Subsurface Waterfall". Panoramio.com. Panoramio. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Official website
- ^ American Automobile Association. "Tuckaleechee Caverns". AAA.com. American Automobile Association.
- ^ Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. "AS107, Tuckaleechee Caverns, Tennessee, United States". CTBTO.org. Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.
- ^ a b Tuckaleechee Caverns (2025). "Development of Caverns". TuckaleecheeCaverns.com. Tuckaleechee Caverns. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
- ^ a b Tuckaleechee Caverns (2025). "SeismicTKL โ Tuckaleechee Caverns Hosts The Most Sensitive Seismic Station On Earth". TuckaleecheeCaverns.com. Tuckaleechee Caverns. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ "Tuckaleechee Caverns: Greatest Site Under the Smokies". Blue Ridge Digest (Fall 2016): 22. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Miller, Benjamin; Bradley, Mike; Brown, Teresa (2018). "Karst hydrogeology of Tuckaleechee Cove and the western Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee and North Carolina". USGS.gov. USGS.
