Unthanks Cave Natural Area Preserve

Unthanks Cave Natural Area Preserve
Map showing the location of Unthanks Cave Natural Area Preserve
Location within Virginia
Location Lee County, Virginia
Coordinates 36°36′52″N 83°13′36″W / 36.61433°N 83.22672°W / 36.61433; -83.22672Coordinates: 36°36′52″N 83°13′36″W / 36.61433°N 83.22672°W / 36.61433; -83.22672[1]
Area 171 acres (69 ha)
Established 2004 (2004)
Governing body Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

Unthanks Cave Natural Area Preserve is a 171-acre (69 ha) Natural Area Preserve in Lee County, Virginia. It protects the entrance to Unthanks Cave, which houses significant biological diversity and a wide variety of invertebrate life. The cave's streams drain a significant karst area south of the Powell River.[2]

A rare species of hydrobiid snail was first discovered in Unthanks Cave in 1986.[3] Holsingeria unthanksensis has since been found in additional cave streams in Lee County, with an additional population noted 310 miles (500 km) north in Skyline Caverns.[4] Additional unusual species found within the cave include a second hydrobiid snail, the Powell Valley planarian (Sphalloplana consimilis), the Southwest Virginia cave isopod (Caecidotea recurvata), and a cave-dwelling carabid beetle.[5]

The only known entrance to the seven-mile-long (11 km) cave was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 1987, and was the first cave system purchased in Virginia by the organization.[6] The Nature Conservancy gave the property to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation in 2004,[2] although they continue to conduct research at the site.[5]

Although previously popular with spelunkers due to the cave's large speleothems,[6] Unthanks Cave is today gated and inaccessible except for official scientific monitoring and inquiry.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Virginia Conservation Lands Database". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Unthanks Cave Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  3. ↑ Hershler, R. (1989). "Holsingeria unthanksensis, a new genus and species of aquatic cavesnail from eastern North America" (PDF). Malacological Review. 22 (1–2): 93–100. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ Dillon, R. T., Jr.; Watson, B.T.; Stewart, T. W. (2006). "Species Account: Holsingeria unthanksensis". Freshwater Gastropods of North America. Department of Biology, College of Charleston. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "About Unthanks Cave in Virginia". Nature.org. The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Lazarus, Elizabeth (June 25, 1987). "Conservancy Buys Cave with Rare Species". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 27, 2016.


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