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Platt
Wind Cave
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THE WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK
IN THE romantic Black Hills of southwestern Dakota, scene of Custer's first stand and famous for many years because of its Indian battles and frontier lawlessness, is a limestone cave of large size and interesting decorations. It is called Wind Cave, from a strange current of air which passes intermittently through it, and which led to its discovery.
The cave contains a series of chambers and passages profusely decorated in limestone depositions of various forms, many of them unique. Most of the decorations are pure white, but sometimes they are superimposed on a delicate pink background. Strangely enough, despite this profusion of formations, stalactites and stalagmites, common cave forms, are seldom encountered.
Within the inner caverns, the whistling wind disappears and the air is calm and still. Here the temperature varies from forty-five to forty-seven degrees, Fahrenheit, just comfortable for walking.
A portion of the area serves as a national game preserve and is stocked with bison, elk, and antelope. Inside the cave, however, practically no life is found, even insects being seldom seen.
THE PLATT NATIONAL PARK
PLATT PARK is known primarily because of its springs, mineral and nonmineral. The yield from these springs is approximately five million gallons daily. The park is located in the southern part of Oklahoma.
The park is a hilly, well-wooded area, traversed by a picturesque stream containing a number of small waterfalls or cascades. The rolling character of the park makes a pleasing contrast to the comparatively level country surrounding it.
There are a few buffalo, elk, and deer in Platt Park, and many smaller animals.
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Last Modified: Mon, Oct 31, 2002 10:00:00 pm PDT
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