Jewel Cave is now 175 miles long. The new mile marker was reached this past weekend. Jewel remains the third longest cave in the world.
Six cave explorers mapped the 175th mile near a room called the “Crushing Deep” during a four day trip into newly discovered areas. On Valentine’s Day, team members named one the of the new passageways they found "The Heartland Express." The next day they pushed into a previously unexplored area in the far southwest corner of the cave and mapped a new deepest point at 677 feet below the surface.
A day after that, Charles Michael Ray was at the top of the elevator when the cave explorers emerged to a surprise party celebrating the mapping of the 175th mile.
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