Washington County's Cave River Valley is among Southern Indiana's secret natural gems. Situated on a stretch of cave-riddled karst between Mitchell and Salem, this 300-acre State Natural Area includes a 63-acre Dedicated State Nature Preserve that protects two significant cave environments -- Endless Cave, which has been surveyed at nearly 7,000 feet, and River Cave, which features one of the world's longest straight-cave passages.
I wrote the book on Southern Indiana natural areas and hadn't heard of Cave River until my friend Gary Morrison invited me on a photo shoot there last Friday. But then, Cave River -- home to three endangered species -- should be kept underground. Endless, a.k.a. Dry Clifty Cave, hosts one of the state's largest concentrations of hibernating, federally endangered Indiana bats. River, a.k.a. Wet Clifty Cave, provides habitat for the state-endangered northern blind cavefish and blind crayfish.