Big Bone Cave
(Big) Bone Cave is a cave located in Van Buren County, Tennessee, in the community of Bone Cave that is named after it. It is notable both for its history and current recreational use. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated National Natural Landmark. It is a State Natural Area managed by Rock Island State Park. It is named for the discovery of the bones of a giant ground sloth in 1811. The cave was operated as a saltpeter mine, notably during the War of 1812 and the American Civil War. A variety of natural remains and human artifacts have been well preserved in the dry atmosphere of the cave. The cave is the 10th longest mapped cave in Tennessee.

Big Bone Cave formed in Mississippian Montegeale limestone originally on the western escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. The cave formed prior to 5.7 ±1.09 Ma based in cosmogenic radionuclide dating of pebbles washed into the Muster Ground room. Long passages formed during a long period of water table stability when the climate was warmer and sea levels were higher reducing erosion throughout the Mississippi drainage. At the time, the Cumberland River flowed across the Highland Rim before the formation of the Nashville Basin. Global cooling 3.2-3.1 Ma triggered a sea-level drop which increased erosion (incision) up the Mississippi River and led to the Cumberland River cutting into the Highland Rim and its headwaters, the Collins River, cutting into the Cumberland Plateau. The lower water table would have drained the water filling the caverns. Further erosion isolated Bone Cave Mountain from the Cumberland Plateau.
Q35509
cave
Concept
Q501964
Van Buren County, Tennessee
LOC
Q4941506
Bone Cave
LOC
Q3719
National Register of Historic Places
PER
Q1967511
National Natural Landmark
LOC
Q7354521
Rock Island State Park
LOC
Q933583
ground sloth
Concept
Q177836
saltpeter
Concept
Q26013
War of 1812
EVE
Q8676
American Civil War
EVE
Q744718
Mississippian
LOC
Q1174791
escarpment
Concept
Q1143656
Cumberland Plateau
LOC
None
Ma
UNK
Q830630
cosmogenic radionuclide dating
Concept
Q1143718
Cumberland River
LOC
Q16984113
Highland Rim
LOC
Q6966945
Nashville Basin
LOC
Q4905173
Big Bone Cave
LOC
1811-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1811
DATE
1812-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1812
DATE
+10^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
10
NUMBER
+5.7^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
5.7
NUMBER
+1.09^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1.09
NUMBER
+3.2^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
3.2
NUMBER
-3.1^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-3.1
NUMBER
heritage designation