Thundering Water and Natural BeautyA destination to explorers and tourists for more than 170 years.This natural geologic wonder was created over many centuries by the erosion of the shaley substratum located behind the Bridal Veil Falls.As the great mass of water plummeted over the falls and crashed into the rocks 165 feet below, the great force of the water created a back splash that continually eroded the rock behind the Falls. This created a cavern approximately 100 feet high, 50 feet wide and 100 feet in depth.The cave was originally named after Aeolus, the fabled God of the Winds. "Aeolus' Cave," or "Cave of the Winds" as it became better known, became a destination to both explorers and tourists to the Falls. Access to the Cave of the Winds in the 1800's was accomplished by descending the Biddle Stairs. The stairs, originally built in 1829 with money donated by Nicholas Biddle of Philadelphia banking fame, were attached on the face of Goat Island's 165' cliff. This enclosed 80' high, 132 step spiral stairway led visitors on a path just above the base of the gorge. In 1925, the Cave of the Winds elevator station officially opened replacing the old Biddle Stairs. Today visitors can still descend the elevator to the base of Goat Island, and then walk a short distance to
view the Bridal Falls.Today, the Cave of the Winds attraction is a series of wooden pathways and platforms that allow the adventure-bound to stand within ten feet of the Falls, and experience the power and raging fury of the thundering water at the base pf the Bridal Veil Falls.(For your safety, the cave is no longer accessible due to rock scaling of the gorge wall.)From 1868 to the early 1900s, the Cave of the Winds became an extremely popular trip.In February of 1896, an ice jam at the head of the rapids completely cut off water flowing over the American Falls. For four days the cave was accessible by way of the ice from the front. As a result, guide John Barlow became the first to visit the Cave of the Winds in February.
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