More than 1,200 feet beneath the Tennessee ground lies Ruby Falls, the largest and deepest waterfall open to the public in the U.S.
Ruby Falls is located underneath Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tenn. The waterfall is a 145-foot drop over 1,000 feet underneath the mountain’s surface. Hundreds of gallons of water rush over the falls per minute. The Ruby Falls website says the falls is estimated to be 30 million years old.
Lookout Mountain has many limestone caves and winding passageways. According to the Ruby Falls website, there are reports of explorers traveling as far as 12 miles into the mountain’s caves without reaching an end. Ruby Falls is located within Ruby Falls Cave, which is riddled with interesting looking cave formations that are named after things they resemble.
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Ruby Falls was discovered when a project to drill open the previously sealed Lookout Mountain Cave was launched in 1928. The cave was sealed when Southern Railroad Company constructed a tunnel along the face of Lookout Mountain. The reopening of the cave was spearheaded by Leo Lambert, a cave enthusiast, who named the magnificent waterfall after his wife, Ruby. Public tours of the cave and falls have been offered since 1930.
LED lighting has been installed to light the cave in different colors, making the sight even more spectacular.
The slideshow above presents photos of Ruby Falls and the wild rock formations within Ruby Falls Cave.