Do caves have economic value?
Several of Virginia’s caves are renowned for their beauty and are tourist attractions, bringing thousands of visitors into the state annually. To have a wild cave on one’s property, however, probably does not increase its value and may even constitute a nuisance to the owner, although there are instances where the owner may use the cave as a water source. 4. Is there any historical significance to caves? Professional archeologists have only begun to investigate the implications of materials discovered in Virginia’s rock shelters and caves, where some evidence of prehistoric habitation has been uncovered. Indian burial caves can yield important demographic information. In most recent history, Thomas Jefferson visited and described one of Virginia’s caves and George Washington and James Madison left other signatures in Madison Saltpetre Cave. Up until the close of the Civil War, caves in the Commonwealth were extensively mined for saltpetre (used in the manufacture of gunpowder). 5. Do c
