How did that wall of ice form in the back of the Ice Cave?
The wall of ice present at the back of the ice deposit was formed approximately between 50-100 years ago as early settlers and US Calvary began to mine ice from the cave floor. As they removed large ice blocks from the cave they started from the top / front of the ice mass and worked down and backward. This created a wall of ice that was nearing total depletion by the mid 1940’s. Then, at that time, the land owner arrived and began operation as a full time tourist attraction and prohibited any further ice mining. At that point, the ice wall was between 12 – 14 feet high measured from the ice floor. Over the years since, the ice floor regenerated as ice layers began to re-accumulate year after year. Since then, the floor of ice has risen relative to the back wall of ice and now the ice wall measures only a few feet above the floor.
