Collapsed Lava Tube

There are a number of lava tubes in Arizona, some of which are very long and big enough to invite exploration. One of the most accessible is mile long, Lava River Cave, located about 14 miles north of Flagstaff on paved highways and graveled forest roads. 

The above picture shows a collapsed lava tube in the Sunset Crater National Monument. Although the Coconino National Forest claims the Lava River Cave to be the longest such cave in Arizona, this may not be exactly correct. The longest cave is probably Harris Cave located near Vernon, Arizona in the Whiting Knoll Quadrangle.  I have been to the end of the Lava River Cave a number of times, but the day we looked for Harris Cave, it took us so long to find it, we had no time to explore. That was pre-GPS technology days however and today, it can be found quite easily.

Lava tubes don't make a particularly appealing type of cave. They have virtually no cave formations except for various types of lava flows, and they can be filled with all kinds of other crawly creatures (besides spelunkers) due to periodic openings to the outer world. The Lava River Cave was previously known as Government Cave, due to its proximity to the Government Prairie, where it is reported that troops were stationed at one time.

There are probably dozens (or more) caves in Arizona of lava origin. Most of them are unimpressive. In Sunset Crater, the Park Service used to conduct tours of a 225 foot lava tube filed with ice, but apparently, the cave roof collapsed in 1984 and the tours were discontinued.