Explore the Chapel of the Ages, Snowball Palace, Mystery Room, Halls of Gold, and Mammoth Dome while learning about ancient waterways & fossils, Cave Coral, Grape Clusters, and Winter Crystal.

This incredible natural wonder began 345 million years ago at the bottom of an ancient sea during the Mississippian Period. Rainwater started seeping into these splits in the earth's crust, creating, more than 5,000 feet above sea level, The Grand Canyon Caverns.

Millions of years ago, tiny sea animals left shells and skeletons on the ocean floor, forming a lime-rich oozy mud. Later, volcanic activity and earthquakes raised the ocean floor to create the mountaintops we have today, with the Caverns located at 5,000 feet elevation.

Rainwater started seeping into the limestone and created connecting passageways and cavities. Over time, the rainwater brought along a mild acid solution that dissolved away the soft parts of the limestone and created more pathways. As conditions changed and rain became less frequent, these cavities were left dry. Evaporation deposited calcium carbonate to develop beautiful formations in the Grand Canyon Caverns.