A lava tube in Petit Raffray that is easy to explore and relatively safe. It has a depth of roughly 400-500 feet with no difficulty in navigation. The entrance is in a neighborhood. In Petit Raffray there are two gas stations opposite one another near the entrance. There is a functional Engen station and opposite there is a gas station that appears to be out of business. Turn off the main road onto the diagonal street that borders the out of business gas station. Turn left at the first street; it is small and unpaved. After a few hundred feet the entrance will be on your left (see photos).
Don’t forget to bring a headlamp. It has quite a bit of trash near the entrance, but the depths are clean. To continue past the first large room: approach the back right corner from the left and climb down. You will have to hunch over/crawl, but the tube will open up again after a bit. I would estimate the tube ends after 400-500ft. There is quite a bit of soot/dust inside: don’t wear anything nice.
Lava tubes are often referred to as caves, but they differ from a traditional limestone cave in many ways. The tubes are formed by lava flows that continue for a substantial amount of time, permitting the lava on the sides on top of the flow to harden and form a casing in which molten lava continues to flow. As the flow of lava stops, the molten lava continues to flow and leaves the tube empty. The tubes often collapse in some areas to create cave-like openings and occasionally fill with groundwater. They serve as important habitats for many different creatures – be careful and respectful when exploring these areas.
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