ake Shasta Caverns

"While Wintu Indian tribe lore suggests Shasta Caverns have been known since
antiquity, the first recorded white explorer was James A. Richardson, a federal
fisheries employee. His claim of discovery is still clearly legible on the wall where
he wrote it that day - November 3, 1878, with carbide from his miner's lamp.

Until 1964, Lake Shasta Caverns were seen each year by only a handful of hardy
'spelunkers' who inched their way through steep, restricted natural fissures to
view its startling formations. Then a tunnel was driven to enable visitors to
enter the series of connected chambers from a lower level. A fairyland of nature's
formations in the Caverns has led geologists to compare its beauty favorable to that
of any other limestone and marble cave in the nation. Lake Shasta Caverns are
accessed by a pleasant boat ride across Lake Shasta, near Redding California,
then a short bus ride up a winding roadway to the entrance."