Q: We keep reading about caves under the city that interfere with building plans such as Constellation, the courthouse square and possibly the jail. Is there a map of all these caves, and is it available online free?

A: There is a map of the caves, said Bill Torode, librarian for the National Speleological Society, but it isn't for public access. He said there are two caves under this area. One is directly under downtown and is called Big Spring Cave.



It’s an aquifer cave, meaning when you drill down, you hit water. It’s where most of the northern part of the city gets its water, Torode said.

There’s only one natural opening to the cave, which is on Greene Street. Torode said the entrance is covered, though, and it’s not an entrance people can use. The opening drops straight down into water, making it unsafe.

“There’s a lot of water, and it’s fairly deep in places,” Torode said. The city allows the cave club “to go in from time to time (because) they inspect the cave for the city for pollution or any kind of collapse.”

The National Speleological Society is based in Huntsville and its office is located on Cave Avenue off Pulaski Pike, the home of the other cave under Huntsville.

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