Aeolus Cave, high in Vermont’s Taconic Mountains near East Dorset, is the largest known cave in New England, with more than 3,000 feet of mapped marble passages. Formed by water dissolving marble, it is unusually large and complex for the region, with multiple levels, large chambers, narrow crawls, chimneys, and abundant formations such as flowstone, stalactites, stalagmites, rimstone, and cave pearls. Its high position and large speleothems suggest it predates the last glacial period. The cave has also been one of the Northeast’s most important bat hibernation sites, suffering a devastating white-nose syndrome collapse before showing signs of recovery by 2019.

Manchester Center, Vermont · USA