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140:, which eat insects. Martin collected a sample from 7 ft (2m) below the surface of the guano, which yielded a radiocarbon date of 12,900 ± 1,500 years ago. The miners reported finding "bat graveyards," some with mummified free-tail bats. No giant meat-eating bats were discovered. Martin had hoped to find fossil pollen, his research interest at that time, but found none in his samples.
92:
Native
American tribe. The cableway crossed the river, with a main span of 7,500 feet (2,300 m), and a vertical lift of 2,500 feet (760 m). About 30,000 feet (9,100 m) of 1.5 inch (38 mm) steel cable were used, to support and pull a cable car large enough to transport 2,500 pounds
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During construction of the cableway, which took 14 months, the first of several mishaps occurred. When first tensioning the main cable, a clutch-lever broke, dropping 9,850 feet (3,000 m) of cable into the canyon. A new cable was ordered and strung, and mining began. The 20,000 feet
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jet, illegally "hot-dogging" down the canyon, clipped the cable, damaging the plane's wing and severing the cable. The plane survived, and U.S. Guano successfully sued the Air Force for damaging their property, offsetting some of their losses.
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later proposed removing the tramway remnants within the park, but there was public protest against demolition of these interesting historic relics. As of 2007, some remnants of the old operation remain at Bat Cave, and on the West Rim in the
93:(1,100 kg) of guano. The same car was used to transport the miners to and from work. The guano was mined using a large industrial "vacuum-cleaner" with ten-inch hoses. From the cablehead, the guano was hauled by truck to
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and a colleague visited the mine in 1958, after reading a report in the New York Times that mentioned the guano came from "giant, meat-eating bats millions of years ago." The guano actually came from free-tailed bats,
23:
Aerial view of Guano Point. Old tramway headhouse is at the end of dirt road (right). Second tramway tower is more clearly visible, on skyline to right. Bat Cave mine is 2,500 feet (760 m) below, across the
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The mining engineer's estimate of the potential size of the guano deposit proved wildly optimistic: the cave contained only about 1,000 tons of minable material. Most of the cave was filled with valueless
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76:'s estimate that the cave contained 100,000 tons of guano, the company constructed an elaborate plan to extract it. A small airstrip was built on a nearby sandbar in the
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209:, construction of the tramway, by a former employee of the contractor. He notes that the ironworkers named their construction camp "Batchit, Arizona".
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101:(6,100 m) pull-cable wore out after a few months use and had to be replaced, bringing the company's total investment up to USD $ 3,500,000.
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72:-rich guano deposit within the cave for fertilizer. The U.S. Guano Corporation bought the property around 1957. Based on a reputable
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The cave was apparently discovered in the 1930s by a passing boater. Several unsuccessful early attempts were made to mine the
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Mining ceased in early 1960. Guano sold for about $ 100 a ton then, sufficient to generate only a $ 100,000 gross revenue..
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Twilight of the
Mammoths: Ice Age Extinctions and the Rewilding of America'.' University of California Press.
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180:. Tourists can inspect the remnants of the old mining operation. Tour operators pay use-fees to the
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tribe, and the tribe offers a barbecue lunch near the old tramway head house, as part of their
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The primary source of this article is the "Bat Cave" article in
Billingsley et al., 1997,
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National
Register of Historic Places listings in Grand Canyon National Park
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on the South Rim, with the cable headhouse built on land leased from the
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Old cable headhouse at Guano Point, for the aerial tramway to the mine.
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Quest for the Pillar of Gold: The Mines and Miners of the Grand Canyon
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Bat Cave mine site (top center) and old tramway tower (left center).
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Guano Point is still a popular stop for air tours from
897:Buildings and structures in Mohave County, Arizona
16:Former mining operation in Mohave County, Arizona
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937:Tourist attractions in Mohave County, Arizona
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760:List of trails in Grand Canyon National Park
112:In 1959, the cableway was used for the film
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156:In 1975 the abandoned mine became part of
148:A few months after closure of the mine, a
48:in a natural cave located in the western
465:Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument
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922:Underground mines in the United States
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907:Aerial tramways in the United States
729:Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869
927:Landforms of Mohave County, Arizona
734:1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision
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947:1960 disestablishments in Arizona
932:History of Mohave County, Arizona
56:266, 800 feet (240 m) above
821:Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
755:Grand Canyon Backcountry Camping
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942:1950s establishments in Arizona
814:The Man Who Walked Through Time
828:Grand Canyon: A Different View
739:Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6
239:Map and directions to Bat Cave
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97:and packaged for retail sale.
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382:Grand Canyon Village, Arizona
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305:"Guano Cafe" at Guano Point.
252:, Grand Canyon Association,
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460:Grand Canyon Forest Reserve
167:Hualapai Indian Reservation
84:was built from the mine to
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158:Grand Canyon National Park
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863:36.048833°N 113.80250°W
591:Uinkaret volcanic field
470:Grand Canyon Supergroup
357:Black Suspension Bridge
808:(2017 children's book)
218:Martin, P. S. (2005),
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868:36.048833; -113.80250
834:Grand Canyon Escalade
798:A Bigger Grand Canyon
654:Little Colorado River
367:Grand Canyon Escalade
162:National Park Service
137:Tadarida brasiliensis
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887:Grand Canyon history
455:Grand Canyon Caverns
445:Ericameria arizonica
377:Grand Canyon Skywalk
859: /
485:Sixtymile Formation
480:Nankoweap Formation
450:Esplanade Sandstone
776:Grand Canyon Suite
659:Bright Angel Creek
579:Bright Angel Shale
420:Agave phillipsiana
188:business venture.
144:Post mine activity
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783:Desert Wonderland
559:Redwall Limestone
529:Hyaloclastite Dam
500:Shinumo Quartzite
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514:Freya Castle
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866: /
851:36°2′55.8″N
792:(1958 film)
685:Kenton Grua
649:Kanab Creek
574:Tonto Group
549:Ochoa Point
534:Isis Temple
490:Unkar Group
475:Chuar Group
387:Kolb Studio
86:Guano Point
881:Categories
854:113°48′9″W
690:John Hance
632:Deer Creek
350:Facilities
226:0520231414
192:References
54:river mile
28:See also:
706:Havasupai
206:High Wire
174:Las Vegas
107:limestone
58:Lake Mead
902:Hualapai
711:Hualapai
182:Hualapai
109:rubble.
90:Hualapai
70:nitrogen
748:Related
412:Geology
24:canyon.
721:Events
699:Tribes
668:People
256:
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178:Nevada
160:. The
64:Mining
38:was a
43:guano
254:ISBN
222:ISBN
46:mine
34:The
40:bat
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335:e
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
