Nutty Putty Cave

Nutty Putty Cave
Coordinates 40°05′51″N 112°02′13″W / 40.09750°N 112.03694°W / 40.09750; -112.03694Coordinates: 40°05′51″N 112°02′13″W / 40.09750°N 112.03694°W / 40.09750; -112.03694
Discovery 1960 (Dale Green)
Geology Chert
Entrances 1
Difficulty Slippery
Access Closed

Nutty Putty Cave is a hydrothermal cave located west of Utah Lake in Utah County, Utah, United States.

The cave, first explored in 1960 by Dale Green, is currently owned by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration,[1] and managed by the Utah Timpanogos Grotto.

In the recent past this cave has had four rescues of cavers and Boy Scouts, who became stuck inside the cave's tight twists, turns, and crawls.[2]

In 2006, an effort was put forth to study and severely limit the number of visitors allowed inside the cave. It was estimated the cave was receiving over 5,000 visitors per year, with many visitors often entering the cave late at night and failing to take proper safety precautions. The cave’s popularity had caused excessive smoothing of the rock inside the cave to the point it was predicted a fatality would occur in one of the caves more prominent features, a 45-degree room called "The Big Slide". On May 24, 2006, a gate was installed, and the cave was temporarily closed. In early 2009, proper management was established and an application process was developed to ensure safety precautions were being met. On May 18, 2009 the cave was reopened to the public.[3]

On November 24, 2009, John Jones died after becoming trapped in the cave for 28 hours.[4] Rescuers concluded that it would be too dangerous to attempt to retrieve his body; the landowner and Jones' family came to an agreement that the cave should be permanently closed with the body sealed inside.[4] A film about the tragedy called The Last Descent was released on September 16, 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Man trapped in Utah County's Nutty Putty cave dies", The Deseret News,26 Nov 2009
  2. ↑ NuttyPuttyCave Timeline
  3. ↑ NuttyPuttyCave Access Presentation Page
  4. 1 2 Farrell, Michael B. (2009-11-27). "Nutty Putty Cave to be closed for good after trapped caver's death". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
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