Apache Death Cave
Two Guns, Coconino County, Arizona, United States
June 27, 2021 (19:24 UTC (12:24 Local)
© 2021 David S Schaubert, All Rights Reserved.
The modern history of Two Guns began 23,000 years ago when a meteor slammed into the Earth 7 miles away, digging a mile-wide crater and killing all life within a hundred-mile radius. As time passed, the area was settled by the Navajo and Apache tribes between 1000 and 1300 AD and became a chronic battleground.
In 1878 an opening into an extensive series of caverns formed by deep cracks in the ground caused by the meteor impact, became known as the "Apache Death Cave" after an Apache raiding party was trapped by a Navajo rescue party and 42 warriors (and their hostages) were suffocated by a large fire set at the entrance by throwing down brush and trees from the canyon rim.
A series of trading posts were established above the canyon and with the coming of the National Old Trails Highway (soon to be known as US Route 66 in 1926) the town became a tourist trap complete with a menagerie, gas station, Apache Death Cave Tours, and trading post.
The Apache Death Cave complex had been sealed by a series of cave-ins but recently unknown persons excavated the entrance, so access is once again possible. The roof of the first part of the cave has always had a crack to the surface admitting some light and in December 2020 an additional rock fall opened it wider.
Canon XTi (400D) DSLR, Sigma 8mm f3.5 fisheye lens, Nodal Ninja 3 (NN3) Pano Head, Velbon D580 Tripod, Apple 16" MacBook Pro 2019, PTGui Pro 11.31, Affinity Photo 1.10.4, Pano2VR 5.2.5
More photographs and panoramas from Two Guns and Eastern Arizona http://www.6t6kix.com/pages/rt66/az_e.htm
History of Two Guns Arizona http://www.hkhinc.com/arizona/twoguns/richardson.htm
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