The Discovery of Longwell's Pit, Nevada

Chester Longwell was a professor at Yale and a big influence in the research and exploration of geology in Southern Nevada. I obtained a document from Matthew regarding a 'vertical hole' that Longwell spotted when he was on horseback. His first publication came out in 1921 about the north Muddy Mountains. Hiking throughout the range, I dissected the information and found a general area where the cave could be.

Mark said he wanted to follow a path a horse would take — and that path led him to where all the signs in the description could be. Mark looked left and right and found it! The team dropped into the vertical pit entrance and found a large chamber. I was able to make it to Longwell's Pit and entered the 38 ft pit. I found it very interesting to see the corrosion on the walls and the cupolas that were made.

The last 15–20 ft are free hanging and open up to one room at the bottom — around 30x20 ft with popcorn, some aragonite bushes, and a lot of calcite crust on the walls. There is a dried-up pond at the bottom with wood and some bones in the corners, a piece of burnt wood, and... a Michelob can at the bottom. Who is walking through the desert, drinking Michelob Ultra, and throws a can in a hole they randomly find? The pit entrance is quite sharp — bring 100 ft of rope and lots of padding to secure it properly.