Tuckaleechee Caverns Adds New Seismic Attraction

In collaboration with TVA and the University of Tennessee, the Vananda family of Townsend, Tennessee, owner’s of the world famous Tuckaleechee Caverns, are adding a monitor for earthquakes and nuclear blasts as part of the international Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization verification program.

The seismometer is about the size of a large bucket and it transmits information via a cable to a console center located in the welcome center for the Tuckaleechee Caverns. Visitors can watch the earth’s movements on a monitor. This is the second monitor placed inside the caverns. The first one stopped functioning several years ago.

The equipment is sensitive enough to detect an earthquake in California of a magnitude of 0.5 or greater. The data ends up being sent to TVA and then on to Vienna, Austria where the center for the Test Ban Treaty Organization is located.