The Story Behind One Of North Dakota’s Only Caves Is Mystifying

Due to the nature of North Dakota’s land, you can’t find many caves in the state. In fact, any place in the state that is called a cave and is accessible from the surface is not a cave at all. The kind of caves you may be thinking of are usually formed by erosion of water and other materials through different minerals and stones, hollowing out parts of the earth to form tunnels and caverns. North Dakota “caves” are usually made from slope failure, or the land of buttes and hills shifting and leaving gaps.

Regardless of that, there are a few sites in North Dakota that are known as caves and have been explored. One of these sites is on the Killdeer Mountains and has a fascinating story that has made it somewhat famous. It is known as the Medicine Hole Historical Site.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This site is CLOSED. It is currently on private property and trespassing is forbidden. The Killdeer Mountain Battlefield Historic Site near it remains open, but the owner does not allow visitors to the cave. Please do not attempt to explore it yourself.

MNDoodles/Tripadvisor

This lofty butte is one of the highest points in North Dakota. Important parts of the state's history took place here, including a very long battle fought between a large group of Sioux and the army of General Alfred Sully. The Sioux were forced to flee when it became obvious the battle was not going in their favor as they had hoped, and they disappeared. But where they disappeared has kept people wondering for years.

kelley/Flickr

The army could not find them, only spotting some stragglers a week later in different area of the mountains. The theory was that many of the Sioux had found their way through the Medicine Hole and a network of underground passages until reaching another way out.

Matthew Borders/Wikimedia

Many people attempted to explore the cave back in the day, and the outlook of there being another passage to the outside seemed likely. Wind currents were felt in the caverns, indicating that there must be another opening to the surface. But that opening has yet to be found, and left people wondering all these years later if that is where the people fled through. Many would say yes, but some people are still skeptical.

The fascinating geological formations that make up the mountains are both beautiful and fascinating, as you can see in the picture above, and the stories this place holds just adds to it. It really is a mystifying story.

As mentioned before, the cave historical site is closed until further notice. It is still interesting to discuss the story that lies behind it. What do you think happened?