Stunning underwater cave unearthed by drought draws explorers, Texas photos show

An underwater cavern revealed by drought is drawing visitors eager to explore its nooks and crannies, despite officials requesting they keep away, news outlets report.

The water level at Texas’ Canyon Lake has plummeted in recent weeks, according to officials. The human-made lake near San Antonio is only 65% full, data shows.

As the water recedes, Canyon Lake is giving up lesser-known secrets, including a stunning cave carved beneath a rocky shelf of rock, photos show.

Walls and pillars of stalactites decorate the cave, moss-covered and dripping, photos show. Normally drowned by Canyon Lake, the water is little more than a puddle inside the cavern, and already grass is sprouting from the mud.

Some have found bones, photos show. What they belonged to and how they got there are a mystery.

“I’ve heard rumors about underwater caves in Canyon Lake for 40 years or more. It was just so cool to finally see one materialize,” resident Pamela Hough Gilbert told KSAT. “Canyon Lake has lots of secrets.”

Likewise, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which manages the lake — had only heard rumors of caves within Canyon Lake, the outlet reported.

“We know very little about the caves or their hazards and it is better to be cautious and look from a distance,” a Corps spokesperson told the station.

Canyon Lake was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1964, largely for flood control, according to the Corps, but its history goes back much further.

In the mid-1850s, settlers established two towns in the area: Hancock and Crane’s Mill. Though they survived more than 100 years, the rural towns now sit at the bottom of Canyon Lake, according to Texas historians.

This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Stunning underwater cave unearthed by drought draws explorers, Texas photos show."