Following up the examination soon after, it was discovered that
the cave was immense in its proportions.
On account of its great size, it was named Mammoth Cave. It has an area
of several hundred square miles, and two hundred and twenty-three known
and numbered avenues, with a united length of from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred miles.
The interior of this cave is divided by huge columns and walls of stone
into chambers of various shapes and sizes. Some of these are large
enough to afford standing room for thousands of people.
One of the largest of these chambers is called Mammoth Dome. This room
is four hundred feet long, one hundred and fifty feet wide, and two
hundred and fifty feet in height.
The walls of this grand room are curtained by alabaster drapery in
vertical folds and present to the eye a scene of unexampled beauty and
grandeur.
A large gateway at one end of this room opens into another room, in
which the position of the huge stone pillars, reminds one of the ruins
of some ancient temple.
Six colossal columns, or pillars, eighty feet high and twenty-five feet
in diameter, standing in a half circle, are among the imposing
attractions of this wonderful room.
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