D. C.
Grotto Library Book List
(as of February, 2008)
The following is a list of the books in the D. C. Grotto Library.
They can normally be checked out by any Grotto member. If you are
interested in checking out a book contact Bob Hoke at 301-725-5877 or
e-mail bob@rhoke.net.
ADVENTURES AT MARK TWAIN CAVE (Weaver, 1972, 62 pgs) History of
exploration and commercialization of this Missouri cave.
ALABAMA CAVES (Tarkington, Varnedoe, Veitch, 1965, 500 pgs)
Descriptions, maps, descriptions for many Alabama caves.
ALEXANDER CAVERNS (Speece, 1973, 28 pgs) Description of this formerly
commercial Pennsylvania cave.
AMERICAN CAVING ACCIDENTS 1967--1970 (no author, 1974, 42 pgs) Sobering
summary of cave accidents during the period.
ATLAS OF THE GREAT CAVES OF THE WORLD (Courbon & others, 1989, 368
pgs) Descriptions & maps of hundreds of major caves throughout the
world.
BASIC CAVE RESCUE ORIENTATION COURSE STUDY GUIDE (Eastern Region NCRC,
1990, 220 pgs) Good introduction to cave rescue techniques, based on
the popular rescue orientation course.
BULLETIN OF THE SPELEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - VOL
I (Bloch, 1940, 64 pgs) reprint of the first DC Grotto publication -
history, bylaws, members, several cave descriptions.
CAPITAL AREA CAVERS (Baker & Anderson, 1982, 137 pgs) History of several
major DC-area projects (Friars Hole, Organ, Elk River, several others).
CAVE CAPERS GUIDEBOOK, 1989 (Central Indiana Grotto, 1989, 38 pgs)
Guide to over 40 caves around Owen County, Indiana.
CAVER INFORMATION SERIES (NSS, various dates) Short papers on various
caving topics. Most are obsolete.
1 Information for Beginning Cavers
(1978, 2 pgs)
2 Cave Surveying (1978, 9 pgs)
3 Head Protection for Cavers (no
date, 6 pgs)
4 Cave Clothing (no date, 2 pgs)
5 Public Relations (no date, 2
pgs)
6 A Micro-Velocity Anemometer (no
date 3 pgs)
8 Methods the Average Caver Can
Use To Find New Caves (no date, 2 pgs)
11 Scaling Poles (no date, 5 pgs)
13 Cable Ladders -- Construction,
Corrosion and Safety (no date, 5 pgs)
14 Building a Wet Suit (1960?, 5 pgs)
15 Bats (no date, 2 pgs)
16 Proposed Standard Map Symbols (1961,
2 pgs)
17 Cave Rescue (no date, 6 pgs)
18 Use of the Cave Radio in Mapping
(1985, 7 pgs)
19 A Magnetic Induction Cave Radio (no
date, 5 pgs)
20 A Nutritionally Adequate Cavers'
Ration (no date, 9 pgs)
21 The Caver's Camera (no date, 1 pg)
22 Selection of a Caving Camera (no
date, 6 pgs)
23 Cavers and Hypothermia (no date, 5
pgs)
24 Specific Gravity Identification of
Aragonite (no date, 2 pgs)
25 Deterioration of Climbing Ropes (no
date, 4 pgs)
26 Techniques of Stream Tracing (1988, 3
pgs)
27 Cave Diving (no date, 4 pgs)
(incomplete)
28 Techniques Involved in Finding
Caves... (no date, 8 pgs)
29 Cave Photography ( 1973, 10 pgs)
30 Geological Terms Used in Caving
(1986, 4 pgs)
31 Cave Owner Relationships (1972, 2 pgs)
32 The Mitchell Jumar System (1975, 3
pgs)
33? Belaying (1975, 8 pgs)
33? The FX-2 Electric Lamp (1989, 6 pgs)
34? Drafting of Cave Maps (1976, 6 pgs)
35? A Guide for Biological Collecting in
Caves (1978, 14 pgs)
36? The Caver as a Cave Manager (1979, 4
pgs)
38 Electric Light Systems for Caving
(1981, 15 pgs)
39 Plastic Garbage Bags for Comfort
& Survival (no date, 3 pgs)
40 The Dupont or Eye Splice in Laid
Nylon Rope (1976, 3 pgs)
41 State Geological Publications (1987,
23 pgs)
42 A Glossary of Some Acronyms Used in
Caving (1988, 4 pgs)
43 The Rectangular Method of Land
Measurement (no date, 3 pgs)
CAVERNS OF SONORA (Messling, 1978, 42 pgs) Description of a famous
Texas commercial cave.
CAVERNS OF WEST VIRGINIA (Davies, 1958/1965, 330+70 pgs) The "bible"
for West Virginia cavers for many years. Dated, but still a
popular reference. Includes 1965 Supplement.
CAVES 83, BAT CAVE, NC (NC Cave Survey, 1983, 45 pgs) Guide to caves
around Bat Cave, North Carolina.
CAVES AND KARST HYDROLOGY IN NORTHERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY [West Virginia]
(WVASS Bulletin #6) (Medville & Medville, 1976, 174 pgs)
descriptions & maps of caves in the area.
CAVES AND KARST HYDROLOGY OF SOUTHERN POCAHONTAS COUNTY (WVASS Bulletin
10) (Storrick, 1992, 212 pgs & 30 separate map sheets) Descriptions
& maps for some West Virginia's most significant caves.
CAVES AND KARST HYDROLOGY OF THE SOUTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU, TEXAS
(Kastning, 1978, 48 pgs) Guidebook for the Geology Field Trip at the
1978 NSS Convention.
CAVES & KARST OF KENTUCKY (Kentucky Geological Survey, 1985, 196 pgs)
Detailed technical description of Kentucky’s karst areas
THE CAVES AND KARST OF THE BUCKEYE CREEK BASIN (WVASS Bulletin #12)
(Dasher & Balfour, 1994, 240 pgs) detailed study and guidebook for
the Buckeye Creek Basin in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
CAVES AND KARST OF MONROE COUNTY, W. Va. (Haarr, Medville, &
Werner, 1975, 150 pgs) Maps and descriptions of many caves in this
cave-rich county.
CAVES AND KARST OF PENDLETON COUNTY (WVASS Bulletin 15) (Dasher, 2001,
404 pgs & 11 separate map sheets) Descriptions & maps for the
caves in this popular West Virginia caving county.
CAVES & KARST OF RANDOLPH COUNTY (WVASS Bulletin #13) (Medville
& Medville, 1995, 250 pgs plus many large maps) Outstanding guide
to the many caves in Randolph County, West Virginia. Good descriptions and
many maps.
CAVES AND OTHER VOLCANIC LANDFORMS OF CENTRAL OREGON (Sims &
Benedict, 1982, 49 pgs) Guidebook for the Geology & Biology Field
Trip at the 1982 NSS Convention in Bend, Oregon
THE CAVES OF BLAIR COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA (Speece & Cullinan, 1972,
90 pgs) Descriptions and maps.
CAVES OF THE EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA (WVASS Bulletin #8)
(Gulden & Johnsson, 1985, 136 pgs) descriptions and maps for the
numerous small caves in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.
CAVES OF THE GEM STATE (?, 1969, 30 pgs) Descriptions and crude maps of
several Idaho caves.
CAVES OF ILLINOIS (Bretz & Harris, 1961, 87 pgs) Descriptions &
maps of lots of Illinois caves.
CAVES OF INDIANA (Powell, 1961, 127 pgs) Descriptions & maps of
lots of Indiana caves.
THE CAVES OF MCKITTRICK HILL (Kunath, 1978, 88 pgs) Descriptions &
maps of several Eddy County, New Mexico caves.
THE CAVES OF MARYLAND (Davies, 1950, 76 pgs) Descriptions and maps of
Maryland’s caves.
CAVES OF MASSACHUSETTS (Hauer, 1969, 62 pgs) Brief descriptions &
maps of many caves.
CAVES OF MISSOURI (Bretz, 1956, 490 pgs) Descriptions & locations
of many Missouri caves. A few maps and photos.
CAVES OF MONTANA (Campbell, 1978, 170 pgs) Descriptions & maps of
lots of Montana caves.
CAVES OF NORTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA (Garton & Garton, 1976, 108
pgs) descriptions of caves in Barbour, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia,
Ohio, Preston, and Upshur counties.
CAVES OF THE ORGAN CAVE PLATEAU (WVASS Bulletin #9) (Stevens, 1988, 200
pgs)Detailed map and text describing Organ Cave and other caves in the
area.
CAVES OF RANDOLPH COUNTY [West Virginia] (WVASS Bulletin #1) (Medville
& Medville, 1971, 218 pgs) Good maps and descriptions of Randolph
County caves. Superceded by updated edition in 1995).
CAVES OF SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA (Reich, 1974, 120 pgs) Maps &
descriptions of the area’s caves.
CAVES OF TENNESSEE (Barr, 1961, 560 pgs) Descriptions, maps, locations,
& photos of lots of Tennessee caves.
THE CAVES OF TEXAS (Mohr (ed), 1948, 136 pgs) NSS Bulletin Ten.
Descriptions & photos of Texas caves, few maps.
CAVES OF WASHINGTON (Halliday, 1963, 132 pgs) Descriptions & maps
of many Washington (state) caves
CAVES OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA (White, 1976, 98 pgs) Descriptions &
maps of many western Pennsylvania caves
CAVING BASICS (FIRST EDITION) (Hassemer, 1982, 125 pgs) Somewhat dated,
but still useful, introduction to caving techniques.
CAVING BASICS (THIRD EDITION) (Rea, 1992, 187 pgs) Updated edition of
the popular book on introductory caving techniques.
CENTRAL KENTUCKY CAVE SURVEY #2 (Groves & others, 1988, 150 pgs)
CURRENT TITLES IN SPELEOLOGY (BCRA, 1987-1992 and several earlier
years, 110 pgs average) An annual bibliography of worldwide cave
literature. Valuable for research. (Replaced by Speleological
Abstracts starting in 1993).
DESCRIPTIONS OF TENNESSEE CAVES (Matthews, 1971, 150 pgs) Brief
descriptions and a few maps of Tennessee caves.
DESCRIPTION OF VIRGINIA CAVES (Holsinger, 1975, 450 pgs) A classic
guide to hundreds of Virginia caves.
DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF THE OREGON CAVES (Walsh & Halliday,
1971, 28 pgs) History of this commercial cave in Oregon
EXPLORING AMERICAN CAVES (Folsom, 1956, 318 pgs)
GEOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF PENNSYLVANIA CAVES (PA Dept of Environmental
Resources, 1976, 104 pgs) detailed info about Pennsylvania caves in general. No
cave descriptions or maps.
GUIDEBOOKS FOR VIRGINIA REGION (VAR) MEETINGS:
Fall 1994 Eastern Panhandle, West Virginia (Tri-state Grotto,
1994, 46 pgs)
Fall 1997 Cumberland Gap, Virginia (Messer, 1997, 26 pgs)
Fall 1999 Franklin, West Virginia (Pendleton County) (Pearson,
1999, 40 pgs)
Spring 2000 Giles County, Virginia (O'Malley, 2000, 26 pgs)
Fall 2000 Greenbrier County, West Virginia (WVACS, 2000, 29 pgs)
Spring 2003 Dailey, West Virginia (Randolph County) (Chute &
Hoke, 2003, 24 pgs)
Spring 2004 Grand Caverns, Grottos, Virginia (?, 2004, 16 pgs
& 4 separate maps)
Fall 2004 Parsons, West Virginia (Tucker County) (McCarty, 2004,
30 pgs)
Spring 2005 Lewisburg, West Virginia (Greenbrier County)
Pearson, 2005, 32 pgs)
Spring, 2006 Grand Caverns, Virginia (Grottoes, Agusta County) (Walsh, 2006, 24 pgs)
Spring, 2007 Durbin, West Virginia (Pocahontas County) (?, 2007, 22 pgs)
GUIDE TO THE CAVES OF MINNESOTA (Hogberg & Bayer, 1967, 60 pgs)
Descriptions of several Minnesota caves
A GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE CAVING (Sira (ed), 1998, 20 pgs) Brief guide for
beginning cavers.
A GUIDE TO SPELEOLOGICAL LITERATURE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1794-1996
(Northrup & others, 1998, 537 pgs) Comprehensive bibliography of
worldwide caving literature in English
GUIDEBOOK TO THE HISTORIC SECTION OF MAMMOTH CAVE (Palmer, Palmer,
& White, 1981, 60 pgs) Useful guide produced for the Eighth
International Congress of Speleology in 1981
GUIDEBOOK TO KARST AND CAVES OF TENNESSEE AND MISSOURI (Crawford &
Vinyard, 1981, 176 pgs) Useful guide produced for the Eighth
International Congress of Speleology in 1981
THE HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE CENTRAL MONROE COUNTY KARST, WEST VIRGINIA (Ogden, 1976,
263 pgs) Very technical PhD thesis by Al Ogden.
KARST HYDROGEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY OF EASTERN NEW YORK (Cullen &
others, 1979, 83 pgs) Geology trip guide for the 1979 NSS
Convention
INDEX TO LITERATURE PERTAINING TO WEST VIRGINIA CAVES AND KARST (WVASS
Bulletin #3) (Werner, 1974, 140 pgs) Dated but valuable guide to
literature on W. Va. caves
INTERIM REPORT NUMBER 2 -- ALABAMA CAVE SURVEY E (Varnedoe, 1975, 240
pgs) Listing of caves and many maps.
AN INTRODUCTION TO CAVE SURVEYING (Ellis, 1988, 40 pgs) A small but
useful British publication on how they do cave surveys. Most of
the material is applicable in the U.S. as well.
THE JEWEL CAVE ADVENTURE (Conn & Conn, 1977, 240 pgs)
Detailed history of exploration of the first 50 miles in Jewel Cave,
South Dakota.
THE LAND OF THE BURNT OUT FIRES - LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT,
CALIFORNIA (Knox, 1959, 12 pgs) reprint of NSS Bulletin article describing the
caves
THE LEHMAN CAVES STORY (Halladay, 1972, 28 pgs) Layman’s description of
this commercial Nevada cave
LIVING ON KARST - A Reference Guide for Landowners in Limestone Regions
(Zokaites (ed), 1997, 26 pgs) A good introduction to the pitfalls of
living in a karst region.
MANUAL OF U.S. CAVE RESCUE TECHNIQUES (NCRC, 1981, 108 pgs)
Detailed manual of cave rescue procedures.
MAR BULLETIN (books on Pennsylvania counties & caving areas
published by the Mid-Appalachian Region of the NSS):
MAR Bulletin 4: Shippensburg area (Smeltzer, 1958, 17 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 5: Western Pennsylvania (Dunn, 1960, 76 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 6: Southern Cumberland Valley (Smeltzer,
1964, 126 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 9: Huntingdon County (Cullinan & Speece,
1975, 114 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 10: Snyder County (LaRock, 1976, 30 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 11: Centre County (126 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 12: Mifflin County (72 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 13: Perry County (30 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 14: Bucks County (44 pgs)
MAR Bulletin 15: Lehigh County (34 pgs)
MAR SPRING THING [1980] (Gulden, 1980, 80 pgs) Guidebook for the May,
1980, MAR meeting. Contains maps and descriptions of caves in the
eastern panhandle of West Virginia
MEXICAN CAVING 2001 (Walsh & Woods, Ed, 2001, 150 pgs) information
about Mexican caves, cave maps, and local facilities. Good for
anyone planning a trip to Mexico.
NORTH CAROLINA CAVE SURVEY #1, #2, & #3 (Holler, 1975-81, 80, 66,
& 18 pgs) Descriptions & maps of several Notrh Carolina caves.
NOTES ON MAKING SALTPETRE (Rains, 1861, 10 pgs) Reprint of a Civil War
booklet on saltpeter making.
NSS CONVENTION GUIDEBOOKS: General information, cave
descriptions, and cave maps for selected caves around various NSS
convention sites.
1967: Birmingham & Huntsville,
Alabama (Veitch, 52 pgs)
1970: Watoga, West Virginia
(schleicher (ed), 98 pgs)
1971: Blacksburg, Virginia
(Whittemore, 70 pgs)
1972: White Salmon, Washington
(Halliday (Ed), 77 pgs)
1973: Bloomington, Indiana
(unnamed editor, 80 pgs)
1974: Decorah, Iowa
(Hedges (ed), 140 pgs)
1975: Frogtown, California
(unnamed editor, 226 pgs)
1976: Morgantown, West Virginia
(Garton (ed), 118 pgs)
1977: Alpena, Michigan
(unnamed editor, 68 pgs)
1978: New Braunfels,
Texas (Fieseler, Jasek, & Jaek (eds), 116 pgs)
1979: Pittsfield, Massachusetts
(Evans & others (eds), 76 pgs)
1980: White Bear Lake, Minnesota (Alexander (ed), 190 pgs)
1982: Bend, Oregon
(Larson, 74 pgs)
1983: Elkins, West Virginia
(Medville & others, 147 pgs)
1984: Sheridan, Wyoming
(Flurkey, 75 pgs)
1985: Frankfort, Kentucky
(Hacker, Vore, & Vore (eds), 76 pgs)
1986: Tularosa, New Mexico
(Belski, Belski, & Hardy (eds), 66 pgs)
1988: Hot Springs, South Dakota
(Schilberg & Springhetti (eds), 156 pgs)
1989: Sewanee, Tennessee
(Putnam (ed), 240 pgs)
1990: Yreka, California
(Johnson (ed), 204 pgs)
1992: Salem, Indiana
(Rea (ed), 256 pgs)
1993: Pendleton, Oregon
Kline (ed), 150 pgs)
1994: Brackettville,
Texas (Elliott & Veni (eds), 342 pgs)
1995: Blacksburg, Virginia
(Zokaites (ed), 225 pgs, many fold-out maps)
1996: Salida, Colorado
Kolstad (ed), 214 pgs)
1997: Sullivan, Missouri
(Taylor (ed), 278 pgs)
1999: Filer, Idaho
(Kline (ed), 106 pgs)
2000: Elkins, West Virginia
(Dasher (ed), 300 pgs, many fold-out maps)
2001: Mt. Vernon, Kentucky
(Braley (ed), 216 pgs, several fold-out maps)
2002: Camden, Maine
Nardacci (ed), 92 pgs)
2003: Porterville, California
(Proffitt (ed), 256 pgs)
OLD TIMERS REUNION PROGRAMS (various editors, dates, and sizes) Most of
these programs contain descriptions of the caves near the OTR site for
that year.
ON ROPE (Padgett & Smith, 1987, 340 pgs) When first published, this
was the bible on vertical caving equipment and techniques. (This is not
the latest edition of this book).
ON STATION (Dasher, 1994, 242 pgs) Detailed information on the art and
science of cave mapping.
ONONDAGA -- THE MAMMOTH CAVE OF MISSOURI (Weaver, 1973, 94 pgs)
Description & history of this Missouri cave.
THE PARADISE ICE CAVES (Halliday & Anderson, 27 pgs) brief
descriptions of the ice caves ion Mt. Rainier National Park.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON VULCANSPELEOLOGY AND ITS
EXTRATERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONS (Halliday (ed), 1972, 85 pgs)
PRUSIKING (Thrun, 1973, 75 pgs) Classic tome on single rope climbing
techniques and equipment.
REGION RECORD ISSUE #12 (Wittemore, 1979, 160 pgs) Interesting early
history of clubs and caves in the Virginia Region through about 1978.
ROPE RESCUE MANUAL (California Mountain Co., Ltd., 1987, 135 pgs)
Useful guide to rigging techniques used in technical mountain rescue;
much is also applicable to advanced cave rescue.
SALTPETRE CAVES AND VIRGINIA HISTORY (Faust, 1964, 26 pgs) information
about saltpeter mining in Virginia & West Virginia (reprinted from Caves of
Virginia, by Henry Douglas)
SERA CAVE CARNIVAL GUIDEBOOK (Chattanooga Grotto, 1979 &
1987, 56 & 45 pgs) Descriptions and maps of of caves.
SERA 89 (Chattanooga Grotto, 1989, 94 pgs) Descriptions, maps,
& photos of 47 caves.
SINKS OF GANDY CREEK (Preble, 1969, 26 pgs) historic descriptions of
the Sinks of Gandy in Randolph County, West Virginia)
SOIL SURVEY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY, WV (USDA & USFS, 1978?, 200+ pgs)
Very technical, but may contain information about soils that contain
caves.
SPELEO DIGEST (NSS, annually 1964-2003) Annual NSS publications that
contain the "best" material from Grotto newsletters during that
year. A very useful reference.
SPELEO DIGEST CUMULATIVE INDEX 1956-1980 (NSS, 1991, 565 pgs) A few
errors, but still a useful index to 25 years of Speleo Digests.
SPELEOFEST GUIDEBOOK (Louisville Grotto, 1973, 1982, 1988, 1989)
Speleofest (Kentucky) guidebooks.
THE SPELEOGUIDE (John Slaven, 1971, 92 pgs) Introductory guide to basic
caving techniques.
SPELEOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS (Intl. Union of Speleology, 1993, 243 pgs)
brief abstracts of many worldwide article written in 1993.
SPELEOLOGY, THE STUDY OF CAVES (Moore & Sullivan, 1978, 150 pgs)
Classic and readable introduction to Speleology.
TO THE EDGE (video DVD) (Extreme Rappels, 2004) Video of cavers
rappeling off El Capitan (Yosemite National Park, CA) in 2004.
TRAPPED IN DEATH CAVE (Wallace, 1984, 151 pgs) Pulp fiction about caves
& treasure hunting.
VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF WEST VIRGINIA CAVES (WVASS Bulletin 11) (Garton,
Grady, Carey, WVASS, 1993, 107 pgs) A reference guide to the vertebrate
critters in West Virginia caves.
VIRGINIA CAVE LOCATOR SERIES, BOOK 5 -- ROCKINGHAM COUNTY (Felter,
1982, 64 pgs) locations of many caves in Rockingham County, Virginia
WEIL'S DISEASE - A Caver's Guide (Weil's Disease Information Center,
1999, 16 pgs) A guide to prevention and treatment of this potentially
deadly waterborne infection that cavers are exposed to in wet passages.
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