Atlas Obscura
Moaning Caverns in Vallecito, California
Hidden beneath the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, Moaning Caverns is an enormous limestone cave with a history as unusual as its name. The cavern’s main chamber is so vast that the Statue of Liberty could reportedly fit inside it. One of its most striking features is a 165-foot steel spiral staircase that winds dramatically down into the cavern. Built in 1922 using steel salvaged from a…