These caverns can detect secret nuclear testing all across the world.

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The Tuckaleechee Caverns

Located in Townsend, Tennessee sits a very popular tourist spot. The Tuckaleechee Caverns are known for being an incredible sight and their "Big Room" which is a part of the cave that almost an entire football stadium could fit in!

The Tuckaleechee Caverns are known as the "Greatest Site Under the Smokies."  The cavern is carved inside of one of the oldest mountain chains on earth and are estimated to be millions of years old.  Tours are offered inside this cave system, and it's about a 1.25-mile round trip, but on the tour, you'll, of course, see tons of incredible formations, as well as the tallest subterranean waterfall in the Eastern United States, which is 210 feet! You can learn more about the Tuckaleechee Caverns and their tour options, here.

But arguably one of the most unique things about these caverns is that the Tuckaleechee Caverns are home to one of the most sensitive seismic stations on earth, and play a crucial role in detecting seismic activity across the globe.

How Tuckaleechee Caverns Play a Key Role In Detecting Secret Seismic Activity

Okay so this is an absolutely WILD fact about Tckaleechee Caverns, they can detect seismic activity from all over the globe. This is a big deal because they are able to detect nuclear testing all across the globe.

Here is what TuckaleecheeCaverns.com says about the importance of this detection:

Tuckaleechee Caverns hosts the most sensitive seismic station on Earth. It was originally installed by TVA when they began the construction of the TVA dams to see what the displacement of water would do to the tectonic plates in the area. The Cuban missile crisis occurred as the US military was discovering how accurate and precise the station tracks the global tectonic movement all around the Earth. The US military began upgrading it from then on to utilize the station to detect nuclear testing across the globe. Tuckaleechee Caverns AS107 seismic station is now monitored 24-7 and is transmitted via satellite to the DOD, US military, Geneva Switzerland, Vienna Austria, CTBTO and the Pentagon within 300ths of a millisecond.

I mean how WILD is that?!  If you want to check out Tuckaleechee Caverns the next time you're in Tennessee, you can check out their website for all of the information, here.