Arnold Ice Cave gave its name to a whole lava tube system, and the person who named it worked for NASA.
Ronald Greeley named the Arnold Lava Tube System while studying lava tubes for the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, basing the name on one of the first discoveries in it, Arnold Ice Cave. NASA runs through the naming. Deg Cave, elsewhere in the same system, is named for the initials of Donald E. Gault, Branch Chief for Planetology at NASA Ames Research Center.
The system starts in the Deschutes National Forest on the northern flank of Newberry Volcano, runs northeast onto BLM land, and finally ends on private property near Horse Ridge. It acted as a conduit for lava from Lava Top Butte that went on to feed the Badlands rootless shield.
That flow, the basalt of Lava Top Butte, is related to the Horse Cave lobe, which created the neighbouring Horse Lava Tube System. The Lava Top Butte flow, the Badlands, the Horse system and the Arnold system all date to around 80,000 years ago, so the whole tangle of tubes under this country is essentially one event.
The ice is the reason the cave has its name. Tubes like this act as cold traps: dense winter air sinks in and stays, so water freezes and accumulates instead of draining away.
Americans claim the discovery, but the caves were known long before: dating puts Native American use here as early as 1370 AD.
The system has been badly treated. These caves were once large bat habitats, and people who came in with guns used the bats as target practice, killing them and leaving the bodies. Restoration work has been aimed at putting the caves back toward their original state, so check current access with the Deschutes National Forest before going.
Other places on the map within a couple of hours.
