Wisconsin Underground: A Guide to Caves, Mines, and Tunnels In and Around the Badger State, by Doris Green
Guidebook, informative,193 pages
Published by Henschel HAUS Publishing, Inc., 2018 (2nd edition)
Reviewed by Gloria Bartel, https://gloriaabartel.wixsite.com/gloriaabartel
Doris Green’s Wisconsin Underground is and eye-opening anthology of historical and current information regarding caves, mines, man-made tunnels, museums, and natural areas all over the state of Wisconsin, northern Iowa, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Through the exploration of these underground areas, the author paints a picture of the subterranean landscape of the state of Wisconsin and the immediate surrounding areas. Doris Green engages her deep knowledge and passion for the man-made and natural history of the world she lives in with this well-written, entertaining guidebook.
This guidebook’s section on caves is very novice-friendly, yet it still points out many areas of interest for seasoned cavers. Ms. Green covers all the known show caves in Wisconsin as well as many lesser-known caves. This book is particularly informative as the author describes each location very specifically, adding notes of what kind of clothing and equipment to bring and the difficulty level of each particular cave or tour. She also discusses the difficulty level for the mines and natural areas so that a tourist can come prepared for any occasion.
One particularly interesting quality of Wisconsin Underground is the way Doris Green’s introduction includes an entire section dedicated to bats and how the white nose syndrome has affected their populations. Throughout this book, she points out different caves and even a mine or two that have been closed to protect the species that hibernate year-round in Wisconsin. Since the caves and mines are an important part of Wisconsin’s natural history, Green also talks about the lengths people and governments have gone to protect these natural and historical landmarks from vandalism that has already damaged many caves, mines, and natural areas.
This guidebook is packed with information, descriptions, photos, and histories of the natural and man-made geological landscape of Wisconsin. Whether you are an experienced spelunker, interested in Wisconsin’s natural history, or just scouting for some new scenic views to share with your loved ones, Wisconsin Underground is a great place to start!
Reviewer Gloria Bartel lives in southern Wisconsin and is an aspiring writer. She loves to read books of all kinds. She has been writing novels since high school. She enjoys talking to authors about their publishing journeys as one day she hopes to publish some of her vast collection of novels.
