RUSSELL CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT

portion of a cavern in northeastern Alabama, U.S., 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Bridgeport, just south of the Alabama-Tennessee border. The cave is about 210 feet (64 m) long, 107 feet (33 m) wide, and 26 feet (8 m) high and is a portion of a cavern about 3 miles (5 km) long. It contains an almost continuous record of human habitation dating back to at least 7000 BC. It was discovered about 1953. The cave and site area (310 acres [125 hectares]) were presented to the National Park Service by the National Geographic Society in 1958 and were created a national monument in 1961.