Introduction

The West Virginia Speleological Survey (WVASS) is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is dedicated to the exploration and documentation of caves and karst within the state of West Virginia. WVASS was founded by Roger Baroody (NSS 4871F) in 1967. Roger's intent was to have an organization that would continue the survey begun by William E. Davies in Caverns of West Virginia and its supplements, which appeared up until 1965. When it appeared that the West Virginia Geological Survey would not publish further updates to Davies's book, even though large quantities of new data were becoming available, the need for some sort of continuing survey to gather information about West Virginia's caves and karst became apparent.

WVASS is run by an informal coalition of directors; i.e., individuals who have taken the responsibility of organizing county or area cave surveys or who have done substantial karst and cave research in West Virginia. Meetings are informally held about 2 times a year, generally to discuss the progress of various reports, how they will be funded and published.

Bulletins

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Bulletin 1Caves of Randolph County by Doug Medville, 1971. 218 pages, over 200 caves described. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 2Development of Solution Features Cloverlick Valley, Pocahontas County by Eb Werner, 1972. 62 pages. A discussion of the geology and geomorphology of karst features in Cloverlick Valley. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 3Index of the Literature Pertaining to West Virginia Caves and Karst by Eb Werner, 1974. 155 pages. A very useful aid in locating information about caves and karst in West Virginia. $3
Bulletin 4Caves of Monroe County by John C. Hempel, 1975. 171 pages describing 210 caves. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 5Caves of North Central West Virginia by E. Ray and Mary Ellen Garton, 1976. 116 pages describing 111 caves in 7 counties. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 6Caves and Karst Hydrology in Northern Pocahontas County by Doug and Hazel Medville, 1976. 174 pages describing over 300 caves. See Bulletin 10. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 7The Invertebrate Cave Fauna of West Virginia by John R. Holsinger, Roger A. Baroody and David C. Culver, 1976. 86 pages. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 8Caves of the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia by Robert Gulden and Mark Johnson, 1985. 135 pages describing 89 caves in 3 counties. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 9Caves of the Organ Cave Plateau, Greenbrier County, West Virginia edited by Paul J. Stevens, 1988. Over 70 pages devoted to Organ Cave, the second longest in West Virginia, 37+ miles. At 100 feet to the inch the map of the system covers 80 pages. Also included are descriptions of 50 other caves on the Organ Cave Plateau. 200 pages. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 10Caves and Karst Hydrology of Southern Pocahontas County and the Upper Spring Creek Valley by Gary D. Storrick, 1992. 220 pages, 428 caves including 43+ mile Friars Hole System. 100 maps, 30 photos, 30 fold-out maps including Friars Hole at 1"=160'. This is the companion volume to Bulletin 6. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 11The Vertebrate Fauna of West Virginia Caves by E. Ray Garton, Fredrick Grady and Steven D. Carey, 1993. 100 pages describing and listing the living vertebrates reported from WV caves. Lists over 550 records for 57 species in over 220 caves. 5 color plates, 3 B/W plates. $5
Bulletin 12The Caves and Karst of Buckeye Creek Basin by George R. Dasher and William M. Balfour, 1994. 238 page, 80 photos, 4 color plates, 62 illustrations, 35 cave maps including 4 foldouts, with descriptions of 116 caves including the 5+ mile Buckeye Creek Cave System. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 13Caves and Karst of Randolph by Doug and Hazel Medville, 1995. Completely revised and updated to replace Bulletin 1. Describes 520 caves, 41 photos, with 150 maps, (11 foldout) including first ever full map of Simmons Mingo Cave, 252 pages. $15
Bulletin 14Caves of East-Central West Virginia--The Guidebook of the National Speleological Society’s 2000 Convention, Elkins, West Virginia edited by George R. Dasher, May 2000. Contains 60+ cave descriptions plus maps including 20 large fold-out maps in separate map packet. Also includes interviews with well known cavers of the region, detailed geology, hydrology, paleontology, biology and field trips. 300 pages. OUT OF PRINT
Bulletin 15Caves and Karst of Pendleton County by George Dasher, 2001. 404 pages describing 326 caves with 172 cave maps, 23 as fold outs, with 202 photos. $24
Bulletin 16The Invertebrate Cave Fauna of West Virginia, Second Edition by Daniel W. Fong, David C. Culver, Horton H. Hobbs III, and Tanja Pipan, 2007. The long-awaited and much-improved West Virginia Speleological Survey Bulletin #16 is now available. It is 167 pages long, and contains 11 color photos, 42 color maps, and six tables. It describes 88 species and three subspecies in 282 caves in 19 West Virginia counties. $30
Bulletin 17Caves and Karst of Grant County, West Virginia by George Dasher, 2010. 120 pages, 90 caves, 91 photos, 35 maps including folded map packet. $15
Bulletin 18The Caves and Karst of Tucker County by Doug McCarty and Brian Masney, 2011. Includes 304 cave and karst features, 155 photos, and 96 maps; contains CD-ROM with full-sized color versions of all maps and photos, plus extras. $30 black and white; $45 color
Bulletin 19The Caves and Karst of West Virginia by George Dasher, April 2012. The bulletin is 264 pages long, and contains descriptions of West Virginia's karst and limestones, summaries of the state's caves by river basins, and list of West Virginia's long caves, deep caves, deep pits, saltpeter caves, significant caves, karst springs, dye traces, VAR cave accidents, and reprints of the 2000 and 2012 NSS Convention geology field trips. $20
Bulletin 20The Caves and Karst of the Culverson Creek Basin by Philip Lucas, William Balfour, and George Dasher. May 2018. 336 pages, 364 caves, 208 photos, 80 maps. Included is a USB drive with the entire Bulletin in color plus other useful files. Describes the many caves in the Culverson Creek Basin of north-eastern Greenbrier County; includes a USB drive with the entire bulletin in color, plus other useful files. $30, black and white; $36 color
Bulletin 21The Caves and Karst of Mercer and Summers Counties, WV by Nick Schaer and George Dasher. May 2018. 226 caves, 186 pages, 131 photos, 62 maps. $20 black and white; $25 color
Bulletin 22The Caves and Karst of Monroe County by George Dasher. February 2019. 476 pages, 524 caves and springs, 143 maps, 242 photos, sections on bats and vertebrate fossils, 12 appendices. $40 black and white; $50 color
Bulletin 23The Caves and Karst of Hardy County by George Dasher; April 2020; 194 pages, 70 caves and springs, 43 maps, 17 geological schematics, 185 photos, sections on bats and vertebrate fossils, nine appendices, and a 43-page geological field trip on Corridor H from Davis to Wardensville; $20 black and white; $25 color
Bulletin 24The Caves and Karst of Western Greenbrier County by Bill Balfour, Greg Springer, Mark Passerby, and George Dasher; June 2020; 248 pages, 184 caves and springs, 41 cave maps, 24 geological schematics and other maps, 138 photos, 9 appendices, and a 58-page quad map of Zicafoose Blowhole; $20 black and white; $30 color
Bulletin 25The Caves and Karst of Pendleton County Volume One: Potomac River Valleys by George R. Dasher, 306, pages, 192 caves, 143 maps, 208 photos, December 2020. $30 black and white; $36 color
Bulletin 26The Caves and Karst of Pendleton County Volume Two: Germany Valley by George R. Dasher, 328, pages, 321 caves, 122 maps, 104 photos, April 2021. $30 black and white; $35 color
Bulletin 27The Saltpeter Caves of West Virginia by George Dasher, Ray Garton & Mary Ellen Garton; March 2021, 300 pages, 62 caves, 78 maps, 91 photos, 10 appendices. $36 color

Monographs

Monograph 1Caves in the Richlands Area of Greenbrier County, West Virginia edited by Bert Ashbrook, 1995. 48 caves are described in a 4 square mile area , with 25 figures, photos, tables and maps including 4 large foldouts, 37 pages. OUT OF PRINT
Monograph 2Recent Spring Creek Area Dye Tracings, Greenbrier County, West Virginia by George R. Dasher and Dr. Doug G. Boyer, February 2000. Contains detailed analysis, significance and historical perspective of the karst springs of the Buckeye Creek , Culverson Creek and Spring Creek drainage basins. Loaded with maps, photos and illustrations. 28 pages. OUT OF PRINT
Monograph 3The Cassell Cave Survey Project, Pocahontas County, West Virginia by Robert Zimmerman, 2009. 60 pages, 17 photos, 27 figures, maps at 50 feet to the inch. Describes the history, exploration and geology of this 8.6 mile system and surrounding caves. $10
Monograph 4The Survey of Cass Cave, Pocahontas County, West Virginia by Robert Zimmerman, cartography by Robert Zimmerman and Gregory S. Springer, 2011. Describes the history and geology of Cass Cave, including a map of the entire system. 23 map sheets, 1 profile sheet, 23 figures, 64 pages. OUT OF PRINT
Monograph 5Geology of Some Caves in Pendleton County, West Virginia by Chrisopher S. Swezey, 2014. Describes the geology, etc. of Cave Mountain, Sinnett, Trout, New Trout, and Hamilton Caves. 60 pages, 5 maps, 7 geological schematics, and one graph. $10
Monograph 6WVASS Monograph #6: A Convergence of Cave Men: The History of the Seneca Caverns Company by Richard A. Lambert; 134 pages, 229 pictures, 13 maps, $20
NSS Publication: The 2020 NSS Convention Geology Field Trip, North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River by George Dasher; 84 pages, 66 photos, ten maps, 21 geological schematics; describes a geology field trip from Elkins to Germany Valley, with the primary stops at Bowden, Smoke Hole Caverns, Seneca Caverns, Hellhole, and Seneca Caverns. $20

Other Publications

The West Virginia Caver This is the best source of current and on-going information about caving in West Virginia. The West Virginia Caver is published every other month and is official newsletter of the Charleston, ESSO, Monongahela, Monroe County Cavers, Mountain State, Parkersburg Area, Warsaw Underground, WV Association for Cave Studies, GROSS Grotto, and the WV University Student Grottos. Edited by George Dasher, each issue is generally 18-20 pages. 214 issues have been published as of January 2017.

By subscription $8.00 per year. Make check payable to West Virginia Caver and send to Ken Ashton, PO Box 1496, Morgantown, WV 26507 or email to ashton@geosrv.wvnet.edu.

Caverns of West Virginia by William E. Davies, 1958. 474 pages describing over 500 caves. Hard cover. Soft cover reprint, 1994. OUT OF PRINT
Caverns of West Virginia by William E. Davies, 1965 supplement. 72 pages describing 194 caves. $15.00. Available from the WV Geological and Economic Survey, 1 Mont Chateau Road, Morgantown, WV 26508, 304-595-2331. info@geosrv.wvnet.edu

Other Links

Ordering

Buyer must provide a valid NSS number or grotto affiliation in order to process your order. All prices include postage. West Virginia residents please add 6% sales tax. Orders can be sent via mail to:

Nick Schaer
WVASS
13 Sleepy Creek Rd.
Hurricane WV 25526

Make the check payable to West Virginia Speleological Survey

Contact

George Dasher
Executive Director
wvcaver@juno.com

Nick Schaer
Secretary / Treasurer / Publications Chair
andrew.schaer@frontier.com

Brian Masney
Database Coordinator
masneyb@onstation.org