Surveyors stumbled upon a small bush-covered hole. This discovery led to the unearthing of Lost Oasis Cave Preserve in 1985. They were staking the roadway for the northern extension of Lost Oasis Hollow. The surveyors almost missed it. A strong current of air blew from the hole. It was only two feet long, one foot wide, and less than two feet deep.
Espy Huston and Associates conducted resistivity surveys. Their results indicated a low resistivity area. It trended towards Greenbrier Sink and Dead Tree Sink. Bill Russell enlarged the entrance in March 1985. He used a sledgehammer. Russell squeezed through a low bedding plane passage. It dropped into a corner of a large room. The room was 35 feet wide and 40 feet long. It was up to eight feet high. Flowstone and formations almost divided it in two. The southeastern half was larger with few formations. A crack along the southeast wall was excavated. It reached a depth of eight feet.
The northwestern half of the room was lower. It measured three to six feet high. Flowstone covered breakdown on the floor. Digging in this area, following airflow, led to a small lower room. This room had a six-foot pit. Air came from a four-inch hole at the bottom. The hole led into a porous solution zone. This zone had clay-covered nodules. The nodules were roughly one foot in diameter. Interconnecting voids surrounded them. It appeared to be the same zone as in Sand Burr and Greenbrier caves.
Lost Oasis Cave Preserve hosts a rich biota. Two cave-adapted millipede species were observed. A blind Rhadine beetle species lives here too. Several spider types also call this cave home. Organic matter enters from a now-filled entrance. It’s along the east wall of the main room. A cone of black dirt and small rocks extends into the room. The cave developed along northeast-southwest trending fractures. Solution concentrated in these fractures. A room initially dissolved at the solution zone level. Collapse and further solution extended the room upward. Large breakdown blocks now floor the cave. These blocks rest on unconsolidated clay and solution remnants. Air flows from beneath the breakdown. It’s near the cave’s north edge. Air also flows from holes along the south wall. This airflow could indicate new cave passages. It might also come from a large area of solution rubble.
Original subdivision plans were abandoned. The new developer donated the cave. They also donated surrounding land to the Texas Cave Management Association in January 1993. Kate Walker’s UT Biology class visited the cave. Bill Russell and Jean Krejca accompanied them on a cool, wet morning in March 2003. The cave was cool and damp. Various cave critters were present, though not as numerous as in the spring. Speodesmus millipedes were present. Crickets clustered on the ceiling near the entrance. There were approximately 200. The cool temperature likely reduced animal activity.
The Texas Cave Management Association, TCMA, manages Lost Oasis Cave Preserve. They manage many caves and nature preserves across Texas. TCMA allows access for education and research. They also allow access for service projects. Contact the Preserve Manager to arrange a visit. Remember to sign a release and waiver form.
TCMA offers help to landowners. Caves can be valuable resources. They can provide financial opportunities. TCMA also assists educators and researchers. They provide unique environments for study. TCMA has decades of experience. They manage caves across Texas. They can help you manage your cave. This includes establishing conservation easements. They can control access. They can also install cave gates. They survey and map caves. Biological assessments are another service. They also monitor endangered species.
TCMA has a long history of cave research. They run the longest-running karst species monitoring program in the United States. It began in 1993. Lost Oasis Cave Preserve is regularly visited by schools. Gordon A. Bailey Middle School visits. So does Ann Richards School for Young Women.