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The Lost Sea in Craighead Caverns is a story told about Craighead Caverns, Sweetwater, Monroe County. Vote believe it or no way, then see what 1 named source says is documented.
Legend Kind of story 1 Named sources Knoxville Area Region Oct 30 Checked, 2026 Local legend. Not confirmed. Just for fun.
No. 6 of 12
The Lost Sea in Craighead Caverns People say that in 1905 a 13-year-old boy named Ben Sands squeezed through a small muddy opening in a cave near Sweetwater. He threw mudballs into the dark and heard only splashes, then found a huge room half full of water. Visitors today ride glass-bottom boats on what is billed as a vast underground lake that no one has finished exploring.
Believe it? No way Or just show me the answer
What The Sources Document The official Lost Sea Adventure history page tells the 1905 story of Ben Sands, a 13-year-old who squeezed in and found a large room half filled with water about 300 feet underground. That account comes from the attraction's own telling, and we found no independent source for it. The same page says bones of a Pleistocene jaguar that entered the cave roughly 20,000 years ago were found in 1939, and some are now at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It states that the caverns have been known and used since the days of the Cherokee; we do not go further on that. The page calls the Lost Sea a "Registered National Landmark". It gives no size figures and does not mention Guinness or a National Natural Landmark. Search results (not confirmed on the primary page; check with the caverns) repeat claims that Guinness called it America's largest underground lake and that it is a National Natural Landmark since 1974, and others rank it second largest; we could not trace these to a primary page, so they are not confirmed.
Sources: History of the Lost Sea (Lost Sea Adventure, official site) .
Previous Casey Jones and The Cannonball Wreck Next Mary, The Ghost of The Orpheum Theatre A Note Claims of a world record or National Natural Landmark status trace to no confirmed page, so they are not repeated as fact.
Looked for and Not Found Any primary page for a Guinness listing The official page does not mention Guinness. Size or depth measurements on the official page. A 1965 opening date on the official page It appears only in search snippets. More Legends Plan The Trip Frequently Asked Questions Does my vote count anywhere? Votes and your collected set stay in your own browser. We do not store or share them.
Where do these facts come from? From the named sources listed on this page: History of the Lost Sea (Lost Sea Adventure, official site).
Sources History of the Lost Sea (Lost Sea Adventure, official site) Read on October 30, 2026. Stories are for fun; the facts come from these sources. How we check: editorial standards ; spot a mistake? tell us .
Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “The Lost Sea in Craighead Caverns”, itstennessee.com/legends/lost-sea-craighead-caverns-sweetwater/ (updated 2026-11-01 ). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.
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