Abstract
Giant spar crystals were discovered in Chilly Bowl Cave in northern Arkansas in an area of deep faults between the Ouachita orogenic province and the Ozark uplands. The crystals provide data that support hypogene speleogenesis, including fluid inclusion paleotemperatures, 13C and 18O, and U–Pb dates that are inconsistent with an epigenetic water source. During the Ouachita orogeny, thermal brines entered the Paleozoic carbonates of the Ozarks to form spar-lined caves (U/Pb spar dates = 52 ± 2 million years). This age significantly extends the range of cave ages in the region. The chemistry of the early waters was derived from the deeply buried Ouachita foreland basin. The spar crystals are intersected by more recent caves related to the present topography which experience upward flow below confining units and by definition are also hypogenic.
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