Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a United States national park located in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The main attraction of the park is the show cave called Carlsbad Cavern. Visitors can walk in through the natural entrance or take an elevator from the visitor center.
The park entrance is on US Highway 62/180, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The park has two areas listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Caverns Historic District and the Rattlesnake Springs Historic District. About two-thirds of the park is designated as a wilderness area, which helps protect the natural habitat from future changes.
Carlsbad Caverns includes a large limestone chamber called the Big Room. The Big Room is nearly 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) long, 625 feet (191 meters) wide, and 255 feet (78 meters) high at its tallest point. It is the largest chamber in North America and the 32nd largest in the world.
Carlsbad Caverns was established as a national park in 1930 and recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1995. According to the online publication The Travel, it is known worldwide for being "one of the most accessible and best-preserved cave systems in the world."
Geology
Approximately 250 million years ago, the area now covered by Carlsbad Caverns National Park was part of the shoreline of an inland sea. This sea was home to many types of marine life, whose remains formed a reef. Unlike modern reefs, the Permian reef included bryozoans, sponges, and other tiny organisms. After the Permian Period, most of the water from the sea disappeared, and the reef was buried by salt deposits and other sediments. During the late Cenozoic, tectonic forces pushed the reef upward, exposing it to the surface. Over time, erosion shaped the Guadalupe Mountain region into its current form.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located above the groundwater level in a layer of limestone. During the time the caverns formed, this limestone was below the groundwater level. Beneath the limestone lies petroleum, part of the Mid-Continent Oil Field. Near the end of the Cenozoic, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) began to rise from the petroleum into the groundwater. When hydrogen sulfide combined with oxygen from the water, it created sulfuric acid: H₂S + 2O₂ → H₂SO₄. This acid traveled upward, dissolving the limestone and forming the caverns. The presence of gypsum in the cave confirms this process, as gypsum forms when sulfuric acid reacts with limestone.
After the acidic groundwater drained from the caverns, mineral deposits called speleothems began to form inside. Erosion on the surface created the natural entrance to Carlsbad Caverns within the last million years. Exposure to the surface allowed air to enter the cavern. Rainwater and snowmelt absorbed carbon dioxide as they seeped into the ground. When this water reached the cavern ceiling, it released carbon dioxide and evaporated, leaving behind calcium carbonate deposits. These deposits, which grow downward from the ceiling, are called stalactites. Water on the cavern floor may also contain carbonic acid, which leaves mineral deposits through evaporation. These deposits, which grow upward from the floor, are called stalagmites. Other speleothem formations include columns, soda straws, draperies, helictites, and popcorn. Changes in air temperature and rainfall affect how quickly speleothems grow, as higher temperatures increase carbon dioxide production in the soil above. The colors of speleothems depend on the small amounts of other minerals present in the formations.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate system, the Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Center has a cool semi-arid climate (BS).
History
In 1898, a teenager named Jim White explored the cavern using a ladder he made himself from wire. He gave names to many rooms inside the cave, including the Big Room, New Mexico Room, Kings Palace, Queens Chamber, Papoose Room, and Green Lake Room. He also named several large formations in the cave, such as the Totem Pole, Witch's Finger, Giant Dome, Bottomless Pit, Fairyland, Iceberg Rock, Temple of the Sun, and Rock of Ages.
The town of Carlsbad, which shares its name with the cavern and national park, was named after a Czech town. This town was previously called Karlsbad in German and is now known as Karlovy Vary in Czech. Both names mean "Charles' Baths."
Until 1932, visitors to the cavern had to walk down a winding path that led 750 feet (230 meters) below the surface. The return trip was difficult for some people. In 1932, the national park opened a large visitor center with two elevators that carried visitors to and from the caverns below. The new center also included a cafeteria, waiting room, museum, and first aid area.
On October 25, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge signed a proclamation (1679-October 25, 1923-43 Stat. 1929) that established Carlsbad Cave National Monument.
— Proclamation 1679, Oct. 25, 1923, 43 Stat. 1929
On April 2, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge issued an executive order (3984) to consider creating a national park or monument at the site.
On May 3, 1928, an additional executive order (4870) was issued to reserve more land for the possible monument or park.
On May 14, 1930, an act of the United States Congress (46 Stat. 279) created Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The park was to be managed by the Secretary of the Interior and operated by the National Park Service.
On June 17, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed Executive Order 5370 to reserve more land for classification.
On November 10, 1978, the Carlsbad Caverns Wilderness was established through the National Parks and Recreation Act (95-625), signed by President Jimmy Carter.
Named rooms
Some rooms are not available for visitors because they are hard to reach or have safety concerns.
Tourist information
Carlsbad Caverns had an average of about 410,000 visitors each year between 2007 and 2016. The most visitors usually come on weekends after Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Free entry for self-guided tours is often available on holidays such as Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, National Park Week, and Veterans Day weekend. Camping is allowed in the back country of the park, but a permit must be obtained from the visitor center.
One special event at the park is the bat flight viewing. A program is held in the early evening at the amphitheater near the main entrance before the bats fly out. The timing of the flight depends on when the sun sets. These programs take place from Memorial Day weekend until the middle of October. The best time to see the bats is usually in July and August, when young bats join the flight for the first time. Morning programs are also offered before sunrise to watch bats return to the cave. Once a year, a bat flight breakfast is held, allowing visitors to eat breakfast at the park before the morning bat return.
Throughout the year, the park hosts star parties at night. Rangers give talks about the night sky, and telescopes are available for viewing. These events often happen during special astronomical events, such as the transit of Venus.
Recent exploration
In 1985, a special way to explore was created. A stalagmite, which is a rock formation, extends from a dome area 255 feet (78 m) above the floor of the Big Room, near the Bottomless Pit. Explorers used a lightweight cord with a balsa wood loop and helium-filled balloons to float it over the stalagmite and back to the ground. They then pulled a climbing rope into place and climbed into a new area they called The Spirit World. A smaller room found near the main entrance was named Balloon Ballroom, honoring the method used to discover it.
In 1993, explorers found a series of small passages in the ceiling of the New Mexico Room. These passages together are nearly a mile long and were named "Chocolate High." This was the largest discovery in the cave since the Guadalupe Room was found in 1966.
The Bottomless Pit was once believed to have no bottom. Stones were thrown into it, but no sound was heard when they landed. Later exploration showed the pit is about 140 feet (43 m) deep and filled with soft dirt. The stones sank into the soil and did not make a noise.
On October 31, 2013, a cave technician discovered a new chamber in the Spirit World area, hundreds of feet above the main part of the cave. It was named "Halloween Hall" because it was found on Halloween. The chamber is about 100 feet (30 m) wide, and more than 1,000 bat bones were found inside.
In 2018, explorers squeezed through a narrow passage in the Mystery Room to find areas of the cave that had not been mapped before. They added names like Tomb of the Sky Bears, Ladies' Lament, and Wriggler's Relief to the map of Carlsbad Caverns. They also mapped the second-deepest part of the cavern, called Lake of Muddy Misery, which is only 13 feet (4 m) higher than Lake of the Clouds. Continued exploration by volunteers has increased the total surveyed length of Carlsbad Caverns to nearly 40 miles.
Other caves
The park has more than 119 caves. Three of these caves allow visitors to tour them. Carlsbad Caverns is the most well-known and has electric lights, paved paths, and elevators for visitors to use. Slaughter Canyon Cave and Spider Cave are not fully developed, but they have paths for guided "adventure" caving tours.
Lechuguilla Cave is famous for its delicate rock formations and untouched underground environment. In the 1910s, people mined bat droppings, called guano, in a pit near the cave entrance. In 1986, cavers received permission from park managers to dig through a pile of rocks where wind made whistling sounds when the weather changed. This effort led to the discovery of a large cave room. So far, over 120 miles (190 km) of cave tunnels have been explored and mapped. The cave has been mapped to a depth of 1,600 feet (490 m), making it the second deepest limestone cave in the United States. To protect the cave's fragile environment, only approved scientific expeditions are allowed to enter.
Bats
Seventeen types of bats live in the park, including many Mexican free-tailed bats. Scientists believe the population of Mexican free-tailed bats was once in the millions, but it has decreased greatly in recent years. The reason for this decline is not known, but the use of certain types of pesticides, such as DDT and dieldrin, is likely a factor. A study published in 2009 by researchers from Boston University raises questions about whether millions of bats ever lived in the caverns.
Many methods have been used to estimate the number of bats in the cave. The most recent and most effective method involved using special cameras that detect heat to track and count the bats. A count from 2005 estimated the highest number of bats at about 793,000.
Mexican free-tailed bats are present in the park from April or May until late October or early November. They leave the cave in a large group, twisting upward in a spiral, usually beginning around sunset and lasting about three hours. (Jim White decided to study the caverns when he saw the bats from a distance and first thought they looked like a volcano or a whirlwind.) Every early evening from Memorial Day weekend to mid-October (except when bad weather stops them), a ranger gives a presentation about the bats while visitors sit in the amphitheater to watch the bats emerge.
Other attractions
Ten hiking trails and a dirt road provide access to the desert scenery and ecosystem. The area near the cave entrance has been named The Caverns Historic District.
A separate part of the park, Rattlesnake Springs Picnic Area, is a natural oasis with trees, picnic tables, and habitats for wildlife. As a wooded area near water in the desert, it is home to more than 300 types of birds. Over 500 bird species have been recorded across the entire state of New Mexico. Rattlesnake Springs has been named a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Audubon Society has also named it an Important Bird Area (IBA). The natural entrance to the caverns is also an IBA because of a large group of cave swallows that live there.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found in Lechuguilla Cave, a hard-to-reach and rarely visited part of the park. These bacteria show that antibiotic resistance has existed for a long time and is common in many types of bacteria.
The park also has several springs, seeps, and tinajas. The one closest to the visitor center, Oak Spring, has a trail that connects it to Carlsbad Caverns Rd.