Carlsbad Cavern National Park
Carslbad Cavern NP-Located in New Mexico this park has 117 separate caves and became a national park in 1930. The largest cave, Lechuguilla Cave, is over 126 miles long and goes over 1600 ft below the surface of the earth. The entire Park is 46,766 acres and the caves are about 13,000 acres. Be prepared to move your legs, you will get your steps in on this day. You can hike in on your own at the natural entrance or take an elevator from the visitor center………This is not a difficult decision, take the elevator.
Carlsbad hosts 17 different types of bats throughout the year. Ive always had a thing for these creatures because they eat mosquitos and all kinds of bugs I don’t like and of course batman. After the covid virus I was not interested in finding them however, I don’t wish them any harm but decided to let them be. April-October is your best bet to see them.
Exposure to the surface has allowed for the influx of air into the cavern. Rainwater and snowmelt percolating downward into the ground pick up carbon dioxide; once this water reaches a cavern ceiling, it precipitates and evaporates, leaving behind a small calcium carbonate deposit. Growths from the roof downward formed through this process are known as stalactites. Additionally, water on the floor of the caverns can contain carbonic acid and generate mineral deposits by evaporation. (1)
Growths from the floor upward through this process are known as stalagmites.
These cave served as the backdrop for the 1959 movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth".
The cave is full of calcite formations such as this column and array of stalactites. (2)
Carlsbad Cavern Map-
References-The (1) and (2) descriptions of the formations come directly from wikipedia. I am certainly now scientist and could not even begin to describe the process of how all these crazy growths came to be. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlsbad_Caverns_National_Park
