Carlsbad Caverns National Park Erik R. Hoge

Significant Dates  – Ray V. Davis photographs of the Carlsbad Caverns raised interest in the caves. Davis’ photos appear in the New York Times in  1923, October 25 – President Calvin Coolidge creates Carlsbad Cave National Monument  1930, May 14 – Congress designates Carlsbad Caverns as a National Park  The park was established for the benefit and enjoyment of the people and entitled the park to receive and funding appropriated to The Carlsbad National Monument.  1950’s – The caverns dirt trails and original wooden stair system is replaced with paved trails.  1959, March – Construction of the Visitor Center is completed. Due Date: 11/20/15

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Southeastern, New Mexico U.S. Location Map Due Date: 11/20/15

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Southeastern, New Mexico Topographic Map Due Date: 11/20/15

Caverns Facts  Located in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern, New Mexico.  46,766 acres big (18,940 hectares) with over 117 known caves.  The deepest point in the Carlsbad Cavern is 1037 feet below the surface, or miles with 30 miles of mapped passages.  One of the world’s oldest cave systems  Located approximate ly 27 miles from

Wildlife in the Park  Mammals – 67 species;  Bats – 17 known to live in the park; 3 species live inside Carlsbad Cavern;  The largest colony is of Brazilian Free-tailed bats, also called Mexican Free-tailed bats;  estimated 400,000 bats in cave.  Birds – 357 species; a large colony of Cave Swallows have nested just inside the cave entrance  Amphibians and Reptiles – 54 species;

Environmental Issues  Air Quality – Maintaining excellent air quality is critical to preserving and protecting the natural resources.  Power plants, oil and gas wells and refineries in the area are threatening the park’s air quality.  Strong winds from the west create huge dust storms that reduce visibility in the area. Due Date: 12/4/15

Environmental Issues  Uncontrolled or illegal access to the caves has resulted in the destruction of cave resources.  Vandals have also stolen or damaged unique cave formations and archaeological specimens.  Recreational visitors can inadvertently import exotic species (e.g., spores, fungi), which affects the integrity of the biotic cave web;  Oils, dust, and lint brought in by human visitors can build up on speleothems which affect the survival of cave species and speleothems. Due Date: 12/4/15

Environmental Issues  Construction in caves has led to the destruction of cave resources.  For example, expanding the entrances, elevator shafts, and gates have interfered with airflow patterns and animal movements.  Gates that inhibit the daily passage of bats into and out of caves often result in bats abandoning caves altogether.  Because of construction and development, available areas for wildlife to live in has been reduced and more than 50% of the bat species in the United States are in significant decline or endangered. Due Date: 12/4/15

Environmental Issues  Urbanization is creeping up on many national park system units, including those with cave resources.  Increased human activity such as agriculture, road expansions and other development threatens the quality and the quantity of the water that feeds and sustains cave systems.  Sewer lines and septic tanks have leaked raw sewage down cracks in the vicinity of caves.  The accumulated oil, grease, transmission fluids, anti-freeze and other contaminates from hundreds of thousands of vehicles each year wash off the parking lots in summer and disappear underground. Due Date: 12/4/15

Special Landforms or Features  Carlsbad Caverns have distinct elements and wildlife. As well as many special landforms or prominent formations, such as the:  Big Room  Witch's Finger  Bat Cave  Left Hand Tunnel  The King’s Palace  Hall of the White Giant

Use Technology  Since mapping began in 1986, explorers have surveyed more than miles (216.6 kilometers) of passages in Lechuguilla Cave. Because of the cave's delicate environment and scientific importance, only about 100 people, most of them vetted explorers and scientists, are permitted to enter each year.  The cavers use laser distance meters to measure the height from the floor to their final rope anchor.  National Park Service installed a Portable Ozone Monitoring Site (POMS) unit to record ozone levels during the warm months of the year.

Types of Rocks inside the Park  The caves are located in a limestone mountain range called the Guadalupe Mountains.  Home to some of the most amazing stalactites and stalagmites on Earth.  The primary type of rock found in or around the Carlsbad Caverns are limestone, gypsum, halite, sandstone, and shale.  All of these rocks are considered sedimentary which means they were formed from waste and debris deposited on or near the Capitan Reef approximately 230 million years ago.

How the Park Was Formed  Most of the world's limestone caves are created when surface water flows down through cracks in limestone rock and slowly enlarges the passageways.  In all surface water, there is a weak acid called carbonic acid.  This acid slowly dissolves and scours out the rock in more than 90 percent of the world's limestone caves.  The Carlsbad Caverns were formed in a much different way.

How the Park Was Formed  Scientific evidence shows that between 4 to 6 million years ago, hydrogen sulfide rich waters began to journey through cracks in the Capitan limestone.  The water mixed with rainwater moving downward from the surface. When the 2 waters mixed, the hydrogen sulfide combined with oxygen carried by the rainwater and formed sulfuric acid.  This sulfuric acid dissolved the limestone along fractures and folds in the rock to form Carlsbad Cavern.  The park’s formation in part was the result of both Mechanical (erosion) and Chemical Weathering (hydrogen sulfide). Due Date: 1/15/16

How is Land Changing?  Cave ceilings often collapse  Water, climate and time have produced and changed the fossil reef and its spectacular caves, a process that continues to the present day.  Landscape is covered with sinkholes or craters  Running water and streams wear away at the limestone rock which is a form of erosion.

Big Room Largest underground chamber in the Unites States. Large stalagmites, stalactites, columns and cave “popcorn” decorate the room.

Witch’s Finger A Stalagmite in the Carlsbad Cavern Stalagmites are a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings

Bat Cave During the day, bats hang by their feet from the ceiling in great clusters. At sunset, the bats go out to hunt for insects The park’s largest wildlife attraction is a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Bat waste known as Guano has accumulated on the floor of the cave up to 40 feet deep. Mining of this valuable fertilizer in the early 1900’s led to the exploration of Carlsbad Caverns.

Left Hand Tunnel One of several wild caves in the park that offers tours by candlelight A wild cave is neither lit, nor paved. It is essentially undeveloped, and in it's natural state. This tunnel is a long, straight passage marked by deep fissures in the floor. A fissure is a narrow opening or crack. These fissures are not known to lead anywhere.

The King’s Palace A series of four chambers, located in the deepest accessible area of the caverns, which contain unusual rippled rock formations known as the Queen's Draperies.

Hall of the White Giant A remote cavern famous for its huge white stalagmite. A Stalagmite is a mound or tapering column rising from the floor of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by dripping water and often uniting with a stalactite.

Park Features and Cave Depth’s Diagram

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A beautiful sunset view Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Good Night!