G.A.S.P.

Carlsbad Caverns Photographs, Set A

Carlsbad Caverns Photographs, Set B

The creation of Carlsbad Caverns began 250 million years ago when a 400-mile-long reef was formed in an inland sea that covered this region.  When the sea evaporated, the reef was buried and remained so until just a few million years ago when the area uplifted and then erosion exposed the reef rock.  Rainwater then began to seep down into cracks in the reef and started the process of dissolving the limestone and forming the underground chambers.  The process was aided by hydrogen sulfide gas migrating upward and forming sulfuric acid as it contacted the groundwater.  Millions of years later, the huge passageways were formed, and the “decorating” process began.  This was (and still is) literally a drop by drop process.  As rainwater percolates through the bedrock, it dissolves a little limestone, absorbing a bit of the basic ingredient needed to build most cave formations – the mineral calcite.   As the drop finally enters the cavern, carbon dioxide escapes into the cave air, and the dissolved calcite is deposited in crystal form.  After hundreds of thousands of years and billions of drops, thousands of fantastic formations have been created.  I can testify that the process is still at work, as I was dripped on several times during my tour.

The other interesting aspect of Carlsbad Caverns is its bat population.  Hundreds of thousands of Mexican Free-tail bats live in the Caverns during the summer months, sleeping during the day on the cavern ceiling, packed as tightly as 300 per square foot (and I thought my tent was crowded).  Each night, at dusk, they make a mass exodus from the natural entrance to forage for food (moths and other flying insects) in the Pecos and Black River valleys.  This mass exodus has become a major viewing attraction for Park visitors over the years.  In fact, it was this nightly bat exodus that led to the discovery of the cavern in the late 1800s.  The cowboys who made the discovery also soon learned that there was an economic value to the cavern.  Tourists, you think – nope, bat guano.  Between 1903 and 1923, over 100,000 tons of guano was excavated from the cavern to be used as fertilizer, mostly in the orange groves of California.  One of the early cave miners, Jim White, began to explore the caverns in his spare time, and soon told stories of fascinating underground formations.  His stories were viewed with skepticism, however, until a photographer accompanied him on a trip into the cavern in 1915, and the resulting photos were displayed in the nearby town of Carlsbad.  In 1923, the U.S. Department of the Interior sent its own inspector to determine if the Carlsbad Cavern was indeed an outstanding natural scenic wonder.  The inspector, Robert Holly, wrote in his final report:  “…I am wholly conscious of the feebleness of my efforts to convey in words the deep conflicting emotions, the feeling of fear and awe, and the desire for an inspired understanding of the Divine Creator’s work which presents to the human eye such a complex aggregate of natural wonders….”  Later that year, Carlsbad Cavern was proclaimed a National Monument, and in 1930 Carlsbad Caverns National Park was created to protect these geologic wonders for future generations.

My journey through the Caverns only lasted for a couple of miles, but there is a lot more that isn’t open to the public.  There are over 30 miles of explored passageways, and many more chambers, some as exquisitely decorated as the Big Room.  The deepest chamber found so far is 1027 feet below the surface.  There are also over 80 smaller caves within the Park boundaries.