Carlsbad Caverns National Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Carlsbad Caverns National Park |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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The cave is well-known for its many calcite formations such as this column and array of stalactites
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 Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Location in New Mexico
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Location in the United States
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| Location | Eddy County, New Mexico, United States |
| Nearest city | Carlsbad, New Mexico |
| Area | 46,766 acres (18,926 ha) 339 acres (137 ha) private |
| Established | May 14, 1930 |
| Visitors | 440,691 (in 2019) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Carlsbad Caverns National Park |
| Type: | Natural |
| Criteria: | vii, viii |
| Designated: | 1995 (19th session) |
| Reference #: | 721 |
| Region: | North America |
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an amazing national park in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The main attraction is the famous show cave called Carlsbad Cavern. You can explore the cave by walking in through its natural entrance or by taking an elevator from the visitor center.
The park entrance is about 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. It's located on US Highway 62/180. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is part of the Junior Ranger Program, which is a fun way for kids to learn about the park. A big part of the park is also a special wilderness area. This helps protect the natural environment so it won't be changed in the future.
Carlsbad Cavern has a huge limestone room called the Big Room. It's almost 4,000 ft (1,220 m) long, 625 ft (191 m) wide, and 255 ft (78 m) high! The Big Room is the largest cave chamber in North America. It's also the 32nd largest in the entire world.
Contents
How the Caves Formed
Ancient Reefs and Uplift
About 250 million years ago, the area around Carlsbad Caverns was a coastline with an inland sea. This sea was full of marine life, like bryozoans and sponges. Their remains formed a huge reef. After this time, the water dried up. The reef then got buried under layers of sediment.
Later, huge movements in the Earth's crust pushed the reef up above ground. Over time, water and weather slowly shaped the Guadalupe Mountain region into what it looks like today.
Cave Creation by Acid
Carlsbad Caverns is located in limestone rock. Deep below the limestone are reserves of petroleum (oil). Over time, a gas called hydrogen sulfide (H2S) seeped up from the oil into the groundwater. When hydrogen sulfide mixed with oxygen in the water, it created sulfuric acid.
This sulfuric acid then dissolved the limestone rock, forming the huge caverns. You can see gypsum in the cave, which is a sign that this acid-dissolving process happened.
Amazing Cave Formations
Once the acidic water drained away, amazing cave formations began to grow. These are called speleothems. Rainwater and melting snow seep down into the ground. As this water drips into the cave, it leaves behind tiny bits of calcium carbonate.
- Growths hanging down from the ceiling are called stalactites.
- Growths building up from the floor are called stalagmites.
Other cool formations include columns, soda straws, draperies, and cave popcorn. The colors of these formations come from different minerals in the rock.
Park Climate
The area around Carlsbad Caverns has a cool, dry climate. It's known as a semi-arid climate. This means it gets some rain, but not a lot. The weather can change quite a bit between seasons.
History of Discovery
In 1898, a teenager named Jim White explored the cavern using a ladder he made himself. He gave names to many of the rooms, like the Big Room, King's Palace, and Queen's Chamber. He also named many of the cool rock formations, such as the Totem Pole and the Rock of Ages.
The town of Carlsbad, which gives its name to the park, is named after a town in the Czech Republic. That town was once called Karlsbad in German, meaning "Charles' Bath[s]."
Before 1932, visitors had to walk down a long, winding ramp to get 750 feet (230 m) underground. Walking back up was very tiring! In 1932, the park opened a new visitor center. This building had two elevators that could take people easily into and out of the caverns. The new center also had a cafeteria and a museum.
How the Park Was Created
- October 25, 1923: President Calvin Coolidge declared the area a Carlsbad Cave National Monument. This protected the amazing cave.
- May 14, 1930: The United States Congress passed a law that made it Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The National Park Service now manages it.
- November 10, 1978: A special wilderness area was created within the park. This helps protect the natural habitat even more.
Named Rooms in the Cavern
Some of these rooms are not open to the public for safety reasons.
- Balloon Ballroom: This small room is in the ceiling above the main entrance. Explorers first reached it by floating balloons with a rope attached!
- Bat Cave: A large, rocky passage where most of the cave's bats live. In the early 1900s, bat guano (poop) was mined from here for fertilizer.
- Bell Cord Room: Named for a long, thin stalactite that looks like a bell rope.
- Bifrost Room: Discovered in 1982, this room is above the Lake of the Clouds. Its name comes from a Norse myth about a rainbow bridge to the sky. It's colorful due to mineral stains.
- Big Room or The Hall of the Giants: The largest chamber in Carlsbad Caverns. It's huge, covering 357,469 square feet (33,210 m2) of floor space.
- Chocolate High: A maze of small passages found in 1993. It's almost a mile long!
- Green Lake Room: Named for a deep, green-colored pool.
- Guadalupe Room: The second largest room, discovered in 1966. It's famous for its many "soda straw" stalactites.
- Hall of the White Giant: A large room with a huge, white stalagmite. Rangers sometimes lead special tours here.
- Halloween Hall: A room found on October 31, 2013, which is why it has this name.
- King's Palace: The first of four "scenic rooms," named for a large formation that looks like a castle.
- Lake of the Clouds: The lowest known point in the cave. It has cool, cloud-like rock formations that formed underwater.
- Left Hand Tunnel: A long, straight passage with deep cracks in the floor.
- Mabel's Room: A medium-sized room in the Lower Cave.
- Mystery Room: A large, sloped room where a strange heartbeat-like noise is sometimes heard.
- New Mexico Room: Located next to the Green Lake Room.
- New Section: An area where new discoveries are still being made.
- Papoose Room: Located between the King's Palace and Queen's Chamber.
- Queen's Chamber: Many people think this is the most beautiful part of the cave.
- Spirit World: This area is high up in the Big Room. It's full of white stalagmites that looked like angels to the explorers who found them.
- Talcum Passage: A room in Lower Cave where the floor is covered in gypsum dust, like talcum powder.
- The Rookery: A large room in Lower Cave where many cave pearls are found.
- Underground Lunchroom: Located in the Big Room, this is where the elevators bring visitors into the cave. It has a cafeteria built in the 1950s.
Visiting the Park
Carlsbad Caverns gets about 410,000 visitors each year. The busiest times are usually around Memorial Day and the Fourth of July holidays. Sometimes, you can get in for free on certain holidays like Veterans Day. You can also camp in the park's backcountry, but you need a permit from the visitor center.
Bat Flight Programs
One of the most popular events is watching the bats fly out of the cave at sunset. A park ranger gives a talk at the amphitheater near the entrance before the bats emerge. This happens from Memorial Day weekend until mid-October. The best time to see them is usually in July and August, when the baby bats join the adults. You can also watch the bats return to the cave in the early morning.
Star Parties
Throughout the year, the park hosts "star parties" at night. Rangers share information about the night sky, and telescopes are available for visitors to use. These events are often held during special astronomical events, like when planets align.
Recent Discoveries
In 1985, explorers used a unique method to reach a new area. They floated a lightweight cord over a tall stalagmite using helium-filled balloons. This allowed them to pull a climbing rope into place and climb into a new area they called The Spirit World. A similar, smaller room was found and named Balloon Ballroom.
In 1993, a series of small passages, almost a mile long, was found in the ceiling of the New Mexico Room. This area was named "Chocolate High." It was the biggest discovery in the cave since 1966.
The "Bottomless Pit" was once thought to have no bottom. People would throw stones into it and never hear them land. Later, explorers found that it was about 140 feet (43 m) deep. The stones didn't make a sound because they landed in soft dirt at the bottom.
On October 31, 2013, a new chamber was found high up in the Spirit World area. It was named "Halloween Hall" because of the date it was discovered. This room is about 100 feet (30 m) wide, and over 1,000 bat bones were found inside.
In 2018, a team of women explorers called the "Twisted Sisters" found new, unexplored areas of the cavern. They added names like the Tomb of the Sky Bears and Ladies’ Lament to the map. They also mapped the second-deepest part of Carlsbad Cavern, called Lake of Muddy Misery. Thanks to volunteers, the total mapped length of Carlsbad Cavern is now almost 40 miles!
Other Caves in the Park
The park has over 119 caves! Only three caves are open for public tours. Carlsbad Caverns is the most famous, with electric lights, paved paths, and elevators. Slaughter Canyon Cave and Spider Cave are more natural, with guided "adventure" tours.
Lechuguilla Cave is known for its very delicate formations and untouched environment. Access to this cave is very limited, only for scientific expeditions. This helps protect its fragile beauty. Over 120 miles (190 km) of passages have been explored and mapped in Lechuguilla Cave. It's the second deepest limestone cave in the U.S., reaching a depth of 1,600 feet (490 m).
Bats of Carlsbad Caverns
Seventeen different kinds of bats live in the park. This includes many Brazilian free-tailed bats. It's thought that millions of these bats once lived here, but their numbers have gone down. Scientists are still studying why this happened.
Scientists use special thermal imaging cameras to count the bats. In 2005, they estimated a peak of 793,000 bats.
The Mexican free-tailed bats are usually in the park from April or May until late October or early November. They fly out of the cave in a huge, swirling group around sunset. This amazing flight can last for about three hours! Jim White, the early explorer, first thought the bats were a volcano or a whirlwind when he saw them from far away.
More to See and Do
Besides the caves, the park has ten hiking trails and an unpaved road. These let you explore the desert scenery and see different plants and animals. The area around the cave entrance is a special historic district.
A separate part of the park is the Rattlesnake Springs Picnic Area. This is a natural oasis in the desert, with picnic tables and lots of wildlife. It's a great place for birdwatching, with over 300 species recorded there! The National Audubon Society has even named it an "Important Bird Area." The natural entrance to the caverns is also an Important Bird Area because of its large colony of cave swallows.
Scientists have even found bacteria in the isolated Lechuguilla Cave that are resistant to antibiotics. This shows that antibiotic resistance has existed in bacteria for a very long time.
Images for kids
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Main entrance to Carlsbad Caverns.
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park sign.
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Rock of Ages in the Big Room, around 1941. Photo by Ansel Adams.
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On the tour route inside the caverns.
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Outside the entrance to the caverns.
See also
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- Big Bend National Park
- White Sands National Park
- Caverns of Sonora
- McKittrick Canyon
- Wind Cave National Park
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- U.S. Forest Service Blanchard Springs Caverns
- List of areas in the National Park System of the United States
- List of longest caves in the United States
