Lechuguilla Cave facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lechuguilla Cave |
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Largest known gypsum stalactites, Chandelier Ballroom (human at bottom gives scale)
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 Lechuguilla Cave
Location in New Mexico
Lechuguilla Cave
Location in the United States
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| Location | Eddy County, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Carlsbad |
| Length | 138.3 mi (222.6 km) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
Lechuguilla Cave is a very special cave located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, United States. It is one of the longest and deepest caves in the world. Explorers have mapped over 138.3 miles (222.6 km) of its passages, making it the eighth-longest cave globally. It is also the second deepest cave in the continental U.S., reaching 1,604 feet (489 m) underground.
This cave is famous for its amazing and unusual rock formations, its unique geology, and how untouched it is. The cave gets its name from the Agave lechuguilla plant, which grows in the canyon where the cave entrance is found. To protect its delicate environment, only approved scientists and explorers are allowed to enter Lechuguilla Cave.
Contents
Discovering Lechuguilla Cave
Before 1986, Lechuguilla Cave was known as a small, unimportant cave in the park. For about a year, starting in 1914, people even mined small amounts of bat droppings (called guano) from its entrance. The old part of the cave had a 90 feet (27 m) deep pit called Misery Hole. This pit led to about 400 feet (120 m) of dry passages that didn't go anywhere.
After the mining stopped, not many people visited the cave. However, in the 1950s, some cave explorers (called cavers) noticed strong winds blowing from the cave floor, which was blocked by rocks. This made them think there were more passages hidden below.
The Big Breakthrough
In 1984, a group of cavers from Colorado, led by Dave Allured, got permission to start digging. Their hard work paid off! On May 26, 1986, they broke through the rubble and found huge, open passages. This discovery changed everything.
Since that breakthrough, explorers have mapped over 138 miles (222 km) of passages. This makes Lechuguilla the eighth-longest cave in the world and the fourth-longest in the United States. For a while, it was also the deepest known cave in the continental U.S. until another cave, Tears of the Turtle, was explored in 2014. Cavers from all over the world come to explore and map this beautiful, untouched cave.
Exploring "Oz"
In May 2012, a team led by Derek Bristol climbed over 410 feet (120 m) up into a high dome inside the cave. There, they found many new, unexplored passages, pits, and large rooms. They named this new section "Oz," and many of its features were named after things from The Wizard of Oz.
This discovery included a giant room called "Munchkinland." It is 600 feet (180 m) long, up to 150 feet (46 m) wide, and up to 150 feet (46 m) high! They also found a pit named "Kansas Twister," which is over 510 feet (160 m) from top to bottom. This is the deepest pit found in the park. The team spent eight days mapping Oz, adding a lot to the cave's known length.
Amazing Cave Formations
Lechuguilla Cave is not just huge; it also has many rare and beautiful speleothems. Speleothems are the amazing rock formations found in caves. Some of the unique formations in Lechuguilla include:
- Bright yellow sulfur deposits.
- Giant gypsum chandeliers, some as long as 20 feet (6.1 m).
- Delicate gypsum hairs and beards, also up to 20 feet (6.1 m) long.
- Long, thin soda straws, reaching 15 feet (4.6 m).
- Hydromagnesite balloons, which are like hollow spheres.
- Smooth, round cave pearls.
- Unusual helictites that form underwater.
- Rusty-looking rusticles.
- And strange U-loop and J-loop shapes.
Lechuguilla Cave is bigger and has more types of formations than the nearby Carlsbad Caverns. However, no single room in Lechuguilla has been found that is larger than Carlsbad's famous Big Room.
How the Cave Formed
Scientists can study five different layers of rock inside Lechuguilla Cave, which is very rare. The large amounts of gypsum and sulfur in the cave suggest it formed in a special way. Most caves form when rainwater, mixed with carbon dioxide, slowly dissolves limestone from the top down. This is called carbonic acid dissolution.
However, Lechuguilla Cave is believed to have formed from the bottom up. This happened because hydrogen sulfide gas, which came from nearby oil deposits, seeped into the cave. This gas mixed with oxygen and water to create sulfuric acid. This strong acid then dissolved the rock, creating the vast passages and unique formations we see today.
Tiny Life in the Cave
Scientists believe that rare types of bacteria live in Lechuguilla Cave. These bacteria are special because they don't get their energy from the sun. Instead, they feed on minerals like sulfur, iron, and manganese. These tiny organisms might even help shape the cave and its unusual formations.
Some studies have also found that certain microbes from the cave could be useful for humans. Some bacteria found in Lechuguilla have unique ways of resisting antibiotics. For example, a 4-million-year-old type of bacteria from the cave was found to be naturally resistant to many modern antibiotics. This could help scientists discover new medicines!
Filming in the Cave
Because Lechuguilla Cave is so unique and beautiful, it has been featured in several documentaries:
- In 1987, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science filmed Lechuguilla Cave: The Hidden Giant. This film showed many of the cavers who first explored the cave.
- The 1992 National Geographic Society program Mysteries Underground also filmed a lot inside Lechuguilla Cave.
- The BBC documentary series Planet Earth featured Lechuguilla Cave in its "Caves" episode in 2007. The film crew spent two years getting permission to film the amazing crystals in the Chandelier Ballroom.
- In 2016, a film crew from London went into the cave with a microbiologist named Hazel Barton. They filmed a part for the National Geographic series One Strange Rock.
See also
In Spanish: Cueva Lechuguilla para niños
