Carlsbad Caverns
National Park
Erik R. Hoge
Significant Dates

1915-1918 – Ray V. Davis photographs of the Carlsbad Caverns
raised interest in the caves. Davis’ photos appear in the New York
Times in 1923.

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
U.S. Location Map
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Southeastern, New Mexico
Due Date: 11/20/15
Topographic Map
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Southeastern, New Mexico
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 0.196 miles with 30 miles of
mapped passages.
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 1966.
 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 134.6 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.
Diagram
Park Features and Cave Depth’s
Bibliography
1.
http://www.rozylowicz.com/retirement/carlsbad/carlsbad-geology.html
2.
http://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/management/index.htm
3.
http://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/historyculture/leg_carlsbad_cavern_np.htm
4.
https://www2.nature.nps.gov/views/KCs/CaveKarst/HTML/ET_Threats.htm
5.
http://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/nature/naturalfeaturesandecosystems.htm
6.
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/carlsbad-caverns-national-park-ga2.htm
7.
https://www.google.com/search?q=carlsbad+caverns+images&biw=1324&bih=644&t
bm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&pjf=1&ved=0ahUKEwi2sb6_6srKAhX
H2yYKHSHlBNgQsAQIGg
8.
http://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/nature/upload/research.pdf
A beautiful sunset view Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Good Night!