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Eat Lunch Ten Stories Down at Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Published by Jason Hussong, Writer

Country: United States

The Experience

More than 250 million years ago the Carlsbad Caverns of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park were formed as part of a huge inland sea that ran up the middle of what is now the North American continent. They were a part of a massive reef complex that now sits deep under the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert.

A winding road wraps around the hills of the mountains in a small valley as it makes its way to the visitor center and entrance to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Several stops along the way offer an insight into the surrounding ecosystem, and are definitely worth the time to learn more about what so drastically shaped this area during the Permian time in history. But what’s above ground, even on the scenic desert drive, cannot compare to the beauty that lays 75 stories (230 m) below.

More than 110 limestone caverns make up the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, including the third largest cave chamber in the American continents; the Big Room is the seventh largest natural cave in the world. This is the highlight for many of the approximate 300,000 visitors each year as they explore a room the size of 14 American football fields – it is 4,000 feet (1,219 m) long, 625 feet (190.5 m) wide, and 350 feet (107 m) high. That’s a total floor space of 357,469 square feet (33,210 square meters). And no matter how you look at it, which you really can’t take it all in from any one spot in the cave, that’s impressively big on a scale that can only be appreciated on the mile long trail that wraps around it.

President Calvin Coolidge signed a proclamation in October, 1923 creating the Carlsbad Caverns National Monument. In 1930 Congress established it as a national park, but on that proclamation Coolidge wrote that the caves were, “of extraordinary proportions and of unusual beauty and variety of natural decoration; … the several chambers contain stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations in such unusual number, size, beauty of form, and variety of figure as to make this cavern equal, if not superior, in both scientific and popular interest to the better known caves.” And he couldn’t have been more correct as new and wondrous caves continue to be discovered, explored, and studied.

While many caves in the Carlsbad Caverns National Park are closed for scientific research, several others are open for exploration on special ranger guided tours. They’re well worth the extra money as new and interesting formations decorate the various rooms that are accessible. They encompass varying degrees of difficulty – from a casual walk to actual caving.

There’s something for everyone to enjoy at the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Heck, there’s even a restaurant 750 feet below the surface of the earth!

Photos

Map

Puzzle

When to Go to Carlsbad Caverns

The Carlsbad Caverns remain the same indoor temperature all year. That said, there's never a bad time to go as you don't have to worry about the weather conditions. But, if you want to see the famous bat show at night, where 17 different species of bats at up to 5,000 a minute depart the caves to go feed, then you need to go in the summer when they've migrated to the area. It is impossible to see them in the winter months, or the spring and fall for that matter too, as the bats are still located to the south.

Odds n' Ends

If you're the least bit claustrophobic then this is probably not the place for you. Some parts of the Carlsbad Caverns are absolutely massive, stretching for hundreds of meters in any direction, but you're still 75 stories under the earth with essentially no other way out but a small elevator that leads up to the visitor center; it is not allowed to leave through the natural entrance to the Carlsbad Caverns.

The low light of the caverns can make photography tricking. The rock formations are not to be touched under any circumstances, especially to be used as a camera mount. So while tripods may be cumbersome and difficult in such areas, it might be best to invest in a monopod to help keep your camera steady for those special Ansel Adams-eque shots.

Finally, be sure also to allow time to visit the nearby, and much less visited, Guadalupe Mountains National Park. They are an impressive spectacle in an otherwise flat area and offer an excellent contrast to the underground caves at Carlsbad. Guadalupe Mountains National Park is filled with excellent hiking trails.

More Experiences Nearby

Walk the Lunar Landscape at White Sands, New Mexico
White Sands National Monument is a magnificent collection of snow-white sand dunes covering an area of some 275 square miles in Central New Mexico. This unique dune field is comprised of gypsum sand - the transparent mineral that creates the eerie colorless landscape of White Sands. This is considered the largest gypsum dune field on earth and the area consists of an unusual group of plant and animal life that have adapted to the gypsum's white environment, including the spiky soaptree yucca plants that are often the lone evidence of life along the stark landscape of White Sands. White Sands, ...105 miles away.

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Books and DVDs

Hiking Carlsbad Caverns & Guadalupe Mountains National Parks, 2nd
National Geographic Map Of Carlsbad Caverns National Park - New Mexico
New Mexico Off the Beaten Path, 9th: A Guide to Unique Places

Elsewhere on the Web

Carlsbard Caverns National Park - NPS.gov
Carlsbad Caverns National Park Guide -GORP.com
Carlsbad Caverns National Park - UNESCO.org

Media References

Carlsbad Caverns National Park - NationalGeographic.com (magazine)
Bat Patrol - NationalGeographic.com (magazine)

Language Guides

French , Hindi , Indonesian , Italian , Japanese , Lao , Malay , Mandarin , Portugese , Russian , Spanish , Thai , Turkish , Vietnamese are some of the languages spoken in United States. If you know of a freely available phrase book or podcast for one of the missing languages, let us know!

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