Cave in the park. Mammoth Cave: description, history and interesting facts. Carlsbad Caverns today

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The opening of the ice cave is scheduled for the last days of February. Now specialists are building up the ice and finalizing all the technical nuances related to its further content inside. According to official comments, the Ice Cave will operate in the future all year round.

Zaryadye Park is located in the very center of Moscow: between Kitaygorodsky Proezd, Varvarka and Moskvoretskaya Embankment. It was erected on the site of the Rossiya Hotel. Entrance to the park itself is free for everyone. Only paid attractions.

Zaryadye Park Ice Cave ticket price, opening hours: Zaryadye Park has started freezing the ice cave

The structure with columns, labyrinths and arches covering an area of 350 square meters will be available all year round in the “Reserve Embassy” pavilion. The height of the “glacier”, which will allow guests to plunge into the atmosphere of the Arctic, will reach six meters. It is planned to open it to visitors at the end of this winter.

“The ice cave structure consists of curved metal pipes with a total length of 15 kilometers. About eight tons of special coolant circulates inside. The temperature in the cave will vary from minus five to minus eight degrees Celsius,” said Moscow’s chief architect Sergei Kuznetsov.

The author of the project and artist Alexander Ponomarev noted that special equipment that supplies coolant was placed under the “glacier”. New layers of frost are artificially frozen on the walls, ceiling and floor of the cave, which then turns into ice. Complete ice cover will form in about a month and a half. In total, about 70 tons of ice are planned to be frozen during this time.

Zaryadye Park Ice Cave ticket price, opening hours: how to get there, where the park is located

Zaryadye pavilions are open from 14:00 to 20:00 on Mondays and from 10:00 to 20:00 from Tuesday to Sunday. The park itself switched to 24-hour operation on October 27 last year.

The idea of Zaryadye Park is Russia in miniature, it is a kind of museum under open air, in which landscape zones of four climatic zones were created - northern landscape (tundra) and forest, steppe zone and water meadows. Moreover, each zone maintains its own microclimate.

The park is located between Varvarka Street and Moskvoretskaya Street, Kitaygorodsky Proezd and Moskvoretskaya Embankment.

You can get to the park by metro, car or public ground transport:

There are four metro stations near the park:“Okhotny Ryad”, “Teatralnaya”, “Revolution Square” and “China Town”. You can get from the metro to the park by different routes.

From the Okhotny Ryad metro station (exit No. 7 - to the Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812), you need to go straight all the time: past Historical Museum, along the entire Red Square and past St. Basil's Cathedral.

From the Teatralnaya metro station (exit No. 10 - to the Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812), you need to walk along Bogoyavlensky Lane, then along Rybny Lane (past Gostiny Dvor) to Varvarki Street.

From the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station (exit No. 11 - to Bogoyavlensky Lane), you need to walk along Bogoyavlensky Lane, then along Rybny Lane (past Gostiny Dvor) to Varvarki Street.

From the Kitay-Gorod metro station (exit No. 8 - to Slavyanskaya Square) you need to walk along Kitaygorodsky Proezd towards Moskvoretskaya Embankment or along Varvarka Street.

You can get to the park by bus using different routes:

By bus M5, 158 you can get to Varvarki Street (Red Square stop) and walk to the entrance to the park from Moskvoretskaya Street.

By bus 255 you can get to Moskvoretskaya Embankment (Zaryadye stop) and walk to the entrance to the park from Moskvoretskaya Street.

On Slavyanskaya Square (Kitay-Gorod metro station) there is a large transport hub where buses M5, M7, M8, M9, M10, M27, 144, 904, 38, 101, 158, K, N1, N2, N3 stop , H4, H5, H6, H7, the site became known. From Slavyanskaya Square you can walk to the park in 15 minutes (entrance to the park is from Moskvoretskaya Street).

The park has underground parking for 430 cars. 33 places are provided for people with limited mobility. Check-in is from Moskvoretskaya street, check-out is on Kitaigorodsky proezd.

Opening hours: Every day from 7:00 to 00:00. Departure - around the clock Cost: 250 rubles per hour.

As for the operation of the park itself, it is open to visitors around the clock. The pavilions are open daily from 10 am to 8 pm. On Mondays, the park holds sanitary hours, and therefore the pavilions open a little later - from 14.00.

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Unique natural masterpieces have always attracted people, and for many centuries the mysterious caves have been a reliable shelter from bad weather and a place where various rituals were performed. Miraculous speleological monuments, which have a special charm, are full of mysteries, and every year more and more large quantity tourists want to make exciting journeys into the underground kingdom to experience new sensations and see the fairy-tale world with their own eyes.

Where is Mammoth Cave?

One of the most interesting miraculous works is located in the state of Kentucky (USA), south of the city of Louisville, on the banks of the Green River. The cave, stretching for several hundred kilometers, consisting of an extensive system of intricate corridors, deep pits and spacious halls on five tiers, is karst. Many millions of years ago, soft rocks were gradually washed away by waters, voids formed in the limestone in the form of gigantic grottoes, connected by several passages, and some of them fell into natural wells. The lower level, where underground rivers flow and the halls are filled with water, is inaccessible for exploration.

Located in the limestone layers beneath the Flint Mountain Range, Mammoth Cave, which is more than 627 kilometers long, is the longest on our planet. However, every year speleologists studying underground grottoes map open new passages.

Description of a natural masterpiece

Despite its name, the mysterious Mammoth Cave, formed more than 10 million years ago as a result of karsting in a limestone layer, has nothing to do with extinct animals. Mammoth Cave got its name due to its gigantic size, since the word mammoth is translated not only as “mammoth”, but also “giant”. According to scientists, the Indians who lived in the Ohio Valley have long known about the existence of underground labyrinths and first visited them more than four thousand years ago. They used dark grottoes to perform funeral rites, and this fact is evidenced by the finds discovered by scientists - burials with well-preserved mummies and wall petroglyphs.

Mammoth Cave, located in Kentucky, is always dry because it is protected from water by a thick layer of sandstone that seals it like a lid. Visitors have a unique opportunity to walk through the five levels of the attraction, into which new passages are intentionally made, equipped with elevators for the convenience of tourists. The corridors of the dungeon are so huge that a powerful river system has formed in it, and groundwater has found channels at the very base of the cave.

History of the discovery of Mammoth Cave

In 1797, hunters, the Getchins brothers, pursuing a wounded animal, quite by chance found a mysterious hole that led deep into the rock. Returning with torches, they make their way along the underground corridor to a spacious hall, from which multiple branch labyrinths begin. Fearing getting lost, residents return home, announcing unexpected finds: near the entrance to Mammoth Cave, they discovered the mummy of a man crushed by a huge boulder. The body and clothes of the Indian, who died approximately two thousand years ago, were in excellent condition.

Saltpeter production and tourism business

A year later, entrepreneurs involved in the extraction of potassium nitrate bought the cave and built a small plant for its production here. At that time, there was a war between the United States and Britain, and American troops were in dire need of gunpowder. And the whole point is that saltpeter, which instantly soared in price, is its important component. Several dozen slaves worked around the clock in the gloomy dungeons, but after the end of hostilities, the demand for potassium nitrate falls, and the owners close the plant forever and begin organizing tourist excursions to mysterious grottoes.

In 1838, the miraculous miracle of nature was acquired by a new owner, F. Gorin, who continued to engage in business. His slave S. Bishop, who has become a guide for visitors, explores the corridors and halls of Mammoth Cave in North America and even gives names to many of them. Having discovered that the underground galleries were much longer than previously thought, he mapped more than 16 kilometers of underground passages, and this invaluable information was used for many years by other researchers. By the way, Bishop, who died a year after he was granted freedom, is buried on the territory of the complex.

Formation of a national park

TO end of the 19th century century, a local landmark becomes famous, and after construction is laid in these parts railway and open a steamship service, the flow of tourists increases several times. Kentucky authorities in the 20s of the last century bought all the lands in the vicinity from the last owner natural wonder and through the courts they evict farmers who did not want to leave their homes.

1941 becomes the year of the formation of a national park called Mammoth Cave National Park), which is visited by two million tourists a year. Soon UNESCO took the natural complex under protection, and 27 years ago it was given the status of a biosphere reserve.

Now on its territory, which occupies more than 21 hectares, there are free routes for tourists, where they can get acquainted with the history of the park and have an interesting time. Research into this unique work of nature continues to this day, and is financed by both government agencies and private foundations that protect the environment.

What does the miraculous monument hide?

The entrance to the Mammoth Cave is not visible at first glance: it is an inconspicuous iron door in the rock. Tourists descend a vertical shaft along a rather narrow staircase, after which they find themselves in a spacious hall and walk along a limestone corridor called Broadway. Reaching 15 kilometers in length, it resembles a mysterious tunnel with many exits with a semicircular arch.

Along a wide alley, visitors reach the small river Echo, which cuts through the underground and bursts out. Previously, everyone could take a boat ride on an underground lake 10 meters deep, where any sound reflected from the walls changes beyond recognition. Next is Concert hall, where violinists often perform, and the “Frozen Niagara” grotto will amaze with frozen limestone formations of bizarre shapes that excite the imagination of every visitor.

A new passage leads to a round one Church hall with a stepped floor, followed by a Gothic gallery about a kilometer long. It ends with the Star Grotto, which got its name because of the small inclusions of shining quartz crystals on the cave's arches. After crossing Lake Leta, tourists land on the other side and pass the Great Alley, where you can see an incredible number of stalactites and stalagmites.

Scary fun

At the end of the excursion, everyone will have mandatory entertainment: the lights suddenly turn off and tourists are left in complete darkness in order to understand from their own experience what complete darkness is. The pitch darkness creates an unusual effect of endless underground labyrinths. However, time passes, and tourists rejoice like children when the lighting starts working again.

Strict rules of conduct in the underworld

Near information center visitors gather, receive initial instructions and read out the rules of behavior in the cave. One of interesting points is a warning that any writing written on the walls of the dungeons is considered a federal crime. In addition, it is prohibited to take photographs with flash, use a tripod, or take anything out of the cave. The group is always accompanied by two rangers: one goes ahead, turning on the lights, and the other makes sure that no one lags behind.

After finishing the excursion and leaving the Mammoth Cave, tourists treat their soles with a special product that prevents the disease, which is deadly for the bats living in the park.

Excursions for every taste

The extensive underground system is also a popular tourist attraction. It is easy to breathe here, since the air is very dry, in addition, numerous shafts provide powerful round-the-clock ventilation. Access here is open all year round, but from early autumn to late winter the number of excursions is reduced. You cannot get inside the grottoes on your own to explore them, so you need to book tours in advance.

Sightseeing tours offered by Mammoth Cave Park last from one to six hours. There are a variety of routes, ranging from easy, intended for beginners, to difficult, requiring special training. There are also educational excursions where those interested are introduced to how saltpeter was previously mined here.

You can also go to an amusing trip through the darkest corners of the dungeon, where tourists carry kerosene lamps to illuminate their path, and all extreme sports enthusiasts are delighted with the route in which visitors are allowed to independently explore dusty passages that have not yet been explored by anyone.

Numerous underground rooms bear the names of celebrities. So, here is the Washington Hall, the River Styx, the corridors “The Suffering of the Fat Man” and the “Giant’s Coffin”, the Mouse Grotto.

At the request of environmentalists, boat excursions were canceled several years ago: they did not bring profit, but caused serious harm to the river fauna.

To prevent visitors from damaging the walls by carving words or drawings on them, the administration of the Mammoth Cave National Park created a special grotto where everyone can leave a small mention of themselves - the Hall of Records.

Many directors making films about speleologists asked the administration for permission to capture on film the beauty of the underground labyrinths. And everyone received a strict refusal, since the spotlights would have heated the air very much, thereby disturbing the fragile microclimate.

Near the place where Mammoth Cave is located, in the last century speleologists discovered other underground kingdoms, proving that they are closely connected with each other through intricate labyrinths.

At the beginning of the last century, concerts of jazz groups in grottoes with excellent acoustics were especially popular, and memorable wedding ceremonies were also held.

How to get there, cost and opening hours

Tourists planning to visit a miraculous monument have a logical question: “How to get to the Mammoth Cave?” You can get there by car, driving from the north along highways 31W, 31E, I-65. Big City, which is closest to the underground kingdom, is called Louisville, and on the border of the national park is miniature Brownsville.

The cost of the trip is 5 dollars, and a tour of the cave is 14. However, not all underground labyrinths will be able to be visited by tourists. So, to get into the Frozen Niagara hall, you will have to pay 13 dollars, and you can look at the shimmering crystals of the Star Grotto for 14 dollars.

Lovers long trips choose the "Wild Cave Tour", the price of which ($55) includes access to all labyrinths on five tiers. There are good discounts for children and pensioners.

National Park Mammoth Cave is open from 8.00 to 18.00 in summer, and in winter from 8.00 to 16.00 on all days except December 25th. On its territory there is a restaurant offering delicious dishes. national cuisine, and a cozy hotel awaits everyone who wants to stay to soak in the unusual atmosphere.

Carlsbad Caverns is a national park founded in the first half of the 20th century on the territory picturesque mountains Guadalupe, in the southeastern North American state of New Mexico. The park is a unique karst landscape, where over a hundred different caves have been discovered to date. These caves are famous for their enormous size and colorful variety of characteristic mineral formations, which often take on very bizarre shapes.

The history of the Carlsbad Caves goes back over two hundred and fifty million years, the depth of some of them reaches three hundred meters, and the total length of their descents and halls exceeds twelve kilometers. The area of the largest of the local caves, which is called the Great Room, reaches six hectares. This cave has a longitudinal shape with a length of six hundred meters, a width of three hundred meters and a wall height of 90 meters.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains, mountain range which stretches from western Texas to southeastern New Mexico. The altitude above sea level ranges from 1095 m at its lowest part to 1987 m at its highest. Although the park contains areas of forest at higher elevations, the park's area is covered primarily by grass and desert shrubland.

The location of the national park is at the intersection of the northern part of the Chiguauan desert, southern Rocky Mountains and southwestern Great Plains biogeographic provinces contribute to the diversity of natural wildlife habitats. Deserts in southwest direction contain some of the highest species of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects in the United States. The park provides important habitat for some raptors, particularly pumas, and is also home to one of the largest colonies of cave swallows in the northern hemisphere. The Carlsbad Caverns area is a significant habitat for a huge colony of Mexican anuran bats, where new offspring are born, as well as a stopover for migrating bats.

The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest and wettest desert in North America. Most of This desert is located in Mexico, and the park is one of the few places where it is protected and protected. During the year, an average of 366 mm of precipitation falls in the park; The climate is continental, semi-arid with mild winters and hot summers. The average annual temperature is 19 ºC.

A special place in Carlsbad Caverns National Park is Rattlesnake Springs, a forested area around a year-round spring that contributes to the diversity of wildlife. Rattlesnake Springs, and the area adjacent to the spring, has been designated by the National Audubon Society. wildlife, as well as bird research) as a significant bird habitat. The area attracts birders from all over the world to see some of the more than 300 species of birds that live there. Currently, the park has 67 species of mammals (including 17 species of bats), 357 species of birds, 55 different reptiles and amphibians, 5 species of fish, and more than 600 insects.

The plant communities of Carlsbad Caverns National Park are diverse, and in some cases, unique. The park has about 900 species and subspecies of vascular plants. The park's diverse ecosystem provides habitat for many plants that are found within the geographic limits of their distribution area. For example, yellow pine reaches its easternmost limit here, and dwarf chestnut oak (chinkapin oak) is at the westernmost limit of its range.

The Chihuahuan Desert has the largest variety of cacti of any region. Experts believe that this plant originated here, or south of this region, and then spread throughout the New World. The park's list of vascular plants includes 26 species or subspecies of cacti.

Underground voids are one of the important geological resources in the United States. The Guadalupe Mountains are an uplifted part of ancient reefs that abounded in this area along the inland sea more than 250 million years ago during the Permian period. The rock contains the remains of sea sponges, algae, snails, mollusks and other living creatures that lived in this ancient sea. Scientists from all over the world visit the park every year to study the structure and fauna of the reef.

The most famous of all the geological features in the park are the caves. The national park includes 116 caves, the most famous of which are the Carlsbad Caverns (or Carlsbad Caverns). It welcomes over 300,000 tourists annually and provides its visitors with a rare opportunity to look at underworld, above which there is a desert.

More than 1,000 years ago, prehistoric Indians ventured into Carlsbad Caverns in search of shelter. They left behind some mysterious drawings on the walls of the caves near the exit. Much later, in 1898, teenager Jim White accidentally discovered the entrance to Carlsbad Cave. While searching for stray cattle, Jim saw great amount bats flying from a desert hill. He approached a huge hole in the ground and described what he saw: “I was looking into a huge black hole... in which the mice seemed to be literally boiling.” Having descended into the cave, Jim described his impressions as follows: “I walked until I found myself in the space of grandiose stalagmites. This was the first cave I had ever entered and the first stalagmite I had ever seen, but my intuition told me that there was no other place in the world that could compare to this environment.

Jim White explored the caves using a homemade wire ladder. When he grew up, most people didn't even think such caves existed. He gave his name to many rooms, including the Great Room, the King's Palace, the Queen's Chamber, and the Green Lake Room. He also gave names to many notable cave formations such as Witch's Finger, Giant Dome, Abyss, Dreamland, Temple of the Sun and others. Jim tried to show it unique place other people, but only a few actually believed in the existence of huge underground cavities filled with unusual cave formations.

Only photographs convinced skeptics that amazing caves really exist. Demonstrated in the city of Carlsbad in 1915, they caused a real sensation. Immediately there were many people who wanted to see the amazing caves with their own eyes.

The fame of the caves quickly spread and reached the city of Washington. In 1923, the US Department of the Interior sent inspector Robert Holley to study and verify that the caves were truly a picturesque corner of nature. Initially a skeptic, Holly described his impressions this way: “... I am fully aware of the futility of my efforts to convey the conflicting emotions, the feelings of fear and awe, the desire to understand the work of the Creator who presented to the eyes of man such a complex complex of natural wonders.”

On October 25, 1923, US President Calvin Coolidge signed an executive order establishing Carlsbad Caverns National Monument.

On May 14, 1930, Carlsbad Caverns National Park was created by an act of the United States Congress, under the management of the Service. national parks.

The study of the Carlsbad caves has been ongoing since that time. Experienced underground explorers, cavers, and scientists have become the Christopher Columbuses of today, traveling beyond the unknown. The caves attract many specialists who want to shed light on some of its secrets. Teams of cavers well versed in safe exploration techniques continue to discover new, unexplored caves. Their finds include the Guadalupe Room, the second largest room in the Carlsbad Caverns, and the exceptionally bright and ornate Bifrost Room.

The national park is one of the largest in its abundance, diversity and beauty of mineral formations. The park has 116 caves, which are among the largest underground chambers in the world. The main attraction of the park is a complex of 80 Carlsbad Caves, with a high diversity and aesthetic appearance of mineral formations. The age of formation is approximately 4-6 million years, the depth is up to 339 m, the total length of all passages and halls is about 12 km. Almost 5 km of paths are laid across the territory of the caves, thanks to which numerous tourists explore the beauty of this amazing corner of nature. The largest cave is the Big Room, whose length is 1219 m, width - 190.5 m, height highest point- about 107m. It is the third largest cave in North America and the seventh largest in the world. By total area it is equal to 14 football fields.

Most of the caves on our planet were formed by rainwater, which slowly dissolved limestone. Typically, water seeps through cracks and sinkholes and gradually turns into underground streams and rivers, carving out complex cave systems. The Carlsbad Caverns were not carved by running water and streams, like many limestone caves in the world, but were formed by exposure to highly corrosive sulfuric acid.

Between 4 and 6 million years ago, water rich in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) began to seep through cracks and fractures into the limestone. This water, mixing with rainwater, penetrated into the layers earth's crust. When the two types of water mix, the H2S, combined with the oxygen that was present in the rainwater, was converted into sulfuric acid (H2SO4). This acid dissolved limestone along cracks and folds in the rock, thus forming the Carlsbad Caverns. This process left behind massive deposits of gypsum, clay, and sediment as evidence of how the caves were formed. About 4 million years ago, the processes of speleogenesis in the area called Carlsbad Caverns ceased, and the caves acquired the appearance that we can observe today.

The caves were once located at the bottom of the sea, covered coral reef. Therefore, the limestone rocks that the caves contain are full of marine fossils of plants and animals.

In addition to the 80 karst Carlsbad Caves, only Slaughter Canyon Cave, which also has impressive geological formations, is available to tourists in the national park. There are no paved paths or lighting, and tourists can visit it on an organized tour with a national park ranger.

Today, Lechuguilla Cave, discovered in 1986, is the focus of research by cavers in the national park. Its depth is 490 m, making it the deepest limestone cave in the United States. It is closed to the public, and the exact location of its entrance is relatively hidden information in order to keep the cave intact.

Lechuguia Cave was not of particular interest to visitors to Carlsbad Caverns National Park until 1986. It had a 30-meter entrance opening, which led to a depth of almost 130 m and ended in a dead end. In the 1950s, speleologists heard the roar of the wind from under the bottom of the cave littered with rubble. Various experts have come to the conclusion that a cave corridor is located under the stone rubble. A group of Colorado cavers received permission from the National Park Service to excavate the site in 1984. The discovery of a large underground passage occurred on May 26, 1986.

What followed was one of the most fascinating studies of one of the most famous cave planets. Since 1986, researchers have mapped over 180 km of passages and established the depth of the cave at 490 m. Lechuguia Cave takes 5th place in the most long cave in the world (third in the United States) and is the deepest in the United States. Speleologists, attracted by unexplored passages and unprecedented beauty, come here from all over the world to explore it.

The Lechuguia Cave is unusual not only due to its enormous size. Speleologists discovered here a large number of gypsum and lemon-yellow sulfur deposits. A fantastic set of rare speleothems (Speleothems are mineral deposits that formed in caves as a result of water dripping), some of them are unique. Lechuguia Cave surpasses its sister, Carlsbad Cave, in size, depth, and variety of speleothems, although it does not have rooms that can compare with the enormous Great Room of Carlsbad Cave. The Lechuguia Cave is a true underground laboratory where geological processes can be studied in a virtually untouched environment.

The evening flight of Mexican free-tailed bats from the entrance and exit of Carlsbad Cave is one of the main attractions of the national park. Tailless bats live only in colonies and feed only on insects. The Carlsbad bat colony consists primarily of females that give birth from June to July before migrating to Mexico for the winter in October.

The park is home to 17 species of bats, including large numbers of Mexican anuran bats. It has been estimated that the population of Mexican anuran bats once numbered millions of individuals, but has declined sharply in the modern era. Recently, their population has increased slightly, but it cannot compare with what it was before. Many methods have been used to estimate their abundance in the cave. The most recent and most successful of these attempts involve the use of thermal video cameras to track their numbers. According to 2005 data, their number was 793,000.

Mexican anuran bats live here from April until late October or early November. They fly out of the cave in a dense group, moving upward in a spiral in a counterclockwise direction, usually starting at sunset; The flight lasts about 3 hours. Bats have a complex location system, thanks to which they never collide with each other. An amphitheater has been built at the entrance to the cave, where visitors to the national park, starting from Remembrance Day (Remembrance Day is national holiday in the United States and is dedicated to the memory of American military personnel who died during armed conflicts or wars involving the United States. It is celebrated annually on the last Monday of May), and until mid-October they listen to the ranger's stories about bats, and spectators wait for the moment when the mice begin to appear from the cave.

The most impressive flights of bats occur in August and September. At this time, new offspring, born at the beginning of summer, join their older relatives, and then they all migrate south together.

The daily pre-dawn returns of the bats are different from the evening flights, but also impressive. Those who watch the morning return witness the bats making a swift dive from hundreds of meters into the opening of the caves. The speed of some of them can reach 40 km/hour and above.

The park is open to visitors all year round, but most tourists come here mainly in the summer, on weekends and holidays. The lowest visitation occurs in January. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except Christmas Day. Tourists are offered the choice of either descending into the cave to a depth of 230 meters on their own or using the installed elevators.

El Paso is the closest to national park Big city, the distance from which is about 190 km.

Hi guys! We have been living in San Miguel in Mexico for 2 months now, and as usual, if we stay in one place for such a long time, I begin to crave new experiences. I want to break away and go somewhere else, but we’re definitely not going anywhere until mid-December, and we’re sitting quietly here - taking the children to kindergarten and gymnastics, walking in the park, eating ice cream in downtown and starting to use the heater.

And I am periodically attacked by longing for the United States, I remember Beautiful places, delicious food, and, of course, last summer, when we were with our children and . There we visited one place that I still haven’t told you about - Crystal Cave.

This cave is a terribly old formation, judging by the huge stalactites and stalagmites, but it was found quite recently - several decades ago - rangers walked past and felt a chill, parted the branches and found the entrance to the cave. Now, of course, it has been improved and made convenient for tourists - passages have been cut, paths have been laid, and lighting has been installed.

In general, there are more than 250 caves in Sequoia Park, but their locations are not disclosed to tourists - they are afraid that they will ruin everything. And they do the right thing - our brother loves to either break off a stalactite as a souvenir or wake up a bat! In addition, visitors pose a risk of introducing all sorts of diseases. One particularly dangerous for bats is White-nose Syndrome, a fungal infection transmitted by contact that leads to mass death of the poor mice. The visible symptom is the growth of fungus on the face and wings, hence the name of the disease.

In recent years, scientists have become very concerned about the epidemic of white-nose syndrome, so before entering the cave, visitors are told about the dangers of contamination and asked to wipe the soles of their shoes on a wet rug to remove any remaining soil on which the fungus can be transferred. In addition, they ask if they have been to other caves over the past few years. To protect the cave, backpacks, bags and other items with straps are not allowed. In general, everything is very serious!

You can’t get into the cave on your own - only as part of a tour, which can be different - from simple ones lasting 50 minutes, where you can safely go with very young children, to almost real research expeditions, when they give out special equipment. clothes, a helmet with a flashlight and you can crawl around non-tourist areas for 4-6 hours!!! There are also tours for Halloween - they are held not on the holiday itself, but a few days before it - on this tour you can not only admire all sorts of calcified formations and marble vaults of the cave, but also meet ghosts. In conditions of dim lighting and cold temperatures, I think the meeting will not be pleasant, so children under 8 years old are not allowed in :). Cost $20, duration 1.5 hours.

We, of course, went on a family tour, which, by the way, was also very interesting! We walked through several large and not so large halls, admired the huge growths, a small river and listened to the history and process of formation of the cave.

The guide initially told us that there would be an opportunity to take photos, but in the end, we had to take photos while she was talking, because then we moved on and there was no time to stop for photos. My photos may not convey either the scale or beauty of the Crystal Cave, but believe me, it’s worth going there!

Helpful information

The cave is open from mid-May to November.
Tickets can be purchased in advance, but only for the same day - at the Foothills Visitor Center or Giant Forest Museum (near the cave, by calling online tickets not for sale!).
The cost depends on the type of tour. The simplest, Family tour, cost $15 for an adult in 2014, the most expensive, Adventure tour, cost $135.
July-August usually has a big influx of tourists, so it's worth buying tickets first thing in the morning (especially on weekends).
Tickets are sold only for the tour, which begins no earlier than 1.5 hours from the moment of purchasing the ticket, since you need to drive to the cave without traffic jams - about 50 minutes (traffic jams happen when roads are being repaired, and since there are only 2 lanes , then cars are allowed to pass one by one and sometimes you can sit in a traffic jam for 20-30 minutes).
You can only get to the cave by your own car. The free shuttles running around the park do not go to the cave, and it’s a long walk to get there from the nearest shuttle stop.
From the parking lot to the cave you have to walk down about 800 m along a paved path. You are not allowed to take a stroller there, but it is better to stock up on water, because you will have to go back up.
The temperature in the cave is +10C, so it’s worth taking a sweater with you.
Photography in the cave is free, but you cannot use flash or a tripod.

The national park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains, which stretch from west Texas to southeastern New Mexico. The height of the park above sea level ranges from 1095 meters in its lowest part to 1987 meters in its highest. Although the park contains areas of forest at higher elevations, the park's area is covered primarily by grass and desert shrubland.

Where are Carlsbad Caverns located?

For those who don't know, let's say - at the intersection of the northern part of the Chiguauan Desert, the southern Rocky Mountains and the southwestern biogeographic provinces of the Great Plains. This contributes to the diversity of the natural habitat of the animal world. The deserts of the Southwest contain some of the highest species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects in the United States.

The park provides important habitat for some raptors, particularly pumas, and is also home to one of the largest colonies of cave swallows in the northern hemisphere. - a significant habitat for a huge colony of Mexican tailless bats, where new offspring are born, as well as a stop for migrating bats.

The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest and wettest desert in North America. Much of this desert is in Mexico, and the park is one of the few places where it is protected and protected. During the year, an average of 366 mm of precipitation falls in the park; The climate is continental, semi-arid with mild winters and hot summers. The average annual temperature is 19 ºC.

Carlsbad Caverns and Rattlesnake Springs

The area attracts birders from all over the world to see some of the more than 300 species of birds that live there. Currently, the park has 67 species of mammals (including 17 species of bats), 357 species of birds, 55 different reptiles and amphibians, 5 species of fish, and more than 600 insects.

has diverse plant communities, and in some cases, unique ones. The park has about 900 species and subspecies of vascular plants. The park's diverse ecosystem provides habitat for many plants that are found within the geographic limits of their distribution area. For example, yellow pine reaches its easternmost limit here, and dwarf chestnut oak (chinkapin oak) is at the westernmost limit of its range.

History of Carlsbad Caverns National Park

While searching for stray cattle, Jim saw a huge number of bats flying from a desert hill. He approached a huge hole in the ground and described what he saw: “I was looking into a huge black hole... in which the mice seemed to be literally boiling.” Having descended into the cave, Jim described his impressions as follows: “I walked until I found myself in the space of grandiose stalagmites. This was the first cave I had ever entered and the first stalagmite I had ever seen, but my intuition told me that there was no other place in the world that could compare to this environment.

Jim White explored the caves using a homemade wire ladder. When he grew up, most people didn't even think such caves existed. He gave his name to many rooms, including the Great Room, the King's Palace, the Queen's Chamber, and the Green Lake Room. He also gave names to many notable cave formations such as Witch's Finger, Giant Dome, Abyss, Fairyland, Sun Temple and others. Jim tried to show this unique place to other people, but only a few really believed in the existence of huge underground cavities filled with unusual cave formations.
Only photographs convinced skeptics that amazing caves really exist. Demonstrated in the city of Carlsbad in 1915, they caused a real sensation. Immediately there were many people who wanted to see the amazing caves with their own eyes.

On October 25, 1923, US President Calvin Coolidge signed an executive order establishing Carlsbad Caverns National Monument.

On May 14, 1930, an act of the US Congress created Carlsbad Caverns National Park, managed by the National Park Service.

The national park is one of the largest in its abundance, diversity and beauty of mineral formations. The park has 116 caves, which are among the largest underground chambers in the world. The main attraction of the park is a complex of 80 Carlsbad Caves, with a high diversity and aesthetic appearance of mineral formations. The age of formation is approximately 4-6 million years, the depth is up to 339 m, the total length of all passages and halls is about 12 km. Almost 5 km of paths are laid across the territory of the caves, thanks to which numerous tourists explore the beauty of this amazing corner of nature. The largest cave is the Big Room, which is 1219 m long, 190.5 m wide, and about 107 m high at its highest point. It is the third largest cave in North America and the seventh largest in the world. The total area is equal to 14 football fields.

How were Carlsbad Caverns formed?

Between 4 and 6 million years ago, water rich in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) began to seep through cracks and fractures into the limestone. This water, mixing with rainwater, penetrated into the thickness of the earth's crust. When the two types of water mix, the H2S, combined with the oxygen that was present in the rainwater, was converted into sulfuric acid (H2SO4). This acid dissolved limestone along cracks and folds in the rock, thus forming the Carlsbad Caverns. This process left behind massive deposits of gypsum, clay, and sediment as evidence of how the caves were formed. About 4 million years ago, the processes of speleogenesis in an area called stopped, and the caves acquired the appearance that we can see today.

The caves were once located at the bottom of the sea, covered with a coral reef. Therefore, the limestone rocks that the caves contain are full of marine fossils of plants and animals.

Lechuguia Cave

Lechuguia Cave was not of particular interest to visitors to Carlsbad Caverns National Park until 1986. It had a 30-meter entrance opening that led to a depth of almost 130 meters and ended in a dead end. In the 1950s, speleologists heard the roar of the wind from under the bottom of the cave littered with rubble. Various experts have come to the conclusion that a cave corridor is located under the stone rubble. A group of Colorado cavers received permission from the National Park Service to excavate the site in 1984. The discovery of a large underground passage occurred on May 26, 1986.

What followed was one of the most exciting explorations of one of the most famous caves on the planet. Since 1986, researchers have mapped over 180 km of passages and established the depth of the cave at 490 m. Lechuguia Cave is ranked 5th longest cave in the world (third in the United States) and is the deepest in the United States. Speleologists, attracted by unexplored passages and unprecedented beauty, come here from all over the world to explore it.

The Lechuguia Cave is unusual not only due to its enormous size. Speleologists discovered large amounts of gypsum and lemon-yellow sulfur deposits here. A fantastic selection of rare speleothems (mineral deposits that have formed in caves as a result of dripping water), some of them unique. Lechuguia Cave surpasses its sister, Carlsbad Cave, in size, depth, and variety of speleothems, although it does not have rooms that can compare with the enormous Great Room of Carlsbad Cave. The Lechuguia Cave is a true underground laboratory where geological processes can be studied in a virtually untouched environment.

The evening flight of Mexican anuran bats from the entrance and exit of Carlsbad Cave is one of the main attractions of the national park. Tailless bats live only in colonies and feed only on insects. The Carlsbad bat colony consists primarily of females that give birth from June to July before migrating to Mexico for the winter in October.

Mexican anuran bats live here from April until late October or early November. They fly out of the cave in a dense group, moving upward in a spiral in a counterclockwise direction, usually starting at sunset; The flight lasts about 3 hours. Bats have a complex location system, thanks to which they never collide with each other. An amphitheater has been built at the entrance to the cave, where visitors to the national park, starting with Memorial Day (Memorial Day is a national holiday in the United States and is dedicated to the memory of American military personnel who died during armed conflicts or wars involving the United States. It is celebrated annually on the last Monday in May) , and until mid-October they listen to the ranger's stories about bats, and the audience waits for the moment when the mice begin to appear from the cave.

The most impressive flights of bats occur in August and September. At this time, new offspring, born at the beginning of summer, join their older relatives, and then they all migrate south together.

El Paso is the closest large city to the national park, the distance is about 190 km.