Carlsbad Caverns

Adults 16 and older costs 6$

Children 15 and younger are free

I hope this helps.

"Carlsbad Caverns" IS the cave. Its largest chamber, as far as I can make out (the Internet's not all it's cracked up to be for finding information!), is known as The Big Room. Note: The word "chamber". I'd used that as a British caver, but I believe US cavers usually use "room" for the same thing: a discrete cavity within a cave, and distinctly larger than the passages entering it.

The Mescalero Apaches did not live in Carlsbad Caverns but they did utilize the area for shelter and resources for thousands of years. They used the caves as temporary shelters during hunting trips and as a place to gather resources.

Who knows? They've not been found yet.

I'll invite the local cavers to expand specifically but the joy - and often frustration - of original cave exploration is that you have no real idea until you find it. Yes, you can predict that extensions to a cave may exist, but you cannot be sure till you reach them.

There's an old Somerset (S.W. England) cavers' dictum (actually I know who coined it), that, "Caves be where you find 'em!"

That's as true in Carlsbad Caverns or the Flint Ridge - Mammoth system as it is on the saying's home territory of the more modest Mendip Hills.

For the morphological history of a given cave you will have to read the research papers on that individual cave. However, the basic principles are:

How Caves Form in Limestone

That is such a common question on ‘Answers’ I wrote this single reply! The technical terms are introduced by capital initials.

Most of the world’s caves are in Limestone.

Caves need three materials: a soluble rock like Limestone or Gypsum, water and Carbon-dioxide (CO2).

Their host limestone also needs to be of appropriate physical structure and raised into hills, then subjected to reasonably consistent precipitation for many tens or hundreds of thousands of years.

Limestone is a sedimentary rock of which the world’s greater proportion was laid down in warm, relatively shallow, seas. The rock was laid in horizontal layers – Beds – separated by Bedding-planes which generally reflect geologically-brief changes in the environment. The suite of beds is known as a Formation, generally named after its “type area”.

Later continental uplift (tectonic processes) raise the formation along with its underlying rocks, usually tilting and folding it to at least some extent in the process. Since most rocks are brittle they cannot take much stress, and limestone beds crack into grids of fine fractures called Joints. The uplift and folding often also causes Faulting – major breaks with the rock mass one side of the Fault Plane being raised, lowered or moved horizontally past that on the opposite side. (Note: Plane – the “Fault Line” sometimes misused as a political metaphor is that of the fault-plane cutting the land surface.)

Now we have the hills, next we need rain-water that has absorbed atmospheric CO2 to create Carbonic Acid (weak, natural soda water in fact!). It may be augmented by acids from the soil, too. This solvent permeates through all those joints, bedding-planes and faults; flowing very, very slowly under considerable pressure applied by its depth, from its sinks on the surface to its springs at the base of the formation. In doing so, it dissolves the limestone (chemical weathering), creating meshes of tiny micro-conduits that over many tens of thousands of years coalesce and capture each other to form cave passages.

Once this happens, the rate of erosion can increase – though still to perhaps only a few millimetres per thousand years under generally temperate climates.

A cave, or a series within a cave system, that still carries its formative stream is called “Active”, and is still being developed.

Surface changes such as the valley floor being lowered by erosion, or down-cutting within the cave by its stream, changes the water’s route and the original, now dried-out, stream-way is called “Fossil” or “Abandoned”. Such passages may be filled with silt left by floods as the main flow gradually abandons them; or may become richly decorated with Speleothems – calcite deposits such as stalactites and stalagmites precipitated from ground-water still oozing through the joints in the limestone above the cave. In time such passages may start to break down as there is no stream to dissolve away slabs falling from the roof as permeating ground-water attacks the rock above.

In the end, surface lowering of the landscape as a whole, breaches and destroys the cave. Nothing is permanent in Nature!

Caves in limestone are also parts of Karst Landscape. i.e. a landscape developed by the dissolution of limestone, giving surface features like Dolines, Limestone Pavement, and in the tropics, distinctive hills such as those represented in Chinese Willow-pattern images. ‘Karst’ is from the Slavic word ‘Kras’, the name for its world type-area.

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The above is purely an introduction to a vastly more complex and subtle series of processes, of course, and you need to refer to appropriate text-books on geology and cave studies to learn them.

The scientific study of caves is Speleology – embracing geology, hydrology, biology, archaeology and other disciplines.

Simply visiting caves to enjoy them for their scenery and the physical and mental challenges they present, is called Caving, though you can’t study a cave unless you can negotiate its obstacles. The enthusiasts are simply Cavers throughout the English-speaking world – you see “spelunkers” sometimes on ‘Answers’ but it's an old slang word not found in caving literature.

they might find gold,rocks,minerals,silver,bronze, and precious stones

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They might but it's extremely unlikely unless the cave has cut across igneous intrusions or metamorphic-aureole rocks (I don't know that area's geology).

Limestone caves rarely show anything like that as it's not in their geology. You certainly won't find bronze in Nature, only in archaeological artefacts, as it's an artifical alloy and its two constituents (copper and tin) are found only as ore minerals.

The Carlsbad Caverns were discovered by a 16-year-old named Jim White in 1898 when he saw a black cloud of bats rising from the area. He explored the caves and later helped bring attention to their beauty and size.

Nature founded Carlsbad Caverns - they are natural features!

They have been known to Man since prehistoric times, when they were used as homes, but the exploitation first for mining guano deposits then of Carlsbad Caverns itself as a show-cave started in the 19C.

The designation of the caves and their surrounding land as a National Park, to conserve them for everyone, was carried out in several stages starting in 1923.

Carlsbad Caverns began forming approximately 250 million years ago, with the majority of the cave's development occurring during the last 5-10 million years. The caves were formed by sulfuric acid dissolving the surrounding limestone bedrock to create the magnificent caverns we see today.

There are 117 known caves within Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Nature founded Carlsbad Caverns - they are natural features!

They have been known to Man since prehistoric times, when they were used as homes, but the exploitation first for mining guano deposits then of Carlsbad Caverns itself as a show-cave started in the 19C.

The designation of the caves and their surrounding land as a National Park, to conserve them for everyone, was carried out in several stages starting in 1923.

Carlsbad Caverns may be found near the city of Carlsbad in New Mexico.

Visitors can access Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico through the park's natural entrance, a steep 1.25-mile hike that descends about 750 feet into the cave. There is also an elevator for visitors with limited mobility or those who prefer not to make the steep hike.

Carlsbad Caverns is known for its extensive limestone caves, featuring unique geological formations such as stalactites and stalagmites. Visitors can explore the underground chambers and witness the impressive Big Room, one of the largest cave chambers in North America. The caverns are also famous for their nightly bat flights, where thousands of bats emerge from the caves in search of food.

The deepest part of Carlsbad Caverns descends about 750 feet (229 meters) below the surface. It is part of a complex cave system with more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) of known underground passageways.

Carlsbad Caverns is important due to its stunning natural beauty, including giant underground chambers and unique limestone formations. It also serves as an important habitat for a variety of rare and endemic species, contributing to biodiversity conservation efforts. Additionally, it offers educational opportunities for visitors to learn about geology, cave formation, and the importance of preserving natural landscapes.

It is recommended to wear comfortable and breathable clothing suitable for walking and exploring, as well as sturdy closed-toe shoes with good traction. Layers are also advised, as the caverns can have fluctuating temperatures. Additionally, consider packing a light jacket or sweater for cooler areas within the caves.

The most significant natural feature in Carlsbad Caverns National Park is the extensive network of limestone caverns, including the Big Room, which is the largest underground chamber in North America. Other important features include stalactites, stalagmites, and unique formations such as the Chandelier Ballroom and the Giant Dome.

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico got its name from the nearby town of Carlsbad. The caverns were formally named in 1923 by the US government, taking inspiration from the famous Luray Caverns in Virginia.

Efforts to preserve the land forms of Carlsbad Caverns National Park include limiting access to sensitive areas, monitoring visitor activities through guided tours, implementing sustainable management practices, and conducting research to better understand the geological processes at play. The park also has conservation programs in place to protect the caves from human impact and environmental degradation.

US Congress changed the designation and the name of Carlsbad Cave National Monument, created in 1923, to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 1930. Carlsbad Cavern, without the "s", is the name of the main tour cave. There are 117 caves known in the park.

Carlsbad Caverns was first discovered in 1898 by a 16-year-old named Jim White. He explored the caverns and later helped bring attention to the site's natural beauty, leading to its eventual preservation as a national park in 1930.

the rocks in carlsbad is limestone