Kartchner Caverns State Park
Kartchner Caverns State Park, Show cave and state park in Cochise County, Arizona.
Description
Kartchner Caverns is a limestone cave system within a state park in Cochise County, southern Arizona. The underground chambers lie beneath a hillside and extend across several connected rooms with varying sizes of halls and narrow passages.
History
Two cavers found the underground chambers in November 1974 and kept their discovery secret for several years. The Kartchner family later sold the land to the state, which began developing it into a public park during the 1990s.
Culture
The park serves as an educational center where visitors learn about cave formation, geological processes, and the importance of cave conservation.
Practical
Several guided tours last roughly ninety minutes each and can be booked in advance. The cave environment remains consistently cool and requires sturdy shoes because of damp walkways and occasional steps.
Did you know?
A colony of Mexican long-nosed bats uses certain sections of the cave as a nursery during warm months. An exceptionally long formation of mineral tubes hangs from the ceiling and measures over 21 feet (6.4 meters) in length.
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Arizona contains geological formations spanning millions of years alongside evidence of Spanish colonial settlement and prehistoric cultures. The landscape includes sandstone canyons such as Antelope Canyon X and Canyon de Chelly National Monument, extensive desert areas with saguaro and organ pipe...
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