Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Underground limestone cave system in Eddy County, New Mexico.
The national park contains more than 119 caves formed through limestone dissolution, creating extensive networks of passages and chambers beneath the Chihuahuan Desert.
The cave system gained protection in 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge declared it a national monument, leading to its establishment as a national park in 1930.
The park presents educational programs about cave formation, regional geology, and local wildlife, including the natural spectacle of bat emergence during summer evenings.
Visitors need timed entry tickets to access the caves, with options for self-guided tours through the natural entrance or elevator access from the visitor center.
The Big Room chamber extends 4,000 feet in length, 625 feet in width, and reaches 255 feet in height, making it North America's largest underground chamber.
Location: Eddy County
Inception: May 14, 1930
Operator: National Park Service
Website: https://nps.gov/cave
GPS coordinates: 32.17528,-104.44389
Latest update: August 1, 2025 08:12
The western United States protects some of North America's most diverse natural landscapes. From the layered canyons of Canyonlands in Utah to the white gypsum dunes of White Sands in New Mexico, this region spans multiple climate zones and geological formations. Visitors find national parks, Pueblo archaeological sites and natural phenomena that document millions of years of Earth's history.The collection includes the ruins of Mesa Verde, where Ancestral Pueblo communities built cliff dwellings into sandstone alcoves from the 6th century until the late 1200s. Dinosaur National Monument preserves one of the world's most significant fossil beds, with more than 1,500 exposed dinosaur bones. Colorado's Great Sand Dunes rise to 750 feet (229 meters), making them the tallest dunes in North America. Carlsbad Caverns extends through 30 miles (48 kilometers) of underground passages with more than 120 known caves.The region's geology appears in the 2,000-foot (610-meter) depths of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the petrified tree trunks in Petrified Forest that date back more than 200 million years. Monument Valley presents sandstone formations rising 400 to 1,000 feet (122 to 305 meters) above the valley floor. Utah's Mystic Hot Springs feeds natural mineral pools at temperatures around 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (71 to 82 degrees Celsius). Wolf Creek ski area records an average annual snowfall of 465 inches (11.4 meters).
New Mexico combines geological formations with historical sites spanning multiple periods. The region includes cave systems such as Carlsbad Caverns, extensive gypsum fields at White Sands, volcanic landscapes at El Malpais National Monument, and unusual rock formations in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. The territory also preserves evidence of pre-Columbian and Spanish settlement, including pueblo ruins, cliff dwellings, and seventeenth-century mission complexes. Sites range from ancient petroglyphs at Three Rivers to military installations like Fort Union. Natural attractions include hot springs at Jemez Springs, the volcanic crater of Valles Caldera, and the deep blue waters of Blue Hole. The collection features archaeological monuments such as Chaco Culture and Bandelier, geological curiosities like the hoodoos at Tent Rocks, and historic pueblos including Taos, which has been continuously inhabited for over a thousand years.
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