Carlsbad Cavern, Natural cave system in Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, US.
The Big Room of Carlsbad Cavern extends 4,000 feet in length, 625 feet in width, and reaches 255 feet at its highest point.
Jim White conducted initial explorations of Carlsbad Cavern in 1898, using handmade wire ladders to navigate and document the underground passages.
The Carlsbad Caverns National Park maintains a collection of limestone formations, recognized as a World Heritage Site since 1995.
Visitors can enter the cave through the natural entrance trail or access the chambers directly via elevators that descend 750 feet underground.
The cave system formed when hydrogen sulfide from petroleum deposits mixed with groundwater, creating sulfuric acid that dissolved the limestone bedrock.
Location: Eddy County
GPS coordinates: 32.17706,-104.44104
Latest update: March 9, 2025 22:09
Natural caves form over thousands of years through chemical and physical processes in various rock formations. Limestone caves develop through the slow dissolution of carbonate rock, creating stalactites, stalagmites, and other mineral deposits. Ice caves preserve frozen structures year-round in mountainous regions, while marble chambers result from the erosion of metamorphic rock. These geological formations offer insight into Earth's history and natural processes that unfold over millions of years. Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico extends more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) of explored passages with large chambers filled with limestone formations. Eisriesenwelt in Austria is one of the world's largest ice caves, stretching 26 miles (42 kilometers) through the Tennengebirge mountains. Reed Flute Cave in Guilin displays colorfully illuminated limestone formations dating back 180 million years. In New Zealand, glowworms illuminate the ceilings of Waitomo Caves, while Puerto Princesa's underground river in the Philippines flows through limestone rock. The marble chambers of Patagonia show wave-like patterns carved by water into calcium carbonate rock.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
334 m
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Pine Springs Trailhead
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Eddy County Courthouse
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Natural Entrance
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Avalon Dam Suspension Bridge
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