Carlsbad Caves is a landmark located in the state of New Mexico, in America. And this is not only an interesting place that should be visited by guests in this part of the USA. It is also the largest cave system of great interest to archaeologists and lovers of such natural finds.
Global value
All people, more or less interested in archeology, know where the Carlsbad caves are. More correctly, this is the National Park, which is a long chain of eighty caves of the most diverse sizes. Their total length is more than 12 kilometers. One has only to imagine how great this distance is. This immediately makes it clear that Carlsbad Caves is a National Park, which is really impressive in scale. In addition, do not forget that all this is deep underground. By the way, the depth is also quite large - more than 500 meters. So it is not surprising that many people are interested in the question of where the Carlsbad Caves are located. If possible, then they should definitely be visited.
Art created by nature itself
It is worth noting that not only the huge scale are attractive to tourists. Indeed, inside the caves themselves - indescribable beauty. A variety of rocks that appear on their walls are intertwined with each other and form incredibly picturesque drawings and patterns. This is a creation of nature itself, and you can watch these creations for hours on end. As if a certain artist painted these walls with his brush. Different colors are combined in the drawings - it is purple, and gray, and blue, and golden. Shimmering in various shades, they play on ceilings and arches. All this can be seen with your own eyes, visiting the Carlsbad caves. Photos of this attraction, no matter how high-quality and bright they may be, will not be able to fully convey its luxury and scale.
Interesting Facts
All this, of course, is interesting, but there is still something that attracts attention. For example, the age of these caves. Scientists claim that they are more than 250 million years old! This figure seems simply unrealistic. After all, it turns out that Carlsbad caves existed before the new era arrived, even before the birth of Jesus Christ, Buddha and Mohammed! Such data are really impressive, and this is direct evidence that the caves will stand still for a very long time. Who knows, maybe they are eternal? After all, they existed even when there was no Tire, Babylon, pyramids and Stonehenge (and these ancient sights arose a long time ago, the latter, for example, arose in the III-II century BC).
By the way, it is interesting how this cave system originated. If you believe the research conducted by scientists, in ancient times the sea was splashing in these places. And where the caves are now, there was a coral reef. Naturally, the sea dried up over time - a desert formed. But the reef is still here. It was covered with lime and hardened. And thanks to natural phenomena , the current caves have formed. By the way, these ancient caves are by no means lifeless. Bats live in them - there are 16 of them in total, and the total number is more than a million! Such liveliness is frightening for some tourists, while it inspires others, on the contrary. Many people specially come here not to admire the caves - they prefer to see the flutter of bats. The most impressive flights of these creatures can be observed in August and September - it was at this time that the offspring that were born in early summer only begin to join their parents and relatives, after which they leave the caves, migrating to the south.
How to get there
So, it was said that Carlsbad Caves (USA) are located in New Mexico. This state is not without reason called the mountain. A bridge across the Rio Grande Gorge, rock outcrops, caves, Petroglyphs, Aztec ruins, the Kapulin volcano - and this is not the whole list of attractions that the state of New Mexico has awarded. Carlsbad Caves are most conveniently accessible from the city of El Paso (Texas). This is a large metropolis, which during the development of the Wild West became known as a favorite place for robbers and adventurers. It is quite far from the caves - 190 kilometers. But it is from him that they usually get to them - along Highway-180. She leads to the National Park. Or you can fly to Albuquerque (the administrative center of Bernalillo), and then rent a car and get on your own.
Interesting places
Of course, the entire cave chain is very interesting. However, some places should be noted with special attention. For example, the slaughter cave at the canyon. There is no lighting and paths - absolutely wilderness. The park ranger shows her tourists. Also of interest is the Lechugiya cave, which was discovered recently - in 1986. It is still being explored, since it is the deepest of the existing ones. It is still closed to public tourist visits. This is done in order to keep the cave intact. Lechugia ranks fifth in the ranking of the world's longest caves. And in the United States - the third.
Official status
Of course, caves did not always have such a prestigious status as the National Park. He must be earned, but they succeeded. In 1930, the US Congress approved the Carlsbad Caves as a National Park, and since then this title has been assigned to them. From that moment on, this National Landmark has been watched by the National Park Service. By the way, they are not just watching her. The caves are regularly studied, various studies are conducted in their depths (of course, safe, since no matter how long they stand, care must be taken to avoid critical situations). Only speleologists who are highly skilled specialists in their field participate in expeditions. They continue to reveal new caves to the world, delighting ordinary people and scientists with unknown discoveries. These findings include the Guadalupe Room. This is not just a discovery. This is the second largest room belonging to the Carlsbad Cavern.