It was rededicated a National Park on May 14, 1930.
On Dec. 6, 1995.
It was also named a World Heritage Site.

There are 83 different caves in the park,
including the Nation's deepest limestone cave- Carlsbad Cavern.

The cave is 1,597 feet deep. It has a great variety of formations
and and a good part of it is wheel chair accessible.

I have always had a problem with claustrophobia but was fine
in these huge chambers. It does not feel like a cavern
as you never feel closed in.

Well let's take a look downstairs.
The large formations in the Cavern began more than 500,000 years ago.
They formed drop by drop when the climate was wetter and cooler.
As a water drop would make it's way down through the soil
it formed a weak acid by absorbing carbon dioxide gas from the soil and air
surrounding it. On it's way down it dissolved a little bit of the limestone
and absorbed some of the basic ingredient it needed
so it could create these giant formations- the mineral calcite.

When the drop arrived in the chamber, a tiny bit of carbon dioxide gas
escaped into the air and the drop deposited the minute amount of mineral
it was carrying as a calcite crystal.

The shapes that were formed this way are beautiful to look at.
The water that dripped from the ceiling formed into stalactites-
some as thin as tiny ribbons- some very large.

The water drops that made it to the floor formed stalagmites
and grew upward. Sometimes the two columns would meet and reach
from the floor to the ceiling.

Water slowly making its way down a slanted surface would form
calcite layers called flowstone. Other shapes and forms were also
formed in pools of water that occured naturally in the cave.
Those include Cave Pearls- layers of calcite around a grain of sand-
lily pads, formed from deposits on top of a pool-and popcorn
which formed on the walls. A good example of this is on the bottom
left picture. This formation is called
"The Lion's Tail".

Some of the more delicate, needlelike formations are formed
not from calcite but aragonite. The mineral is the same chemically
as calcite but it's crystal structure is different.
These shapes tend to be much smaller than their calcite cousins.

About 750,000 people visit the Caverns each year.
It does not seem crowded because the cave is so large
and people go along at their own pace.

The chambers in the Caverns have exotic names such as The King's Palace,
The Monarch Room, the Green Lake Room, the Devil's Den, Iceberg Rock and the China Wall.
Everywhere you look is more beautiful than what you've seen already.
It would be really hard to pick a favorite.

The main chamber is called "The Big Room".
It is the largest underground chamber in North America.
It is 2,013 feet long, 1,105 feet wide and it soars to a height of 254 feet.

The paths that you walk on are all paved and the tour is self paced.
There are audio stations along the way and everything is marked clearly.
Rangers mingle with the visitors to answer any questions about the cave and
its formation. Take your time and enjoy your sub- terrainian stay!

A lot of the formations remind you of something you might see
under a microscope- only much, much larger and frozen in time.
Here is where you can begin to understand what eternity is.

You can eat your lunch at 750 feet below ground.
There is also a gift shop with the usual tourist stuff.

The cave system has been in the making for millions of years
but it was only re-discovered within the last century.
American Indians took shelter in the Caverns more than 1,000 years ago,
but it is doubted that they explored the Cavern because of their believes
that the dead spirits dwelled below.

On the above picture you can see that the Cavern is still a work of art in process.
Water is forming ripples on a tiny sub-terrainian pool.
Who knows what shape it will take on an eternity from now.

The caverns are inhabited by nearly 1 million bats.
From May to October they emerge nightly, at dusk, in search of insects.
They emerge from the cave entrance, swirling counter clockwise.
Seeing the clouds of bats silhouetted against the beautiful sunset
is an awe inspiring experience.

If you come to see the evening flight you are seated in an amphitheater
surrounding the cave entrance on three sides. Prior to the bats emerging
the Rangers give a little talk. The starting time varies because it has to be
correlated with the time the sun sets. If it rains the program is cancelled
for that evening. There is no charge for this program.

The best bat- flights occur in August and September because it includes
the baby bats that were born in early summer.
The swarms of bats return in the early morning hours.
These events are different than the evening bat flights
as you can see the bats re- enter the Cavern by making spectacular dives
from a height of hundreds of feet. They may reach speeds of 25 mph or more.

Flash Photography is absolutely not permitted during the bat flight program,
as the flash disturbs the bats when they are exiting and entering the Cavern
and causes them to be disoriented. Pets are not allowed at these events.

During one of the programs we attended the Ranger told us that the bat- mothers
give birth hanging upside down and have to grab the baby
so it won't fall to the floor.

What dexterity!

The picture is of the little friendless pet we adopted at Carlsbad Caverns.
He loves to stay here and has made friends with all my other little critter pets.

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