CARLSBAD CAVERNS
Photos
Carlsbad Caverns
Stalagmite in foreground with Stalactites in background.
These vast and magnificent caverns contain over 21 miles of explored corridors. The chambers contain countless stalactites and stalagmites unrivaled in size and beauty. The caverns are within a reef that formed in an ancient sea 240 million years ago. Millions of years later, the reef was fractured, allowing ground water to begin work fashioning the caverns.
August 2000
Visitors wishing to explore Carlsbad Caverns may select from 3 main tour options depending on their time, interest, and physical ability. Two of these options follow 1 hour self-guiding routes (the Big Room Route and the Natural Entrance Route); the third is a 1 1/2 hour ranger-guided tour (the Kings Palace Tour). Each of these tours are approximately 1 mile long.
August 2000
The evening flight of bats of Carlsbad Cavern is a natural phenomenon as fascinating as the cave itself. In a mass exodus at dusk, thousands of Mexican free-tail bats fly from the cave for a night of feasting on insects. The spectacle can be viewed from the outdoor amphitheater at the cave's natural entrance. Before each flight, a park ranger gives a short talk on bats. Because the bats winter in Mexico, the flights occur only from early spring through October. The annual Bat Flight Breakfast, which began in 1958, occurs the second Thursday morning of every August. For information, call (505) 785-2232 (reservations are not accepted).
August 2000
An additional tour is found at the Slaughter Canyon Cave. Ranger-guided tours take you into an underground wilderness without electricity, paved walkways, or modern conveniences. In this wild cave, darkness is broken only by the light of lanterns carried by rangers and flashlights carried by tour members. Highlights of the 2-hour, 1 1/4-mile tour are the 89-foot-high Monarch, one of the world's tallest columns; the sparkling, crystal-decorated Christmas Tree column; and the Chinese Wall, a delicate, ankle-high rimstone dam. Old bat guano mining excavations can be seen. A strenuous 1/2-mile trail must be hiked to the cave entrance, where the tour begins. Sturdy walking shoes, flashlights, and water are required.
August 2000
The main road to Carlsbad Caverns.
An additional one hour 9 1/2 mile scenic drive on Walnut Canyon Desert Drive, a one-way gravel road, loops through dramatic desert mountain scenery. Passenger cars can travel the road easily, but the narrow, twisting route is not recommended for trailers or motor homes. A guied booklet is available at the visitor center.
August 2000
Thr park's trail system includes a short nature trail and, for experienced hikers, more than 50 miles of primitive backcountry trails. Backcountry hikers should register at the visitor center.
August 2000
The park's climate is characterized by warm summers and mild winters.
In the summer average highs are in the 90s °F;
in the winter they are in the 50s and the 60s °F. Intense thunderstorms occur in
the summer, posing the danger of lightning in higher areas and of floods in low-lying
areas.
August 2000
August 2000
August 2000
Rainfall is sparse and unevenly distributed here, and summers are long and hot. This is the 400,000-square-mile Chihuahuan Desert, one of the four great deserts of North America.
August 2000
For more information, check the Carlsbad Caverns Web Site.
For weather conditions, call (505) 885-1848 or check the Web Site.
Return to Carlsbad page, New Mexico Photos home page or New Mexico page.
When you call a business, please tell them you saw their ad in the New Mexico Entertainment web site.