Carlsbad Caverns National Park
One of the largest cave chambers in the United States.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park protects more than 100 caves in the Guadalupe Mountains of southwest New Mexico, including the show cave, Carlsbad Cavern. The Big Room in Carlsbad Cavern is the fifth largest cave chamber in the United States and the twenty-eigth largest known to the world.
Open / Close / Reopening Status of Carlsbad Caverns National Park due to Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Last Updated: May 2, 2020
Carlsbad Caverns is one of more than 300 limestone caves created in a fossil reef which was in an inland sea over 250 million years ago. Human history in the area can be traced back about 12,000 years ago, when natives lived in the Guadalupe Mountains, leaving behind cooking sites and pictographs. In the 1500s, Spanish expeditions from Texas found their way to the area, and it was part of the area Spain claimed until Mexico claimed their independence in 1821. In 1850, the area became part of the United States and was known as the New Mexico Territory, and as New Mexico when it was established as a state in 1912.
The first recorded entry of the caverns as 1898, by 16 year old James White, a Texas-born explorer. Between 1915 and 1918, photographer Ray V Davis took phootos of the Scenic Room and Big Room, which appeared in the New York Times in 1923, stimulating interest in the cavern. The area was surveyed in April 1923 by the General Land Office, guided by Jim White and photographed again by Ray V Davis. It was recommended that a national monument be established, and in October 1923, it was official. Carlsbad Caverns were redesignated as a National Park in 1930. The park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1995.
Entrance passes are $10 per person, and are valid for three days. Children 15 and under are free. The park accepts all America the Beautiful passes. Some tours are an additional fee.
There are both self-guided and ranger-led tours of Carlsbad Cavern. The self-guided tours are 1.25 mile walks via the Natural Entrance Trail or the Big Room Trail. The Big Room tour accesses the cave by elevator.
The King’s Palace is the most frequently led tour. It is a 1.5 hour ranger-guided tour through the deepest portion of the cavern open to the public. The Left Hand Tunnel is a 2 hour, moderate difficulty candle lit lantern tour in an undeveloped section over uneven surfaces and slippery slopes. The Hall of the White Giant tour is a more advanced, four hour with some narrow passages, ladder climbing and free climbing required.
Reservations are recommended for all cave tours and need to be made 48 hours in advance. The caves are cool and have an average temperature of about 56 degrees Farenheit year round. Flashlights are permitted. Gloves, knee and elbow pads are provided on tours requiring crawling.
Photography, and flash photography, is permitted in the cavern. Tripods are permitted on self-guided tours but not ranger-led tours. No electronic equipment is permitted during the bat exit flight.
There are 17 species of bats living in the park. The cave is home to half a million or more Brazilian Freetail bats from early spring to late October or early November. They have not yet been infected with White Nose Syndrome, a disease inflicting bats on the East Coast. During the day, they hang on the ceiling of Bat Cave near the natural entrance and emerge in gigantic swarms at nightfall to prey on moths and night-flying insects. The Bat Flight Program, where a ranger talks about the bats prior to their flight from the cave, is one of the most popular in the park. To photograph the bats, a special use permit obtained at least two weeks in advance is required.
There are at least 100 caves on/below the national park property. Park Rangers also lead tours of Spider Cave, Lower Cave and Slaughter Canyon Cave. Individuals and groups with suitable experience and equipment can apply at least one month in advance for a cave permit as part of the wild caving program.
Lechuguilla Cave is also in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It is the deepest cave in the Continental United States and the seventh longest explored cave in the world (as of 2013). It has a number of rare speleothems (secondary mineral deposits formed in certain caves). Access to the cave is currently limited to scientific researchers, survey/exploration teams and National Park Service management.
Birders will enjoy the Rattlesnake Springs (separate section from the main park), which has been designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. It is a wooded riparian area in the desert where more than 300 species of birds have been recorded. The natural entrance to the Carlsbad Cavern is also an Important Bird Area because of its colony of cave swallows.
Recent Bird Sightings
There are a number of trails through the desert on the national park property. Don’t forget to take a good map and plenty of water.
Camping inside the national park is permitted only in the backcountry with a free permit obtained at the visitor center. There are a number of restrictions on the locations of backcountry camping. Outside the park, there is an RV park in Whites City. Carlsbad also has a KOA and another RV park. In West Texas, there is camping in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park ni mojawapo ya mapango makubwa zaidi nchini Marekani. Carlsbad Caverns National Park ni moja ya mapango zaidi ya 100 katika Milima ya Guadalupe ya kusini magharibi mwa New Mexico, ikiwa ni pamoja na pango la show, Carlsbad Cavern. Chumba Kikuu katika Carlsbad Cavern ni chumba cha tano kwa ukubwa katika Marekani na ishirini na mbili kwa ukubwa inayojulikana duniani. Karibu na Jumba la Hifadhi la Taifa la Carlsbad Caverns, ambalo limekuwa likifunguliwa kwa sababu ya COVID-19, ni moja ya mapango zaidi ya 300 ya mawe ya chokaa yaliyoundwa katika mwamba wa fossil uliokuwa ndani ya bahari zaidi ya miaka milioni 250 iliyopita. Historia ya binadamu katika eneo hilo inaweza kufuatiliwa nyuma ya miaka 12,000 iliyopita, wakati wenyeji walipoishi katika Milima ya Guadalupe, wakiacha nyuma maeneo ya kupikia na picha. Katika miaka ya 1500, safari za Kihispania kutoka Texas zilifika katika eneo hilo, na lilikuwa sehemu ya eneo ambalo Hispania ilidai hadi Mexico ilipodai uhuru wake mnamo 1821. Mwaka 1850 eneo hilo likawa sehemu ya Marekani na lilijulikana kama New Mexico Territory, na kama New Mexico wakati lilipoanzishwa kama jimbo mwaka 1912. Katika mwaka wa 1898, James White, mvumbuzi mwenye umri wa miaka 16 kutoka Texas, aliingia kwenye pango hilo. Mnamo mwaka wa 1915 na 1918, Ray V. Davis alichukua picha za chumba cha Scenic na chumba kikubwa, ambayo ilionekana katika New York Times mnamo 1923, na kuchochea maslahi katika pango hilo. Eneo hilo lilipimwa Aprili 1923 na Ofisi Kuu ya Ardhi, ikiongozwa na Jim White na kupigwa picha tena na Ray V. Davis. Ilipendekezwa kwamba ukumbusho wa kitaifa uanzishwa, na katika Oktoba 1923, uliwekwa rasmi. Mapango ya Carlsbad ni sehemu ya Hifadhi ya Kitaifa ya Ulaya. Hifadhi hiyo ilitangazwa kuwa eneo la urithi wa dunia mwaka 1995. Kadi za kuingia ni $ 10 kwa mtu, na zinafaa kwa siku tatu. Watoto chini ya miaka 15 ni bure. Hifadhi hiyo inakubali vibali vyote vya Amerika ya Uzuri. Ziara fulani hufanywa kwa malipo ya ziada. Kuna matembezi ya kujiongoza na ya kuongozwa na walinzi wa mbuga ya Carlsbad Cavern. Safari ya kujiongoza ni kutembea kwa maili 1.25 kupitia Njia ya Kuingia Asili au Njia ya Chumba Kikuu. Ziara ya Chumba Kikuu hufikia pango hilo kwa lifti. Jumba la Mfalme ndilo linaloongozwa mara nyingi zaidi. Safari ya saa 1.5 ya kutembea na mlinzi wa mbuga kupitia sehemu ya ndani zaidi ya pango iliyo wazi kwa umma. The Left Hand Tunnel ni safari ya saa mbili ya kutembea na taa ya mshumaa, na ni ngumu sana. Ziara ya Jumba la White Giant ni ya juu zaidi, saa nne na baadhi ya njia nyembamba, kupanda ngazi na kupanda bure inahitajika. Maagizo ya kuhifadhi ni muhimu kwa ziara zote za pango na lazima kufanywa masaa 48 mapema. Mapango hayo ni baridi na yana wastani wa joto la karibu digrii 56 Fahrenheit mwaka mzima. Taa za mkononi zinaruhusiwa. glavu, magoti na elbow pads ni zinazotolewa juu ya ziara zinazohitaji crawling. Picha, na picha za flash, zinaruhusiwa katika pango hilo. Vipande vitatu vinaruhusiwa kwenye ziara za kujiongoza lakini si ziara zinazoongozwa na mlinzi. Hakuna vifaa vya elektroniki kuruhusiwa wakati wa ndege bat exit. Kuna aina 17 za popo katika mbuga hiyo. Pango hilo ni makao ya popo milioni nusu au zaidi wa Brazili kutoka mapema katika majira ya kuchipua hadi mwishoni mwa Oktoba au mwanzoni mwa Novemba. Bado hawajaambukizwa ugonjwa wa White Nose Syndrome, ugonjwa unaowasumbua popo katika Pwani ya Mashariki. Wakati wa mchana, wao hutegemea dari la pango la popo karibu na mlango wa asili na huibuka katika makundi makubwa wakati wa usiku ili kuwinda nondo na wadudu wanaoruka usiku. Programu ya Ndege ya Panya, ambapo mlinzi huzungumza juu ya popo kabla ya kukimbia kutoka pango, ni moja ya maarufu zaidi katika mbuga. Ili kupiga picha popo, ni lazima mtu apate kibali cha pekee cha kutumia popo angalau majuma mawili mapema. Kuna angalau mapango 100 kwenye au chini ya uwanja wa mbuga ya kitaifa. Walinzi wa mbuga pia huongoza ziara za pango la Spider, pango la Chini na pango la Slaughter Canyon. Watu binafsi na vikundi vyenye uzoefu na vifaa vinavyofaa vinaweza kuomba angalau mwezi mmoja mapema kwa kibali cha pango kama sehemu ya mpango wa pango la mwituni. Pango la Lechuguilla pia liko katika Mbuga ya Kitaifa ya Mapango ya Carlsbad. Ni pango la kina zaidi katika Bara la Marekani na pango la saba kwa muda mrefu zaidi kuchunguzwa duniani. Ina idadi ya speleothems nadra (maeneo ya madini ya sekondari yaliyofanyizwa katika mapango fulani). Kufikia pango kwa sasa ni mdogo kwa watafiti wa kisayansi, timu za uchunguzi / utafutaji na usimamizi wa Huduma ya Hifadhi ya Taifa. Kwa mfano, Rattlesnake Springs ni eneo la ndege muhimu la National Audubon Society. Ni eneo lenye misitu katika jangwa la Sahara ambapo zaidi ya spishi 300 za ndege zimeorodheshwa. Mlango wa asili wa pango la Carlsbad pia ni Eneo Muhimu la Ndege kwa sababu ya koloni yake ya vipepeo wa pango. Maono ya hivi karibuni ya Ndege Kuna njia kadhaa kupitia jangwa kwenye mali ya mbuga ya kitaifa. Usisahau kuchukua ramani nzuri na maji mengi. Kupiga kambi ndani ya mbuga ya kitaifa huruhusiwa tu katika maeneo ya nyuma ya nchi kwa kibali cha bure kilichopatikana katika kituo cha wageni. Kuna vizuizi kadhaa juu ya maeneo ya kambi za mashambani. Nje ya bustani, kuna Hifadhi ya RV katika Jiji la Whites. Carlsbad pia ina KOA na nyingine RV Hifadhi. Katika Texas Magharibi, kuna kambi katika Mbuga ya Kitaifa ya Milima ya Guadalupe.