Carlsbad Cavern National Park 2
General Information 2
Geology 4
Climate 8
Wildlife and Biodiversity 9
Environmental Issues and Concerns 10
A Day in the Park 10
The 8th wonder of the earth Carlsbad Cavern lies in the heart of the United States of America in New Mexico. The park has an approximate of 118 caves and attracts an estimated number of 500,000 tourists yearly. It lies in the underground world and provides an amazing scenery to any tourist who visits the park. It offers vast subterranean chambers, incredible cave formations, and unique features. Touring the park will require some walking, crawling and climb down into the darkness. Many of these wonders are well known, but the experience of this 8th wonder is the most exciting. This paper will focus on the history of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, its establishment, and features. Additionally, the paper shall explore the location, its geology, landforms, the climate and water sources in the park, wildlife and biodiversity of the park, environmental issues and concerns surrounding the park.
General Information
Carlsbad Caverns is a national park found in Eddy County, New Mexico in the Guadalupe Mountains of the southeastern New Mexico beneath the Chihuahuan Desert and lies approximately 27 miles from Carlsbad city and occupies an approximate of 73 square miles. Carlsbad Caverns was established as a national monument in 1923 by President Calvin Coolidge (Polyak et al. 56). It became a unit of the United States of National Parks in 1930. It is approximated that about 1000 years ago, Native Americans knew about the site but it wasn’t until settlers who lived around rediscovered the site for mining purposes (Polyak et al. 57). They mined bat guano which they used as fertilizer. James Larkin White, who is claimed to have discovered the site, named explored much of the cave and started giving tours using a lit kerosene lanterns to about 52 meters depth using bat guano buckets.
Figure 1: Carlsbad Cavern’s Entrance
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James Larkin White named many of the rooms in the cave and other major formations. He explored many of the caves giving them the names like Big Room, New Mexico Room, Green lake Room Kings Palace and Queen’s chamber and many others. He also named many of cavern’s creations such as Temple of the Sun, Witch’s Finger, Bottomless pit and many others. Since he was familiar with the cavern, became open for more exploration and discovery of more formations and caves.
In 1923 April 6, 1923 to around May 8, James guided visitors into the cavern and at one time he guided a photographer called Ray V. Davis. Ray V. Davis took photographs of the cave and appeared in the New York Times in 1923 drawing public interest to the cavern. For this reason, the cavern surveyed and mapped by a land surveyor, Robert Holly of General Land Office who made recommendations that led to the establishment of National Park. President Calvin declared Carlsbad Cavern a National Monument and an executive order of a possible National Park. Creation of the park was due to some reasons:
Provision of enjoyment for the public.
Prevent the destruction of any scenic features within the park.
Manage the Wilderness as per the Wilderness Act and maintain the Park as per the Organic Act.
Some of the main features preserved in the park are the magnificent caves, the big room and the large population of free-tailed bats offering a beautiful scenery for the tourists. The most popular attractions include the Big Room, Natural Entrance, Bottomless pit and a large number of free-tailed bats. Carlsbad Cavern is characterized by high elevations ranging between 3596 feet and 6535 feet above the sea level. The park has about 118 known caves, but this number varies due to continuous exploration. The Carlsbad Cavern National Park is open to the public throughout from 0830hrs-1700hrs daily except during Christmas, New Year Day and Thanksgiving Day. Visitors can choose a self-directed tour through the cave or guided by staff member in the park. Currently, the Park will celebrate 100th birthday since its establishment.
Geology of Carlsbad Caverns
Approximately 250 million years ago, the area around Carlsbad cavern served as a coastline for an inland sea. The sea harbored a plethora of marine life whose remains later formed a reef. The reef was made up of the remains of bryozoans, sponge, algae, seashells and calcite that precipitated directly from the river. After the Permian period, the sea dried and the reef was covered sediments which were as a result of evaporation. It also led to the formation of sedimentary rock, limestone up which the Carlsbad cavern lies. Due to tectonic forces in the late Cenozoic, the reef was uplifted above the ground level to form the Guadalupe Mountains. This process led the formation of fractures, faults and cracks in the area. These forces left spaces within the Guadalupe Mountains which later provided a passageway of sulfuric acid in the formation of Carlsbad Cavern.
Carlsbad Caverns is made up of rocks which are composed of minerals. The most common type of rock in the area is limestone. The formation of Carlsbad Cavern dates about 250 million years ago during the formation of a 400-mile reef. There are around 118 largest and longest known caves in the park, and all of them exhibit sulfuric acid as a common ingredient which played a significant role in the formation of all these caves. According to research, hydrogen sulfide from oil deposits around the area and microbes combined with oxygen in the underground water resulting in sulfuric acid. The dissolution occurred in the passageways along the cracks and fractures in the limestone, forcing the Guadalupe Mountains to rise slowly, making the water level to drop in relation to land. The result was drainage of the acid dissolution leaving behind a cave. The result of limestone dissolution by sulfuric acid is gypsum which can is found in nature as mineral or rock form.
Figure 2: Carlsbad Cavern’s Big Room
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After drainage of the acid ground water, speleothems were deposited within the cavern in the subsequent years (Thrailkill 278). Due to the activities of erosion on the surface of the Carlsbad Cavern, there was the formation of a natural entrance into the cave. The natural entrance allowed an influx of air, rainwater, and snowmelt into the cavern. Water and air into the cavern collect carbon dioxide and starts to rise, in the process, it leaves small amounts of calcium carbonate which then form speleothems such as stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites are those created on the ceiling downward while those formed on the floor through the same process are known as stalagmites. Changes in temperature and rainfall affect the rate at which speleothems form.
Landforms
Carlsbad Caverns National Park lies beneath the Guadalupe Mountains and is made up of hundreds of limestone caves of unique nature and beauty. It also preserves a portion of the Capitan Reef, which was formed during the Permian period. Due to natural factors and human factors such as climate change, water, and geologic forces led to the creation and modification of the reef over time. This process still continues and is expected to continue in the future producing a spectacular scene of the reef. Due to erosion activities at the Carlsbad cavern, there was a formation of natural entrance into the cavern.
The park also contains a protected portion of the northern Chihuahuan desert ecosystem. The ecosystem represents a diverse animal and plant life. Additionally, Carlsbad Caverns is made up of canyons such as the Slaughter Canyon Cave and many caves such as the Lechuguilla cave is applauded because of the fragile speleothems and pristine in the underground surrounding (Polyak et al. 289). The Carlsbad Cavern contains other depositional features such as the speleothems, which is a mineral formation. Some of the speleothems which can be found at the Carlsbad cavern are the stalagmites and stalactites. Stalagmites are deposited on the floor of the cavern projecting upward. Stalactites are deposits on the cavern’s roof which form as a result of deposition of calcium carbonate.
Soils
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is characterized by a limited extent of soils and other depositional material (Horberg 465). Because a larger part of the park lies on limestone rock, some regions have little to no soils at all. In the presence of the soils, the layer is fragile as limestone is not conducive for soil formation due to dissolution during the weathering process. The deposited material are removed due to wind erosion during the dry periods and washed away by water during the summer mainly at the steep slopes. However, there are soil filled cracks that retain moisture for the some plants in the park. The dominant soils that can be found in the park though in low quantities are Walnut Canyon alluvium and siltstone.
Climate and Water in the Carlsbad Cavern National Park
The park is located approximately 20 miles west of the Pecos River, which flows through Carlsbad city. Rattlesnakes Spring is near the Carlsbad Cavern and is known as the desert oasis. To ensure that there is a reliable source of water for its development, the National Park Service acquired the Rattlesnake Springs which is a detached segment of the national park. The spring has wetlands and a small stream. The spring supports a large number of bird species and provides water for service to the national park.
The climate is affected by winds, altitude, air temperature, latitude, and precipitation. The national park is located at Chihuahuan desert at a latitude of 33.1281 with an elevation of 52 feet. The park has a semi-arid climate and continental climate with high cool, dry winters and hot wet summers. The park has an approximate of 35 days of precipitation with about 11 inches annually and distributed sparsely, twice annually which occur in July and September in mid-summer and early fall (Geluso and Geluso 126). The park records an annual high temperature of 68.5 F degrees and an annual low temperature of 55.2F (Geluso and Geluso 128). Annually, the park records an average temperature of 61.85F degrees (Geluso and Geluso 129). Evaporation occurs during the hot summers when there is water and during the cool winters which record very little precipitation because of water deficit. The park is characterized with intense thunderstorms during summer with 10 centimeters of rainfall and occasional snow during the winter season which provides an appealing temperature (Geluso and Geluso 129). Carlsbad Cavern offers a relatively cold temperature as compared to the surface of the cave.
Wildlife and Biodiversity
The park supports a variety of life forms characteristic of desert plants, animals, and reptiles. The park provides an ecosystem and habitat for a vast diversity of animals and plants. The park is typical of grassland, desert shrubs, sunflower species and woodlands at high elevations. It is estimated that there is a total of more than 850 species and subspecies of vascular plants (van Duijvenbooden and van Waegeningh 77). Flora includes drought-resistant plants such as creosote, prickly pear, coniferous forest, oak trees on the elevated lands and cactus. Approximately there are 25 subspecies cacti which can be found everywhere in the park and mostly in the canyons (van Duijvenbooden and van Waegeningh 78). It also preserves some of the world’s most threatened plants such as the Llyod hedgehog cactus, shining coral root and Lee Pincushion Cactus. Discovery that has been made shows that there are over 90 species of fungi in the Lechuguilla Cave and other caves (Polyak et al. 105). The presence of fungi and algae has sparked more scientific research in the caves for cancer treatment.
Approximately the park has 65 mammals, birds, reptiles, invertebrates, and amphibians. Bats form a major tourist attraction in the park due to their large numbers. There are approximately more than 700,000 free-tailed bats in the park which stay in the caves (Geluso and Geluso 454). Birds which have been estimated to comprise over 350 species can be found in the Rattlesnake Spring (Geluso and Geluso 456). Crickets feed on small insects, algae, and fungi. Skunks, ring-tailed cats, rattlesnakes are natives at the entrance of the caves. Other mammals that inhabit the park are Puma, pronghorn antelopes, gray fox and the black-footed ferret (Geluso and Geluso 527). Some animals that became extinct in the park at the turn of the century include the Merriam’s elk. Rattlesnake spring which is part of the national park shelters some of the most endangered reptile species; plain-bellied water snake and the Pecos western ribbon snake. Additionally, it inhabits the eastern barking frog and Blanchard’s cricket frog which are also endangered species.
Environmental issues and concerns
The Carlsbad Cavern is a fragile formation that requires being protected. However, most of the Park’s facilities are on the top surface of the caves posing a threat to the weak creations of the caves. The parking lot, maintenance facilities and other services in and around the cavern are a threat to the surrounding environment (van Duijvenbooden and van Waegeningh 235). Human activities threaten water sources at the Carlsbad Cavern National Park thus posing health threats and biodiversity in the area. Some of the factors contribute to high vulnerability of the area are the absence of continuous soil surface, leaks from vehicles at the parking lot, leaks in the sewer lines and leakage from maintenance area. These sources of contamination pose a significant threat to the quality of water and public health. There is a great need thus for drastic measures from the management to deal with the issues before they get out of hand.
Human activities also pose a major threat to the National Park. Future oil and gas exploration around the area is a major concern as it poses a potential source of contamination in the park. Bat population in the park has been reducing tremendously due to past use of DDT by the farmers in the region. Additionally there is an attempt to reduce the bats as they are regarded dangerous to people and animals by the local community. This threatens the major tourist attraction in the area. Use of light in the caves to allow tourists, has led to the growth of bacteria, moss, fungi and algae thus disrupting the natural environment and attracting some animals further into the cavern. In an effort to allow public enjoyment, there has been permanent damage to the cave such as breaking of the fragile speleotherms and pollution. The use of facilities to enhance movements in the park such as elevators have contributed to a decrease in precipitation thus threatening life forms in the cavern.
A Day at the Park
A day at Carlsbad Cavern will begin at 8.30 am when the Natural Entrance opens. However, I will be at the entrance as early as 8.00 am to catch up with fellow tourists. After entering the cave, my first activity will be to visit the famous Big Room. This will be my first priority due to the magnificence of the room. I will also look out for the large number of free-tailed bats which roam the cave. These bats are usually present between April and September. I will, therefore, ensure that my trip to the cave is conducted within this timeframe. Moreover, I will participate in camping during the course of my visit. The camping activity is mostly done outside since the cave’s authorities forbid camping inside the camp. My day at the cave will not be complete without having lunch at the lower cave at around 1.00 pm. This will give me a chance to bond with other tourists and experience the wonders of Carlsbad. After lunch, I will proceed to visit the King’s Palace which directed by the tour guide. I will wrap up my visit at around 2.30 pm.
Conclusion
Environmental issues are of major concern, not only do they pose threats to human population but also to natural resources. Carlsbad Cavern National Park is one of the major tourist attraction sites in the United States of America. Understanding its history, formation, characteristics and concepts is significant for management of the park in their efforts to preserve one of the wonders on earth. The park has been threatened by a number of human factors as mentioned in the above discussion. This paper is an important asset for anyone willing to have adventure at the Carlsbad Cavern. It provides information on the major tourist attraction features, climate in the area, biodiversity and information that will enable one take precaution when in the park.
References
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