National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior Carlsbad Caverns National Park

New Mexico

Poster created by Paul Burger - July, 2009 For further information see http://www.nps.gov/cave

Main Tour

Kings Palace Tour

Lower Cave Tour (off trail)

Left-Hand Tunnel tour (off trail)

Hall of the White Giant tour (off trail)

Natural Entrance

Lechuguilla Cave

2008-2009 Surveys (in red)

Total Surveyed Passage: 204 km (126 mi)

Entrance

Western Branch

Southwest

Branch

Near

East

Far

East

Carlsbad Cavern

48 km (30 miles)

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Kilometers

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NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque

Carlsbad

Farmington

Tucson

TEXAS

COLORADO

El Paso

ARIZONA

Deming CARLSBAD CAVERNS

NATIONAL PARK

Welcome!

Geology

How the Caves Formed

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Location

The rock containing Carlsbad Cavern was formed by a

reef at the edge of the Delaware Basin around 250

million years ago. Unlike most modern reefs that were

formed from corals, the Capitan Reef was formed

primarily from calcareous sponges and algae along with

bryozoans, bivalves, marine snails, and various

microorganisms. About 38 million years ago, the

ancient reef rock that had been buried by younger

layers of rock began to rise. During uplift, the rock

folded and fractured. These fractures controlled the

development of the cave and continue to control how

water flows into the cave from the surface today.

Between 4 and 6 million years ago hydrogen-sulfiderich waters began to migrate through the limestone (1).

This water mixed with rainwater moving downward

through the fractures and faults in the rock (2). When

the two waters mixed, the hydrogen sulfide combined

with the oxygen carried by the rainwater and formed

sulfuric acid (3). This acid dissolved the limestone along

fractures and folds in the rock to form Carlsbad Cavern

(4). As the water table lowered, aggressive dissolution

at the water table formed large rooms (5). This process

left behind massive gypsum deposits, clay, and silt as

evidence of how the cave was formed.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park and World Heritage

Site is located in the Guadalupe Mountains of

southeastern New Mexico. The Guadalupe Mountains

are part of the Chihuahuan Desert, one of the largest

and wettest North American deserts.

The park contains over 116 known caves, and two of

the most famous caves in the world, Carlsbad Cavern

and Lechuguilla Cave.

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Paleogeographic reconstruction showing the Delaware

Basin relative to the southwestern United States.

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Idealized profile showing cave development mechanisms. Numbers correspond to

the paragraph above.

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Contact Information

Dale Pate

Cave Specialist

ph 575-785-3107

Dale_Pate@nps.gov

Stan Allison

Cave Technician

ph 575-785-3105

Stan_Allison@nps.gov

Tom Bemis

Cave Technician

ph 575-785-3104

Tom_Bemis@nps.gov

Paul Burger

Hydrologist/Geologist

ph 575-785-3106

Paul_Burger@nps.gov

3225 National Parks Highway

Carlsbad, NM 88220

fax 575-785-2317

Cave Resources Office

Lechuguilla Cave Exploration

Cave Research

Protecting Carlsbad Cavern

Quick Numbers for Carlsbad Cavern

Cave Length 48 kilometers

Cave Depth 317.0 meters

Years of Known Exploration 1898 - present

Visitors per Year 350,000

The park permits 6-8 survey and inventory expeditions

per year. Typically, teams spend four to six days

underground at one of four designated camps within

the cave. Teams are required to haul all of their gear

and equipment in and out of the cave; there are no

gear caches. Each year, there are between five and

eight kilometers of new cave explored and surveyed.

Pushing through a tight squeeze lined with calcite spar.

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Quick Numbers for Lechuguilla Cave

Cave Length 204.0 kilometers

Cave Depth 488.0 meters

Years of Known Exploration 1903 - present

Visitors per Year less than 100

There is a wide variety of research being done in park

caves including biology, cave climate, geology and

hydrology.

Microbiologists are not only looking at what microbes are

present the caves, but are also investigating the role of

microbes in the development of speleothems.

Geologists are studying pool deposits and speleothems to

understand past climates. Some of this research is

providing valuable insights into cultural changes among

the ancestral populations of the southwestern United

States.

Researchers are looking at the type and magnitude of

lithologic, tectonic, and hydrologic controls on the location,

extent, and shape of cave passages. They are also exploring

what geomorphic and mineralogical features within park

caves can tell us about the history and mechanisms of cave

development.

A study completed in 1997 showed that much of the

infrastructure in the park had potential impacts on

Carlsbad Cavern. Runoff from the parking lots and leaks

from the sewage system were contaminating the natural

hydrologic system above the cave. As part of a broader

project to reduce or eliminate contamination, the park is

removing several structures and is reducing the amount

of paved area above the cave. The Park‘s main sewage

line has been relocated to reduce potential leaks and

spills into Carlsbad Cavern and many of the feeder lines

are slated for repair or replacement.

SEM of microbes from Spider Cave

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Sampling cave deposits for

microbial analysis

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Downloading climate data from a logger in Lechuguilla Cave

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Delaware

Basin