Carlsbad Caverns

The Big Room Carlsbad Cavern

The humidity is only about 3% and the temperature is in the 80’s, so the Carlsbad Cavern felt pretty good today. We took the tour of the Big Room – and yes, it is big – the trail around the room is 1 ¼ miles and takes about an hour and half to walk. This cave is different than most we have been in – because it was carved out by sulfuric acid rather than water. The cavern is still part of the gigantic limestone reef that is nearby in the Guadalupe Mountains. The formations were quite varied: stalagmites, stalactites, columns, draperies, and popcorn. Most of the cave is quite dry – since the land above is primarily desert, but it is obvious that at one time, there must have been quite a lot of water that seeped through and formed this cave. An interesting historical fact, Jim White, a 16 year old cowboy, discovered the cave and tried to get people interested in preserving it. He created some of the pathways through the cave in the 1930s. Eventually, this was declared a National Monument and Jim became the head ranger here. In the afternoon, I took the guided tour through the King’s Palace. Not quite as spectacular as the Big Room, we also went through a number of chambers with water features and some curly style rock formations that sort of squeezed out under high pressure like toothpaste and then hardened. The day finished with a road tour of some of the canyons on the surface. We would highly recommend a visit to Carlsbad Caverns.