Underworld

I’ve been to Carlsbad Caverns before, but it’s been decades and I was definitely ready for another visit.

I’d completely forgotten about the long drive through a winding canyon after you leave the highway for the cavern entrance; very scenic. My National Parks Pass got me into the main cave (the Big Room) for free, but I paid a bit extra to go on a guided tour of a side cave called the King’s Palace; I’m glad I did.

In the visitors’ center, there’s a 3D map of what you’ll see underground:

The entire area in the foreground is the Big Room. Behind that and to the left is the Lower Cavern. As you can tell, it’s much deeper, but there aren’t many formations in it. That tour is also an extra cost and I didn’t feel a need to go. There is a point on the Big Room tour that you can look down into the Lower Cavern. I did, and it was pretty much as you’d expect: dark and fairly featureless. The King’s Palace is just visible at the very back of the map. It’s advertised as having the most numerous and varied formations, and it didn’t disappoint.

The elevator from the visitors’ center to the cavern has a digital display that counts down to 750 feet below ground level. Our guide for the King’s Palace had lots of experience at other national Parks, but had only been at Carlsbad for a few days, so he frequently referred to his notes. None-the-less, he did a fine job. Here’s a photo of him leading us into the King’s Palace area:

I’m afraid it’s obvious that I haven’t mastered the technique of taking underground photographs, but I hope what follows will give you some indication of the awe inspiring sights. There’s a significant slope with frequent stairs going to and from the King’s Palace, but once you’re there, the path is reasonably level. Here’s the namesake for the tour:

In the foreground is the King’s Court, and the brighter feature behind is the King’s Throne. Later in the tour, you circle around and walk behind these features, too. I either didn’t hear or don’t remember the names for most of the other features, so I’ll present many of them without comment.

The foreground features in the photo above are known as curtains. Notice how they’re at an angle while the features at the lower right are vertical. That’s because these curtains formed on a huge chunk of ceiling that subsequently fell to the floor and came to rest at an angle.

The feature on the right above is known as the Bashful Elephant.

The photo above is the last from the King’s Palace area. I have a few more from my tour around the Big Room, but lighting was even more problematic there:

Stalactites, of course, are the features that cling to the ceiling, stalagmites grow from the floor. When they join in midair, they become a column.

I did learn a bit of science on the tour. Carlsbad is one of the largest caverns in the world, and there’s a reason for that. Most caverns are fissures in the rock and/or eroded by a river that runs through. A hot spring pool surfaced in the fissure of early Carlsbad. Sulphur released from the pool formed sulphuric acid which rose and weakened the limestone in the ceiling. Huge blocks of the ceiling would crash to the floor. Many can still be seen today, but many others have been washed away, increasing the size of the cavern.

In all, I spent three hours underground, and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, Carlsbad was just a convenient stop on my way to one of the major goals of my trip, Big Bend Nation Park, which is the subject of my next several posts.