Carlsbad Caverns Wilderness

With 116 documented caves including the world-famous Carlsbad Cavern and Lechuguilla Cave at over 125 miles in length, Carlsbad Caverns National Park deserves its international reputation. Approximately 250 million years ago a reef grew on the edge of an ancient sea. Much later the area was raised up through mountain-building processes, and the limestones and dolomites in the now-uplifted reef fractured, allowing rainwater from above to begin forming caves. At the same time, hydrogen sulfide from oil and gas deposits below moved upward, intersecting the water table and forming a mild sulfuric acid that carved out the large rooms and passages we see today. As uplift continued, those rooms and passages drained of water and elaborate speleothems began to form. The landscape above ground is just as rugged and dramatic, with steep, rocky ridges and craggy canyons, and elevations from 3,600 to 6,350 feet. At the northern edge of the vast Chihuahuan Desert and the western edge of the Great Plains, the park's biodiversity is high: species lists so far include at least 950 plants, 357 birds, 55 reptiles and amphibians, and 67 mammals. Among the mammals is a main attraction — an astounding colony of hundreds of thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats that live in the Cavern from spring through fall, emerging in a cloud at dusk for their nightly feeding. The park has documented 17 different species of bats using its various habitats. Almost three-fourths of the park is designated wilderness, and caves found within the wilderness areas are managed as wilderness. Trails provide foot access: the park has about 43 miles of hiking trails, of which about 25 miles are in Wilderness, and the 12-mile Guadalupe Ridge Trail, an abandoned dirt road, follows the edge of the Wilderness to the northwest.