Pictured here, Carlsbad Caverns Park Guide enters a small chamber containing stunning cloud-like cave formations known as mammillaries. These formed underwater at times when the lake was much higher than it is today. The formations that look like lion tails (i.e., white stalactites with orange bulbs on the end) formed close to the water surface, with the white part being above water and the orange part being just below the water surface. This contrast between the orange and white formations can give you an idea of where the level of the lake was in the past. Lechuguilla is a very beautiful and highly protected cave. Access is very strongly controlled and only given to experienced cavers with specific scientific or exploration goals within certain parts of the cave. This particular part of the cave had been ‘out of bounds’ for nearly 25 years. Lechuguilla features strongly in the episode Genesis of the @natgeochannel documentary ‘One Strange Rock’ - Check it out! @natgeocreative #Lechuguilla #lechuguillacave #CarlsbadCaverns #Carlsbad #adventure #expedition #science #jeweloftheunderground #biology #microbiology #antibiotics #cave #earthday #earthday2018 #explore #exploration #OneStrangeRock @nasa ... See MoreSee Less
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In celebration of Earth Day, here’s a photograph of a really beautiful part of this Earth that many people will never have the opportunity to see in person. The Lake Castrovalva area of Lechuguilla (cave) in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, is very special. It is abundant in very delicate and unique cave formations, and for this reason it is very rarely visited. These formations are simply perfect and pristine. Here, an American explorer admires a fine set of rimstones and gours. For millions of years, the cave has been sealed off from human and animal interaction. Lechuguilla is a very beautiful and highly protected cave. Access is very strongly controlled and only given to experienced cavers with specific scientific or exploration goals within certain parts of the cave.
Lechuguilla features strongly in the current episode (Genesis) of the @natgeochannel documentary ‘One Strange Rock’ - Check it out! @natgeocreative #Lechuguilla #lechuguillacave #CarlsbadCaverns #Carlsbad #adventure #expedition #science #jeweloftheunderground #biology #microbiology #antibiotics #cave #explore #exploration #earthday #earthday2018 #OneStrangeRock @nasa ... See MoreSee Less
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The Lake Castrovalva area of Lechuguilla (cave) in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, is very special. It is abundant in very delicate and unique cave formations, and for this reason it is very rarely visited. These formations are simply perfect and pristine. Here, a geologist admires a fine set of rimstones and gours. For millions of years, the cave has been sealed off from human and animal interaction. The cave is so beautiful and so important to science that access is strictly controlled in order to keep the cave in as pristine condition as possible. It is a real time machine, taking us back to a world that was very different to the one we live in today. Lechuguilla features strongly in the current episode (Genesis) of the @natgeochannel documentary ‘One Strange Rock’ - Check it out! @natgeocreative #Lechuguilla #lechuguillacave #CarlsbadCaverns #Carlsbad #adventure #expedition #science #jeweloftheunderground #biology #microbiology #antibiotics #cave #explore #exploration #OneStrangeRock @nasa ... See MoreSee Less
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Picture of the day
Photography: Robbie Shone
Carlsbad Caverns National Park ... See MoreSee Less
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