Caverns in the United States
Today's blog is about caverns in the United States. I love going spelunking. I raised a boy (now a man) and this is a boy thing, so we saw a lot of caverns, but I enjoy them too. This is one picture from the Carlsbad Cavern.
Perhaps the most well-known of New Mexico’s caves, Carlsbad Caverns is located in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeast part of the state. Inside the mysterious caverns is the Big Room, a large, natural limestone chamber almost 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 255 feet high. This is the fifth largest cave chamber in North America and the 28th largest in the world.
There are 119 caverns in New Mexico.
Bandelier National Monument-
Located near Los Alamos, this 33,677-acre national monument preserves territory and homes of ancestral Puebloans. Most of the pueblo structures date between 1150 and 1600 A.D. There are several stunning hiking trails around; however, the pièce de resistance is the cave dwellings. Located inside Frijoles Canyon, several pueblos, kivas, rock paintings, and petroglyphs are prevalent. While some of these dwellings were built on the canyon floor, others were carved out in the volcanic voids of the canyon walls.
El Malpais National Monument-called the land of fire and ice, El Malpais is chock full of cinder cones, spatter cones, lava flows, sandstone bluffs, hiking trails, and its wondrous lava tube ice caves. The word malpais is derived from the Spanish word meaning badlands. The monument is named this due to the dynamic yet barren volcanic field that occupies most of the park’s area. This wondrous national monument is located near Grants on the Trails of the Ancients Byway.
Howe Caverns is the best known in upstate NY. There are 10 caverns though.
If you want to find the hidden secrets of Upstate New York, sometimes you have to dig deep. Deep underground, that is. New York State is rich with geological treasures, like caverns and caves. Known as "spelunking," cave hiking and exploring can reveal a new level of wonderment for nature lovers and adrenaline junkies.
The National Speleological Society offers a listing of spelunking groups in Upstate New York - when exploring the wilds of the underground, it is best to bring a friend or two. Better yet, join a "grotto," the name given to these groups, or find a meet-up group near you that specializes in spelunking.
Cathedral Caverns State Park-Cathedral Caverns State Park is a relatively new state park that features a massive entrance and contains beautiful formations. Some of the significant features include “Goliath” – one of the biggest stalagmites on the planet – a frozen waterfall, a stalagmite forest, and more. The cave is a delightful 60°F all year long, which makes it pleasant to visit any time of year. There are 12 amazing caves in Alabama-I have visited all of them.
Virginia's eight caverns are awe-inspiring attractions found in the Southwest and Shenandoah Valley regions. Below-ground temperatures hover around 56 degrees, so they are even a great place to escape summer's heat and perhaps even warm up on a cold winter day. Visit a Virginia Cavern for a unique and memorable experience for the whole family! I have been to all of these.
There are so many amazing caves to visit in the U.S. Did you know there are 8 caves in Southern California, caves in Idaho, Arizona, Maryland and North Carolina. This is a fun way to see the US. I have probaly missed a few states. My most recent trip to a cave was in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific this past February.
Always hoping to inspire you to travel. Valerie Brown
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