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Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
Carlsbad Caverns Information:
Description:
Cave Type:
Limestone Karst
Cave Length:
40 miles
Location:
The Carlsbad Caverns are located in southeast New Mexico not far from the Guadalupe Mountains. From Carlsbad, New Mexico, drive south on US 62 to Whites City, New Mexico, then turn right onto State Highway 7 (Carlsbad Cavern Highway) and drive west 7.3 miles to the visitors center.
Coordinates:
32.173705, -104.446594
Elevation:
4415 feet
Geographical Region:
Basin and Range
Bat Flight Amphitheater (32.176889, -104.441529)
Carlsbad Caverns Natural Entrance (32.176943, -104.441264)
Carlsbad Caverns Picnic Area (32.174874, -104.441978)
Walnut Canyon Nature Trail (32.187333, -104.421910)
The Ancients
The Mescalero Apache and Pueblo peoples, along with their ancestors, are the Indigenous groups with known historical and cultural affiliations to Carlsbad Caverns and the surrounding Guadalupe Mountains. These groups, including the Lipan, Chiricahua, San Carlos, and Jicarilla Apache, as well as the Comanche, Kiowa, Piro-Manso-Tiwa, Ysleta del Sur, and Zuni, have deep connections to the area. While there's no evidence they explored the deep caverns, they were certainly aware of the cave's existence and utilized the area around the entrance.
Second Migration
(The Uto-Aztecan Cultures)
Numic Cultures
Commanche
Puebloan San Juan de Guadalupe
Piro, Manso, Tiwa, Kiowa
Puebloan Cultures
Ysleta del Sur, Zuni
The Ysleta del Sur and Zuni had connections to the caverns.
The Zuni called the cave: Asho:sti an alaluckwa (Bat Cave)
Third Migration
(The Athabascan Cultures)
US Southern Cultures
Appache, Chiricahua, Jicarill, Lipan, Mescalero, San Carlos.
Mescalero Appache
They inhabited the Guadalupe Mountains area from the 1400s to the late 1800s and considered the cave a sacred site. They also left behind evidence like rock art and mescal cooking pits. The Mescalero called the caverns Jadnut? udebiga (Home of the Bat)
The Earth
The Modern Man
The Steps
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