Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad may be the most spectacular cave in the world, with more stalacites, stalagmites, flowstone, and colums than in a dozen other caves combined.
The
stalactites hang down from nearly every inch of the ceiling. Sometimes
they are like clusters of needles- slim, and sharp- forming patterns of
jagged seismograph lines. Others are thick and blade shaped . This group
of stalactites, looking like a nest of swords growing downward is called
"The Chandelier".
The stalagmites which accumulate on the floor are thicker and lumpier. Some are immense- like the nose cones of rockets pushing their way up through the floor. There's a contrast between the immense scale of the cave, and the delicacy of some of the features. Colored floodlights help to reveal the colors of the rocks.
The Big Room is immense, but you can't see it all at once. Its in the general shape of a cross. It winds, twists, rises, and falls. The cave walls and floors are riddled with passages, and windows. Each twist opens up a new chamber. You feel like an ant crawling through a sponge. Only the ceiling, many stories above seems uniform, and unbroken. Sudden pits in the floor reveal glimpses of the "Lower" cave, about 90ft below. Often a puddle of water under your foot will reflect the lighted ceiling above creating the illusion that you are on the edge of one of these pits.
All images © John Donohue, 1995,1996