Kartchner Caverns State Park
Encyclopedia
Kartchner Caverns State Park is a state park
of Arizona
, USA, featuring a show cave
with 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of passages. The park is located 9 miles (14.5 km) south of the town of Benson
and west of the north-flowing San Pedro River
.
The park encompasses most of a down-dropped block of Palaeozoic rocks on the east flank of the Whetstone Mountains
. The caverns are carved out of limestone
and filled with spectacular speleothem
s which have been growing for 50,000 years or longer, and are still growing due to careful and technical cave state park development and maintenance.
s found a narrow crack in the bottom of a sinkhole
, and followed the source of warm, moist air toward what ended up being more than 2.5 miles (4 km) of pristine cave passages. Hoping to protect the cave from vandalism
, they kept the location a secret for fourteen years, deciding that the best way to preserve the cavern — which was near a freeway — was to develop it as a tour cave. After gaining the cooperation of the Kartchner family and working with them for ten years, together they decided that the best way to achieve the goal of protection through development as a tour cave was to approach Arizona State Parks. In 1985, then-Governor Bruce Babbitt
secretly left the state capitol with two bodyguards and spent three hours crawling through the cave's tight passages to reach the cave's showcase chambers, including the Big Room, Echo Passage and Cul-de-sac Passage. The discovery of the cave was finally made public in 1988 when the landowners sold the area to the state for development as a park and show cavern. The state spent $28 million on a high-tech system of air-lock doors, misting machines and other gadgetry designed to preserve the cave.
stalactite
s and a 58 feet (17.7 m) high column called Kubla Khan. The Big Room contains the world's most extensive formation of brushite
moonmilk
; it is closed during the summer for several months (April 15 to October 15) each year because it is a nursery roost for over 1,000 cave bats
.
Other features publicly accessible within the caverns include Mud Flats, Rotunda Room, Strawberry Room, and Cul-de-sac Passage.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, USA, featuring a show cave
Show cave
Show caves — also called tourist caves, public caves, and in the United States, commercial caves — are caves that are managed by a government or commercial organization and made accessible to the general public, usually for an entrance fee...
with 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of passages. The park is located 9 miles (14.5 km) south of the town of Benson
Benson, Arizona
-Transportation:Benson Airport is located 3 miles north west of the city.Benson is served by Interstate 10 to the north, which travels directly to downtown Tucson....
and west of the north-flowing San Pedro River
San Pedro River (Arizona)
San Pedro River is a northward-flowing stream originating about ten miles south of Sierra Vista, Arizona near Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. It is one of only two rivers which flow north from Mexico into the United States. The river flows north through Cochise County, Pima County, Graham County, and...
.
The park encompasses most of a down-dropped block of Palaeozoic rocks on the east flank of the Whetstone Mountains
Whetstone Mountains
The Whetstone Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona. Major ranges in the region are part of sky island ranges called the Madrean Sky Islands. Part of the Coronado National Forest, the range is one of the least accessible areas...
. The caverns are carved out of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and filled with spectacular speleothem
Speleothem
A speleothem , commonly known as a cave formation, is a secondary mineral deposit formed in a cave. Speleothems are typically formed in limestone or dolostone solutional caves.-Origin and composition:...
s which have been growing for 50,000 years or longer, and are still growing due to careful and technical cave state park development and maintenance.
History
The caverns were apparently unknown to humankind until 1974, when two amateur spelunkerCaving
Caving—also occasionally known as spelunking in the United States and potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems...
s found a narrow crack in the bottom of a sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
, and followed the source of warm, moist air toward what ended up being more than 2.5 miles (4 km) of pristine cave passages. Hoping to protect the cave from vandalism
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
, they kept the location a secret for fourteen years, deciding that the best way to preserve the cavern — which was near a freeway — was to develop it as a tour cave. After gaining the cooperation of the Kartchner family and working with them for ten years, together they decided that the best way to achieve the goal of protection through development as a tour cave was to approach Arizona State Parks. In 1985, then-Governor Bruce Babbitt
Bruce Babbitt
Bruce Edward Babbitt , a Democrat, served as United States Secretary of the Interior and as the 16th governor of Arizona, from 1978 to 1987.-Biography:...
secretly left the state capitol with two bodyguards and spent three hours crawling through the cave's tight passages to reach the cave's showcase chambers, including the Big Room, Echo Passage and Cul-de-sac Passage. The discovery of the cave was finally made public in 1988 when the landowners sold the area to the state for development as a park and show cavern. The state spent $28 million on a high-tech system of air-lock doors, misting machines and other gadgetry designed to preserve the cave.
Features open to public viewing
The two major features of the caverns currently available to the public are the Throne Room and the Big Room. The Throne Room contains one of the world's longest (21 inch) soda strawSoda straw
A soda straw is a speleothem in the form of a hollow mineral tube. They grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of caves...
stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s and a 58 feet (17.7 m) high column called Kubla Khan. The Big Room contains the world's most extensive formation of brushite
Brushite
Brushite is a mineral with the chemical formula . It is believed to be a precursor of apatite and is found in guano-rich caves, formed by the interaction of guano with calcite and clay at a low pH. Brushite was first described in 1865 and named for the American mineralogist George Jarvis Brush...
moonmilk
Moonmilk
Moonmilk is a white, creamy substance found inside caves. It is similar to other deposits, but its unique quality is that it does not harden or turn to stone...
; it is closed during the summer for several months (April 15 to October 15) each year because it is a nursery roost for over 1,000 cave bats
Evening Bat
The Evening Bat is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae, that is native to North America. It is a small bat found throughout much of the midwestern and eastern United States as well as northeastern Mexico. In many areas they are very common, but may be declining in some...
.
Other features publicly accessible within the caverns include Mud Flats, Rotunda Room, Strawberry Room, and Cul-de-sac Passage.
Animal life
Although the cave is largely uninhabited, bats do nest in the Big Room during late spring.Further reading
- Miller, Neil. Kartchner Caverns: How Two Cavers Discovered and Saved One of the Wonders of the Natural World, 2008, University of Arizona Press. ISBN 9780816525164
- Larkin, BruceBruce LarkinBruce Larkin is a children's book author. He is also the founder of Wilbooks, an educational publishing company. Bruce Larkin's books are primarily used to teach young children how to read. Larkin has authored more than 1000 books, both fiction and non-fiction, for beginner readers. Bruce Larkin...
. Kartchner Caverns, 2009, WilbooksWilbooksWilbooks is a children’s book educational publishing company, based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Wilbooks publishes books geared towards children from Pre-kindergarten to second grade. Wilbooks books are leveled educational books with a focus on teaching children how to read. Wilbooks was...
. ISBN 978-1-60867-258-5.