Carlsbad Caverns NPSVerified account

@CavernsNPS

Rocky slopes, canyons, cactus, grass, and shrubs with more than 119 known caves beneath this rugged land--all formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone.

Carlsbad, New Mexico
nps.gov/cave
Joined November 2013
1,541 Photos and videos Photos and videos

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  1. 9 hours ago

    Just because you don’t see it... has 2 species of pocket gophers which spend lots of time underground, excavating mazes just below the surface. They have fur-lined pockets on the outside of their cheeks used to store food that can be turned inside out! NPS

    1 retweet 8 likes
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  2. May 21

    Lichens are composites of a fungus & an algae. The algae photosynthesizes & both absorb water, minerals & pollutants from the air, through rain & dust. Shown are lichens living on the soil at looking dead until it rains. NPS / Renée West

    2 retweets 6 likes
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  3. May 20

    This is a honeypot ant (Myrmecocystus genus), which gather liquid from sap eating insects & store it within their bodies causing a swollen abdomen filled with a honey-like substance. These workers, ‘repletes’, feed the colony when food's scarce. NPS / Max Berlin

    5 likes
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  4. May 19

    Make a fist. It takes muscles right? When bats make a fist with their feet, they don’t use muscles as it’s a resting position. Thus, bats sleep hanging upside down. If one dies, they may keep hanging there. What other animals have specific body adaptations? NPS / John Davis

    1 retweet 16 likes
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  5. May 18

    During the summer, thousands of people witness the nightly bat flights but far fewer are there to witness the re-entry after a long night of foraging. Join us on July 18 for the annual Dawn of the Bats, starting at 5:15 am, as we experience the return of the bats. Nick Hristov

    20 likes
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  6. May 17

    We are proud to protect, manage, and care for your Carlsbad Caverns National Park. –CAVE Rangers & Staff Why do you visit national parks? NPS

    1 reply 2 retweets 19 likes
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  7. May 16

    Often seen in herds, Barbary sheep are photogenic for an invasive species. Originally native to northern Africa, they were introduced into New Mexico for hunting, but soon outcompeted & displaced the native desert bighorn sheep, & to a lesser extent, mule deer in our area. NPS

    2 retweets 21 likes
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  8. May 15

    A very determined cactus longhorn beetle feeds on a Lee pincushion cactus despite the very dense spines. These are in the class Coleoptera, family Cerambycidae, and are but a few of the amazing insects you may see during a Carlsbad Caverns visit! NPS / Kristin Dorman-Johnson

    7 likes
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  9. May 14

    A tree lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) relaxes on a nice warm sunny day at Carlsbad Caverns! Where have you been able to simply relax for a while in a national park? NPS / Chris Newsom

    1 retweet 8 likes
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  10. May 14

    Ninety years ago on this day, Carlsbad Caverns went from being a National Monument to a National Park. When the monument was established on October 25, 1923, very little money was allotted. Once we became a national park, we gained more funding. NPS / Brian Cole

    4 retweets 29 likes
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  11. May 13

    “Our desert plants, especially the cacti, are now in blossom, and are proving of much interest.” Superintendent Thomas Boles, May 1930. Have you observed plants lately? Test your identification skills! NPS / Anthony Mazzucco

    1 retweet 11 likes
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  12. May 13

    These cave pearls, the size of golf balls, were found in an area known as “The Motherlode” in Lechuguilla Cave! With all kinds of speleothem formations out there, what’s your favorite? Dave Bunnell

    2 retweets 14 likes
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  13. May 12

    1, 2, 3... Dr. Nickolay Hristov has been using advanced thermal imaging to assist in counts of Brazilian free-tailed bats. Moving bats are identified and tagged by a computer, then are separated from the background and other non-directionally moving objects and counted digitally.

    1 retweet 4 likes
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  14. May 11

    Not Barbary “sheep” or “goat”? Anatomically, the genus of the Barbary, called Ammotragus, lacks the glands that characterize all true sheep. Also, its numbers of chromosomes and the amino acid sequencing of the Barbary is different from both sheep and goats. Dan Leifheit

    3 retweets 16 likes
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  15. May 10

    Our feature today is Supervisory Park Ranger, Pam Cox! Pam started her NPS career at Mount Rainier as a seasonal Park Ranger. She moved on to the Grand Canyon where she worked at Phantom Ranch for 14 years. Today, Pam works for the Division of Interpretation at CCNP. NPS

    12 likes
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  16. May 10

    Flowers are beautiful things to enjoy when exploring and hiking in the desert. These plants provide more than beauty. They are a source of food for the insects and animals. Please leave what you find, Leave No Trace principle #4. NPS / Kialey D.

    1 retweet 10 likes
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  17. May 9

    It is now your opportunity to safely venture underground. What are your reasons to explore caves near you? Dan Pawlak

    3 likes
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  18. May 9

    The Guadalupe Room has wet active flowstone! Changing out of muddy boots and into clean water socks is just one of the many ways that we protect it while exploring. This room isn’t open to the public, but part of the route to it is the Hall of the White Giant tour. Colin Walfield

    2 retweets 9 likes
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  19. May 8

    Why do humans go into caves? At Coronado Cave National Memorial some folklore stories quote chambers filled with Spanish gold, a hideout for Geronimo during the Apache Wars and early copper and silver miners looking for luck. Why do YOU go into caves? NPS

    9 likes
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  20. May 8

    Minnetonka Cave, in Idaho’s Bear River Range on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, offers a half-mile of stalactites, stalagmites, banded travertine, and fossils of crinoids, brachiopods, and corals. Discovery was in 1906 and lit by the CCC in 1938. USFS

    2 retweets 17 likes
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