National ParkPatrimonio Mundial UNESCO

Carlsbad Caverns

United States · New Mexico (USA)
New Mexico (USA)Declared in 1930189 km²

Found by a teenage cowboy who followed a column of bats at dusk to the cave mouth in 1898

Area

189 km²

Protection category

UICN II

Parque nacionalwhat the IUCN categories mean

Declared in

1930

Region

New Mexico (USA)

Climate

Tropical, Árido / desértico, Templado, Mediterráneo, Polar / frío

Best time

It depends on the region

Plan your visit

Best time
It depends on the region
Area
189 km²

Highlight

Found by a teenage cowboy who followed a column of bats at dusk to the cave mouth in 1898

Declared in 1930 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, Carlsbad Caverns was first explored in earnest by Jim White, a teenage cowboy who in 1898 followed what he took at dusk for a column of smoke and which turned out to be hundreds of thousands of bats pouring out of a crack in the desert, and who spent the following decades exploring the cave with improvised kerosene lamps, documenting chambers that still carry the names he gave them. Its summer colony of Mexican free-tailed bats numbers over 400,000.

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49 species documented in Carlsbad Caverns

15 Mammals15 Birds7 Reptiles6 Arachnida6 Insecta

At conservation risk:Murciélago café pequeño

See all 49 species of this place

Flora and ecosystems

Ecosystems found in United States, where Carlsbad Caverns lies.

DesiertoBosque templadoTundra / polarHumedal

Experiences in this park

Observación de aves

Wildlife you can see now

What is worth watching this month in United States?

Brown BearLeast Concern

Brown Bear

Ursus arctos

Ahora es buena época: Osos pardos pescando salmón en Brooks Falls (Junio a septiembre (pico en julio))

Sockeye SalmonLeast Concern

Sockeye Salmon

Oncorhynchus nerka

Ahora es buena época: Osos pardos pescando salmón en Brooks Falls (Junio a septiembre (pico en julio))

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