Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
El Capitan, the iconic peak of West Texas, presides over a vivid sunset.
The Guadalupe Mountains are the limestone remains of a huge carbonate reef that formed in a shallow inland sea during Permian times, around 250 million years ago.
Tags: Chihuahuan Desert El Capitan Guadalupe Mountains Guadalupe Mountains National Park Texas USA United States chihuahuan desert landscape mountain national park outdoor park sunset
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
I spent a couple of days visting Carlsbad Cavern, one of the few caves whose minders allow tripods. There are two entrances, one natural and the other via an elevator that drops you 750 feet (230 meters) down into the cave. The trails are nicely paved with handrails. The cave is dimly lit, just enough that you don't need any other light to find your way.
This is a view of the Big Room from the Rock of Ages viewpoint. And it is indeed big: this section of the cave has a floor area of 8.2 acres (3.3 hectares).
After visiting Carlsbad Caverns the first time in 1936, Ansel Adams wrote in a letter to Alfred Stieglitz:
"I have just gone through something that should not exist in relation to human beings. Something that is as remote as the galaxy, incomprehensible as a nightmare, and beautiful in spite of everything."
Tags: Carlsbad Caverns Carlsbad Caverns National Park New Mexico USA United States cave cavern landscape national park outdoor park speleothem stalactite stalagmite
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Daylight streams into the cave's natural entrance,lighting a segment of the trail and revealing some haze in the air.
So I had to look it up. The difference between a 'cave' and a 'cavern' is that a cavern connotes a really big cave. Otherwise the words are interchangeable. English doesn't stop at one useful word when two or three are possible.
Tags: Carlsbad Caverns Carlsbad Caverns National Park New Mexico USA United States cave cavern landscape national park outdoor park
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
The limestone faces of El Capitan glow as the sun sinks at the end of the day. I explored nearby Carlsbad Cavern for a couple of days, spending my evenings watching the sun play on this mountain.
Tags: Chihuahuan Desert El Capitan Guadalupe Mountains Guadalupe Mountains National Park Texas USA United States chihuahuan desert landscape mountain national park outdoor park sunset
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
A wide angle view of the only part of Carlsbad Cavern that receives any natural light. The trail in front of us will eventually lead us 750 feet (230 meters) below the Earth's surface.
Tags: Carlsbad Caverns Carlsbad Caverns National Park New Mexico USA United States cave cavern landscape national park outdoor park
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