Mammoth Cave National Park is a national park in central Kentucky, USA, comprising portions of Mammoth Cave, the largest cave system in the world.
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| Mammoth Cave National Park |
In 1941, this intricate cave system was declared a National Park, became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and was finally recognized as a Biosphere Reserve in 1990, due to the great biological wealth it houses.
The Mammoth Cave is a limestone cavern that has about 500 kilometers of galleries (some sources speak of close to 600 kilometers) at five different heights. It is the longest known cave system in the world and its underground currents form the Verde River or Green River.
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| Mammoth Cave National Park |
At the deepest level, about 110 meters below the surface, runs the underground river "Eco" (Echo River), a tributary of the Green, which has a length of more than a kilometer and a maximum width of 60 meters in some places. of the lagoons it forms.
The underground rivers of the Mammoth Cave are home to endemic terrestrial and aquatic cave animals such as mollusks, arthropods, vertebrates, spiders, mammals, crayfish, and several species of blind fish. The vast majority of these species are usually albino and lack eyes, which reminds me of another habitat that I was lucky enough to know, closer, the James del Agua in Lanzarote.
The temperature inside the cave remains almost constant at 12.2 ºC. The underground postcards that we find inside the Mammoth Cave are very varied, due to the different geological evolutions over the centuries.
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| Mammoth Cave National Park |
In some parts of the cave, crystals of calcite, gypsum, and other precipitated minerals cover the rock formations, creating striking surreal stony dreamscapes, while the drip of time can be heard in every corner.
Mammoth Cave National Park and the Green River Valley each year attract millions of visitors who come to explore the more than 600 kilometers of caverns and complicated mazes that gave this park its name: Mammoth. And to get lost in the surface of the park, with many other attractions.
It is estimated that the first human beings who crossed the entrance arch to the caves did so about 4,000 years ago, before the arrival of Europeans to the continent. There are archaeological remains of native settlers from prehistoric times. In 1835 the mummified body of a man from pre-Columbian times was found.
The Mammoth Cave was "rediscovered" in 1798. During the Anglo-American War of 1812, "the Rotunda", as the large chamber of the main cave is known, was explored, not with a desire for discovery, but in search of potassium nitrate to make gunpowder.
As a grim curiosity, one of its last explorers, already in the 20th century, spent more than ten years trying to map the caves and searching for hidden treasures. He died in an accident in the cave.
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| Mammoth Cave National Park |
Visit the mammoth cave
The most desired visit is the caves, but let's not forget the surface part, since we are talking about a park of 21,367 hectares, with outdoor trails and rivers, so that the sun can shine again. The park is located in Edmonson County, Kentucky, with small areas extending east through Hart County and Barren County.
Given the enormous influx to this part of the country, there are many hotel establishments around the National Park in different locations and along the roads. There are several possibilities for tours through the National Park, ranging from an essential visit lasting one hour to six hours. The price varies depending on the route chosen.
From the park, they offer the possibility of rowing, fishing, or swimming in the Green and Nolin rivers. The landscape on the surface includes cliffs, forests, wild animals and flowers, hills, and natural hot springs. Among the cultural visits, we can see the remains of the old Engine No. 4 railroad, Cedar Sink, and the historic Good Spring Church...
We can enter the Mammoth Cave or Colossal Cave and discover part of the most extended labyrinth of natural caves in the world through guided tours led by park rangers. At the visitor center, they can also guide us to get to know the Park on its surface.