Another World, Underground: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
August 05, 2013
Cave formations in the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns National Park near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Welcome to This Is America with VOA Learning English.
This week on our program, we explore a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the American Southwest, near the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park contains more than 100 caves below the surface of the desert. Most are closed to the public. But anyone can visit the main attraction, one of the largest caves in the world. Bob Doughty and Barbara Klein tell you about it.
Huge. Incredible. Inspiring. Words like these come to mind as visitors enter a world of silence, darkness and cold, almost 230 meters under the ground.
An elevator lowers you into the world of Carlsbad Cavern, the big cave at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Silent, except for the voices of guides and visitors. And not completely dark. The National Park Service has enough lighting to see many of the beautiful formations all around. The temperature is about 13 degrees Celsius.
A cavern is a large cave. But Carlsbad Cavern is really a long series of chambers. One of these is called the Big Room. The Big Room is more than three hectares big. The ceiling is 77 meters high. The Big Room is the single largest underground chamber ever found in North America.
The Big Room and other parts of the cavern contain huge, sharp formations of minerals. People are free to explore the lit formations in the Big Room. But park rangers must guide visitors to other areas of the cave.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25