Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe National Parks

April 7 -- 11, 2007

[Carlsbad Gallery] [Guadalupe Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]


Located in the sparsely populated plains of the Chihuahuan Desert on the border of Texas and New Mexico, the Guadalupe Mountains are one of the finest examples of an ancient marine fossil reef on Earth. The story of Guadalupe and Carlsbad Caverns begins 250 million years ago with the creation of a 400-mile-long reef in an inland sea that covered the region. Eventually the sea evaporated, and the reef was buried under deposits of salts and gypsum. Then a few million years ago, uplift and erosion began to uncover the buried rock reef, and became the Guadalupe Mountains. At the same time, hydrogen sulfide-rich water dissolved the limestone and opened up the fractures and faults into large chambers as we see today.

Getting there ...

We had an early flight to El Paso, Texas, with one stop at Los Angels. The flight was on time and smooth, and the only surprise was when the captain announced the weather forecast in El Paso was only 35F, which was about 30 degrees lower than what we checked 2 days ago.

 

 

 

The Second Day (Carlsbad Cavern National Park) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Third Day (Guadalupe) ...

 

 

 

 

 

The Fourth Day (Carlsbad + Guadalupe) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Day,

 

 

 

Going Home ...

We had totally different experiences from these two parks, Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Cavern, one above the desert and one underground, but we were equally amazed by their natural power and beauty. There are always excuses to come back again in the future: evening bat flight in Carlsbad, and the highest peak in Texas in Guadalupe.

 


[Back to Photo Page] [Carlsbad Gallery] [Guadalupe Gallery]