Lechuguilla Cave: Jewel of the Underground

Lechuguilla Cave, located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, USA, is one of the world's most extraordinary cave systems known for its pristine condition, unique formations, and significant depth.

Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Lechuguilla Cave is one of the deepest caves in the United States, reaching a depth of about 1,604 feet (489 meters). It's also one of the longest, with over 140 miles (225 kilometers) of mapped passages.

The cave is renowned for its spectacular and diverse formations, including gypsum chandeliers, stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, cave pearls, and the incredibly rare hydromagnesite balloons. These formations are often pristine due to the cave's protected status.

Access to Lechuguilla Cave is highly restricted to preserve its delicate ecosystem and formations. Only scientific researchers, surveyors, and exploration teams are allowed, and they must follow strict protocols to minimize impact.

Lechuguilla cave: Jewel of the Underground

Lechuguilla cave. NPS Photo/Gavin Newman

Lechuguilla Cave offers more than extreme size. It holds a variety of rare speleothems, including lemon-yellow sulfur deposits, 20 feet (6.1 m) gypsum chandeliers, 20 feet (6.1 m) gypsum hairs and beards, 15 feet (4.6 m) soda straws, hydromagnesite balloons, cave pearls, subaqueous helictites, rusticles, U-loops and J-loops. Lechuguilla Cave surpasses its nearby sister, Carlsbad Caverns, in size, depth, and variety of speleothems, though no room has been discovered yet in Lechuguilla Cave that is larger than Carlsbad's Big Room.

Scientific exploration has been conducted. For the first time, a Guadalupe Mountains cave extends deep enough that scientists may study five separate geologic formations from the inside. The profusion of gypsum and sulfur lends support to speleogenesis by sulfuric acid dissolution. The sulfuric acid is believed to be derived from hydrogen sulfide that migrated from nearby oil deposits. Therefore this cavern formed from the bottom up, in contrast to the normal top-down carbonic acid dissolution mechanism of cave formation.

Rare, chemolithoautotrophic bacteria are believed to occur in the cave. These bacteria feed on the sulfur, iron, and manganese minerals and may assist in enlarging the cave and determining the shapes of unusual speleothems. The claim in the BBC documentary series Planet Earth that these bacteria do not derive any energy from the sun is incorrect, as the majority are sulfur-oxidizing bacteria that utilize primarily atmospheric oxygen (derived from sunlight-driven photosynthesis) as an electron acceptor.

Other studies indicate that some microbes may have medicinal qualities that are beneficial to humans.

Lechuguilla Cave lies beneath a park wilderness area. The cave's passages may extend out of the park into adjacent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. A major threat to the cave is proposed gas and oil drilling on BLM land. Any leakage of gas or fluids into the cave's passages could kill cave life or cause explosions.

Cave pearls in the Pearlsian Gulf, Lechguilla Cave. Credit: CavePics

Formations in Lechuguilla Cave Include

Another thing that makes Lechuguilla Cave unique is its rare cave formations. The cave contains many formations that are not found in other caves. Some of these formations include:

Chandelliers: These are delicate formations that hang from the ceiling of the cave. They are formed when water drips from the ceiling and deposits minerals on the ground.
Gypsum flowers: These are white, flower-shaped formations that are found on the walls of the cave. They are formed when water dissolves gypsum and then redeposits it in the form of crystals.
Cave pearls: These are round formations that are formed when water drips on sand or other small particles. The water coats the particles with minerals, which eventually build up into pearls.
Gypsum snowdrifts: These formations look like piles of snow made of gypsum. They are often found in the lower passages of the cave.