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Caves - Underground and Underwater!
New Mexico has a surprising number
of caves throughout the desert! In fact, one-third of New Mexico
contains cave and karst lands. From paved to primitive, self-guided
explorations to fully guided and equipped tours, or maybe crawling
through small spaces or diving down into some deep water, caving
is a great adventure in New Mexico!
- www.caves.org - The ultimate site about caves and cave
clubs in New Mexico and the rest of the country can be found
at the National Speleological Society Web site.
- Bandera Volcano & Ice
Caves - The "Land
of Fire & Ice" on the Continental Divide in Northern
New Mexico. A MUST SEE attraction! A real experience in contrast
- Bandera Volcano is the finest example of an erupted volcano
in the country. AND them follow the lava trail that leads you
into the Ice Cave, a collapsed lava tube whose temperature never
goes over 31 degrees F. Visitor's center, trading post and more.
icecaves@cia-g.com Grants, NM (888) ICE-CAVE or (505) 783-4303
- Carlsbad Caverns National
Park - One of the world's
great cave systems. Coined the 8th wonder of the world!
Looking for something different and exciting to do? The web
sites below have many links about guided and self-guided tours
in the many caves of the Carlsbad, NM area. (505) 785-2232 -
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce site
- For the more adventurous type
- check out these guided tours!!
- King Palace Guided Tours
- Slaughter Canyon Cave
- Left Hand Tunnel
- Lower Cave
- Spider Cave
- Hall of the White Giant
- El Malpais National Monument - Lava flows, lava tubes, ice caves,
sandstone bluffs, Ventana Arch and various archeological sites!
Located near Grants, NM. (505) 783-4774
- National Park.Com
- The National Park Service
- Discover Grants - Cibola County
Chamber of Commerce. Information about El Malpais and local vacation
information.
- L.L.Bean - travel web site has
location info, pictures and a brief history!
- La Cueva Cave - Legendary cave of a hermit who was
found murdered! Easy to get to. Interesting to speculate the
legend! Not too far from Dripping Springs. Call the Burea of
Land Management office for more information. Located about 10
miles east of Las Cruces, off University Avenue. Las Cruces,
NM (505) 525-4300
- Lost Cave - From bats, to film making to scientific
studies for the NASA space program, Lost Cave is a primitive
type exploration cave. Located in the Guadalupe Mountains near
Carlsbad, NM, this cave is cooperatively managed by the
Bureau of Land Management and the Pecos Valley Grotto. To learn
more and schedule an adventure, contact the Pecos Valley Grotto
at taliano@caveman.net
or (505) 877-7354.
- Sitting Bull Falls - 16 miles of hiking trails through
waterfalls, springs and a beautiful canyon. Caving opportunities
with permits. Picnic tables, grills and restrooms. Camping in
the Lincoln National Forest but not at the falls. At Brantley
Lake, north of Carlsbad, take HWY 137 about 25 miles north to
Sitting Bull Falls Road. Take that road another 6 miles. Day
use area open 8am - sunset. $5 per vehicle. Near Carlsbad, NM
(505) 885-4181
- Southwest Regional Public
Lands Caves - The Bureau
of Land Management, Roswell Field office, manages undeveloped
caves on public land in the Roswell and Ruidoso region. Some
caves are gated and require free entry permits due to outstanding
natural features and sensitive bat habitat. To find out information
about cave permits call (505) 627-0272 and ask for the
cave specialist. Caves included are:
- Fort Stanton Cave National
Natural Landmark - near
Capitan, NM
- Targac's (tar'-gotch) Cave
National Natural Landmark
- northwest of Roswell, NM
- Crockett's Cave - west of Carrizozo, NM
The above three caves, and several
others, are closed to public entry from November 1 tthrough April
15, due to bat hibernation. During caving season, visitors must
provide their own caving gear, which includes for each person:
caving helmets or construction-grade hardhats, headlamps and
two additional light sources (electric preferred), knee pads,
gloves, sturdy clothes and boots, water and camera. Visitors
can request a BLM guide at no cost. (505) 627-0272
- UNDERWATER Caves - Like Blue Hole in Santa Rosa; Lea
Lake at Bottomless Lakes State Park; Rock Lake near Santa Rosa;
Navajo Lake State Park near Farmington. For more information
about diving in these caves, contact Forrest Darst, manager of
the New Mexico Scuba Center in Albuquerque, NM (505) 271-0633,
www.nmscuba.com
- National Speleological Society
- Cave Diving Section
- Interested in mapping underwater caves? Contact the National
Speleological Society/Cave Diving Section at their Web site:
www.nsscds.org/home.html
- 1000 CAVES - The ultimate CAVE DATABASE! 1000 caves
listed! Contact information, web site links and more
.
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