EXPLORE THE USA’S CARLSBAD CAVERNS WORLD HERITAGE SITE with this slideshow, check the location map and get all the facts and information below.
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Location and Values: Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the southern US State of New Mexico protects more than 100 outstanding limestone caves that are notable world-wide because of their size, mode of origin, and the abundance, diversity and beauty of the speleothems (decorative rock formations) they contain.
Conservation Status and Prospects. According to IUCN’s recent Conservation Outlook Assessment the conservation status of the Carlsbad Caverns site is ‘good with some concerns’. The IUCN report notes that ‘the cave resources which form the basis of its Outstanding Universal Value are well protected yet additional staff could be used to monitor people passing through the cave, in particular, as park visitation is increasing. However, the site will be able to maintain current biodiversity only with heightened diligence, funding and direction, particularly to address the threat of invasive species. There are no current threats to the geological values of the site for which it was inscribed. But increased oil and gas development can increase contamination of water resources and pollution (gas) could threaten all cave resources.’
Links:
Google Earth
Official UNESCO Site Details
IUCN Conservation Outlook
UNEP-WCMC Site Description
Slideshow description
The photos in this slideshow are intended to ‘tell the story’ of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, showing the diversity and scale of the underground caverns and cave formations, as well as some of the features of the desert environment in which the caves are located.
This page of the website is still under development and a more detailed description of the various aspects of the site will be included in due course – so please come back again soon!
Factfile
Website Category: Caves & Karst
Area: 189 km2
Inscribed: 1995
Criteria:
- Outstanding natural beauty (vii);
- Geological features (viii);
