Its been 2 packed days in Tucson with a bunch of friends from San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tucson.. all of us meeting at our friends in Tucson who had a packed itinerary for us.. so exciting!
First up Kartchner Caverns: Our bags didnt come in, so we decided to either cancel or change this till our mexican historian cab driver convinced us otherwise... he apparently helped us understand the entire history of the italian missionary that travelled from mexico all the way through california and denied the spanish royalty recognition and settled in mexico for his last days. They recently excavated his grave in mexico and my cab driver was very proud of this person.
He suggested that getting into Kartcher caves was really difficult and if we had a reservation we shouldnt miss it. So next day we went to airport, picked up our bags and went straight to the caverns. It was a pretty amazing experience, I have never been to caves that are so well preserved and also very easy to navigate. The light and sound show at the end was very impressive. Our tour guide, park ranger was extremely knowledgeable and really into this whole thing.
"Kartchner Caverns State Park is a state park of Arizona, USA, featuring a show cave with 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of passages.[1] The park is located 9 miles (14 km) south of the town of Benson and west of the north-flowing San Pedro River.
Here's a few things we saw: Stalagmites, Stalacite, Soda Straws, Bacon, Ossified Bat Poop, Butter Scotch, columns.. among a few names that I remember. We were in the Rotunda Room, we also saw Kubla Khan!
Stalagmites:A stalagmite (UK: /ˈstæləɡmaɪt/, US: /stəˈlæɡmaɪt/; from the Greek Σταλαγμίτης stalagmitês), "drop" or "drip") is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern.[1] The corresponding formation on the ceiling of a cave is known as a stalactite. If these formations grow together, the result is known as a column.
Soda Straw: Every stalactite begins with a single mineral-laden drop of water. When the drop falls, it deposits the thinnest ring of calcite. Each subsequent drop that forms and falls deposits another calcite ring. Eventually, these rings form a very narrow (0.5 mm), hollow tube commonly known as a "soda straw" stalactite. Soda straws can grow quite long, but are very fragile. If they become plugged by debris, water begins flowing over the outside, depositing more calcite and creating the more familiar cone-shaped stalactite.
Cave Bacon: The deposits may grade into thin sheets called "draperies" or "curtains" where they go over overhanging portions of the wall. Some draperies are translucent, and some have brown and beige layers that look much like bacon (often termed "cave bacon").
Its absolutely amazing to see mountains after this, grey stones without any trees.. now have a special significance for me...
First up Kartchner Caverns: Our bags didnt come in, so we decided to either cancel or change this till our mexican historian cab driver convinced us otherwise... he apparently helped us understand the entire history of the italian missionary that travelled from mexico all the way through california and denied the spanish royalty recognition and settled in mexico for his last days. They recently excavated his grave in mexico and my cab driver was very proud of this person.
He suggested that getting into Kartcher caves was really difficult and if we had a reservation we shouldnt miss it. So next day we went to airport, picked up our bags and went straight to the caverns. It was a pretty amazing experience, I have never been to caves that are so well preserved and also very easy to navigate. The light and sound show at the end was very impressive. Our tour guide, park ranger was extremely knowledgeable and really into this whole thing.
"Kartchner Caverns State Park is a state park of Arizona, USA, featuring a show cave with 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of passages.[1] The park is located 9 miles (14 km) south of the town of Benson and west of the north-flowing San Pedro River.
The park encompasses most of a down-dropped block of Palaeozoic rocks on the east flank of the Whetstone Mountains. The caverns are carved out of limestone and filled with spectacular speleothems which have been growing for 50,000 years or longer, and are still growing due to careful and technical cave state park development and maintenance.[2]"
Here's a few things we saw: Stalagmites, Stalacite, Soda Straws, Bacon, Ossified Bat Poop, Butter Scotch, columns.. among a few names that I remember. We were in the Rotunda Room, we also saw Kubla Khan!
Stalagmites:A stalagmite (UK: /ˈstæləɡmaɪt/, US: /stəˈlæɡmaɪt/; from the Greek Σταλαγμίτης stalagmitês), "drop" or "drip") is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern.[1] The corresponding formation on the ceiling of a cave is known as a stalactite. If these formations grow together, the result is known as a column.
Soda Straw: Every stalactite begins with a single mineral-laden drop of water. When the drop falls, it deposits the thinnest ring of calcite. Each subsequent drop that forms and falls deposits another calcite ring. Eventually, these rings form a very narrow (0.5 mm), hollow tube commonly known as a "soda straw" stalactite. Soda straws can grow quite long, but are very fragile. If they become plugged by debris, water begins flowing over the outside, depositing more calcite and creating the more familiar cone-shaped stalactite.
Cave Bacon: The deposits may grade into thin sheets called "draperies" or "curtains" where they go over overhanging portions of the wall. Some draperies are translucent, and some have brown and beige layers that look much like bacon (often termed "cave bacon").
Though flowstones are among the largest of speleothems, they can still be damaged by a single touch. The oil from human fingers causes the water to avoid the area, which then dries out. Flowstones are also good identifiers of periods of past droughts, since they need some form of water to precipitate, the lack of that water for long periods of time can leave traces in the rock record via flowstones.[1]
At right in the Throne Room, the massive column known as the Kubla Khan stands over 58 feet tall!
As you enter the cave, you pass through a series of hermetically sealed doors. Each rear door is closed before opening the forward door. The idea is to keep the dry desert air out of the humid (98%) cave. The are also misting systems within the cave. The trail is designed to keep human hands away from the more delicate formations.
The first tour stop is the Rotunda Room where you will see spectacular soda straw formations . These are hollow calcium carbonate tubes which are formed when mineralized water drips through their centers. They grow at the rate of perhaps one inch per century. Their paper-thin walls can be broken with a touch. Kartchner is home to the second longest soda straw in the world, measuring an unbelievable 21 feet, 2 inches!
Its absolutely amazing to see mountains after this, grey stones without any trees.. now have a special significance for me...
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