Difference between revisions 3178139 and 3379245 on enwiki

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<font size="+1">'''Carlsbad Caverns'''</font></td></tr>
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Once the drop finally emerged in the cave, the carbon dioxide escaped into the cave air. No longer able to hold the dissolved calcite, the drop deposited its tiny mineral load as a crystal of calcite. Billions and billions of drops later, thousands of cave formations had taken shape. Where water dripped slowly from the ceiling, 
[[soda straw]]s and larger stalactites appeared. Water falling on the floor created stalagmites. Sometimes a stalactite and stalagmite joined, forming a column.

Draperies were hung where water ran down a slanted ceiling. Water flowing over the surface of a wall or floor deposited layers of calcite called flowstone. Cave pearls, lily pads and rimstone dams appeared where pools of water or streams occurred in the cave. Like oyster pearls, cave pearls were made as layer upon layer of calcite built up around a grain of sand or other tiny object. Lily pad-shapes formed on the surface of pools, while dams formed where water flowed slowly on the floor. Another type of cave formation that decorated cave walls and even other formations are popcorn-shapes, which may have formed when water evaporated and left behind calcite deposits.

Some of the more unusual formations to occur in Carlsbad Cavern are [[helictite]]s, which grow seemingly without regard to gravity, their twisting shapes governed by crystal shapes, impurities and the force of water under pressure. Other rare formations are those composed not of calcite, but of [[aragonite]], a mineral chemically identical to calcite but with a different crystal structure. These formations tend to be small, delicate and needle-like.
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== Bats ==
[[Image:Carlsbad_Natural_Entrance.jpg|thumb|225px|right|The natural entrance to Carlsbad Cavern, just beyond the bat amphitheater]]

Carlsbad Cavern is a sanctuary for about 1 million [[Mexican Freetail Bat]]s. During the day the [[bat]]s crowd together on the ceiling of Bat Cave, a passageway near the natural entrance of Carlsbad Cavern. In their darkened home they are seen only by scientific researchers. At nightfall, however, the bats leave the cave in gigantic swarms. Silhouetted against (contracted; show full)
*[http://www.nationalparks.com/carlsbad_caverns_national_park/facts.htm  Fact Sheet for Carlsbad Caverns National Park]
*[http://carlsbadcaverns.areaparks.com/parkinformation.html?content=history ''Historical Dates in the history of Carlsbad Caverns National Park and SouthEast New Mexico'']
*[http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/parks/Carlsbad-Caverns-National-Park Carlsbad Caverns National Park Pictures]