Carlsbad, NM (USA)

When you go to Carlsbad Caverns, you get to take an elevator down 750 feet underground. It was 56 degrees (F) nearly all the time. Long ago, the first people that traveled inside the caverns were Indians. The first person to get credit for discovering the cave was Jim White. We learned about stalagmites and stalagtites. The difference between them is that stalagtites grow from the ceiling and stalagmites grow from the ground. When they meet, it is called a column. One day, Jim White saw the cave and thought he saw smoke coming out - but it was really bats flying out of the caverns. One of the rooms we visited was called the Papooseroom. Lots of stalagtites called soda-straws are growing there. Another room, the Queens Chamber, is cool because the Ranger did a "blackout." It was so dark you cannot see your hand at all! With the lights on, you can see lots of amazing things there called the Queen's Draperies, the Queen's Ice Cream Cone and the Queen's Orchestra. In the Bashful Elephant Room, there were small elephant formations. The Green Lake room has a pond called the Green Lake Dip Pond - it is eight feet deep. If you think this all sounds cool, you should go to the Carlsbad Caverns!!!