Lechuguilla Cave

Lechuguilla Cave
IUCN category II (national park)
The Chandelier Ballroom in Lechuguilla Cave
Location	Eddy County, New Mexico, U.S.
Nearest city	Carlsbad
Length	138.3 mi (222.6 km)
Governing body	National Park Service

Lechuguilla Cave is, as of June 2013, with 138.3 miles (222.6 km) the seventh-longest explored cave in the world and the second deepest (1,604 feet or 489 meters) in the continental United States after the Tears of the Turtle Cave in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana but it is most famous for its unusual geology, rare formations, and pristine condition.

The cave is named for Agave lechuguilla, a species of plant found near its entrance. Lechuguilla is in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Access to the cave is limited to approved scientific researchers, survey and exploration teams, and National Park Service management-related trips.

Lechuguilla Cave was known until 1986 as a small, insignificant historic site in the park's back country. Small amounts of bat guano were mined from the entrance passages for a year under a mining claim filed in 1914. The historic cave contained a 90-foot (27 m) entrance pit known as Misery Hole, which led to 400 feet (122 m) of dry dead-end passages.

The cave was visited infrequently after mining activities ceased. However, in the 1950s, cavers heard wind roaring up from the rubble-choked cave floor. Although there was no obvious route, people concluded that cave passages lay below the rubble. Led by Dave Allured, a group of cavers from the Colorado Grotto gained permission from the National Park Service and began digging in 1984. Since the breakthrough into large walking passages occurred on May 26, 1986, explorers have mapped over 138 miles (222 km) of passages, making Lechuguilla the 7th longest cave in the world, and 4th longest in the United States. Lechugilla was also the deepest cave in the continental United States 1,604 feet (489 m) until the exploration of Tears of the Turtle Cave in 2014. Drawn by the cave's pristine condition and rare beauty, cavers come from around the world to explore and map its passages and geology.