Wind Cave National Park Essay

Located in South Dakota on the south side of the Black Hills (“Wind Cave National Park”), Wind Cave National Park protects two worlds- one underground and one aboveground, sunlit environment. This park showcases a variety of wildlife and is home to one of the world’s longest and oldest caves. The “mission of Wind Cave National Park is to reserve and protect the natural resources” it encompasses ("A Brief History of Wind Cave National Park"). In 1903, then President Theodore Roosevelt declared Wind Cave become the 8th national park in the U.S. The newly established park was a part of the Civilian Conservation Corps that helped transform the park into what it is today. The men from the organization worked with the struggling park and modified
The Bingham brothers, Jesse and Tom, discovered it in 1881 when they heard a loud whistling sound coming from the natural opening of the cave (“Wind Cave National Park”). Currently, 143.16 miles of passages are mapped out. It is the “3rd longest cave in America and the 7th longest cave in the world” (“Cave / Karst Systems"). Strong winds go in and out of the cave due to changes in the barometric pressure inside and outside of the cave, hence how it got its name (”A Brief History of Wind Cave National Park”). Portions of the cave are close to 300 million years old making it one of the oldest caves in the U.S. Formed in the Madison Limestone formation, this grandiose cave is consistently 53 degrees and “relatively dry so it contains few stalactites and stalagmites” (“Wind Cave National Park”). However, the cave does house an abundant amount of rare calcite formations resembling irregular honeycomb known as boxwork. The boxwork projects from cave ceilings and walls and has a rusty color created in wafer-thin sheets (“Cave / Karst Systems"). In other areas, cave popcorn, flowstone, and frostwork are visible. Even though much of the cave has been discovered, exploration is