EARTHSC 1105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Astrodome, Clay Minerals, Paleogene
26 Oct 2017
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Document Summary
1400 mescalero apaches entered the guadalupe mountains area. 1536 the first spanish explorers cross into new mexico. 1883 - first known white person, 12-year old rolph sublett entered cave. 1898 carlsbad cavern discovered by james larkin white, an 16-year-old cowboy. He saw what he thought was smoke coming from a hole. When he got closer he discovered it was not smoke, but millions of bats. 1903 mined bat guano as fertilizer (mining removed more than 100 million pounds of guano) in the cave. 1923 photographs of the cavern appeared in the new york times. 1923 proclaimed a national monument by president calvin coolidge. 1978 carlsbad caverns wilderness was established by president jimmy carter. 1986 nearby lechuguilla cave discovered and shown to have an extensive system of passages. 1995 declared a world heritage site by unesco. Contains the largest underground room in the united states, the big room, which covers 14 acres (about 14 football fields).
