When you've entered Oz, you're definitely not in Kansas anymore. In fact, you're probably in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico, exploring the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The Caverns have been explored for over a century, but new areas are bing discovered, reports the MSNBC website.
Most recently, James Hunter and his team of ten cavers found a series of pathways, rooms, and pits. The previously unkown area is at the top of a high dome in Lechuguilla Cave, deepest cave in the continental United States, and the team found it last month while on an eight-day expedition. Only 100 people are permitted to explore the cave each year, due to its fragil environment. The group was diverse, hailing from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, and California. They named the area for another, fictional location. They decided to call the area Oz.
Individual structures in the area carry out the theme, as well. There's Kansas Twister, a 510-foot vertical expanse. To get a sense of scale, this would reach to the halfway point of the Sears Tower in Chicago or the Chrysler Building in New York. This is currently the largest expanse known in the Caverns. Though there's a room in the area named Munchkin Land, the dimensions of the space make the name ironic. The room is measured at 600 feet long, 100-150 feet wide, and 75-150 feet tall.
The Oz in the cave is not over the rainbow, but instead mostly in what's known as the Yates Formation, which doesn't have many stalactites or stalagmites.
Other named rooms in the Cavern include the Bat Cave, the Balloon Ballroom, King's Palace, Queen's Chamber, and Chocolate High.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
