Mammoth Cave among top wonders

Local News

Related Photos

Submitted

Discussion

August 15, 2009

By GINA KINSLOW The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Aug 15, 2009, 12:42 PM CDT

MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK — Smithsonian Magazine has picked the top national wonders in the continental United States. Mammoth Cave National Park was ranked eighth on the list.

“It’s really cool to be recognized with all these other well-known places and to realize Mammoth Cave is thought of at that caliber,” said Vickie Carson, spokesperson for the national park.

Mammoth Cave is the longest cave in the world. Approximately 360 miles have been surveyed so far and geologists estimate that the cave system’s total length is about 1,000 miles, according to the magazine article.

The cave runs through 350-million-year-old limestone composed partly of shells deposited when Kentucky was at the bottom of a shallow sea, the article said.

Mammoth Cave features stalactites, stalagmites, gypsum crystals, blind fish, narrow passages and bottomless pits.

People from all over the world come to see the massive cave. In 2008 the national park had 584,000 visitors, Carson said.

Fourteen tours of the cave are offered during the summer months, and cave tours are available throughout the year except on Christmas Day.

The national park, which also features camping, hiking and bicycling, is open year round.

This summer the national park has been offering free Discovery and Mammoth Passage tours of the cave. The free tours will be offered again this weekend. Visitors may pick up tickets between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

“The free tours were offered as part of a National Park Service initiative which eliminated park entrance fees on three weekends this summer. Though Mammoth Cave National Park does not charge an entrance fee to the park, Superintendent Patrick Reed embraced the spirit of the Service-wide order by offering self-guided Mammoth Cave Discovery Tours and guided Mammoth Passage Tours free of charge,” Carson said. The free tours will be offered Saturday and Sunday and again on National Park Service’s Founder’s Day on Aug. 25, she said.

Taking the No. one spot in the ranking was the Grand Canyon in Arizona, followed by Yellowstone National Park in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, Niagara Falls in New York, Meteor Crater in Arizona, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Oregon, La Brea Tar Pits in California, San Andreas Fault at the Carrizo Plain in California, Mammoth Cave, The Ice Age Flood Trail in Washington, Oregon and Idaho and the Lava Beds National Monument in California.

Text Only

Local News

MORNING UPDATE: GFD responds to car fire
February 10, 2012
Two arrested on criminal trespass, public intoxication charges
February 10, 2012
Tax reform suggestions coming by Nov. 15
Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday announced the members of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform and said it will offer recommendations by Nov. 15 to make the state’s tax system more responsive to changes in the economy and fairer for taxpayers.

February 10, 2012
Released felon arrested again
It was what jail officials were afraid would happen, and in fact they anticipated.

February 10, 2012
More infected bats found in state
White-nose syndrome has been detected in another Kentucky county, but it has yet to be found at Mammoth Cave National Park.

February 10, 2012
Ambulance board OKs outsource billing
After a thorough discussion during Wednesday’s board meeting, the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Medical Services decided to outsource its billing to AMB-MARS (Medical Accounts Receivable Systems doing business as AMBulance Medical Billing), contingent on AMB-MARS adding a guarantee clause on its work.

February 9, 2012
Teen named local youth of the year
Rayne Triplett has been practicing the speech she will give at the end of the month when she travels to Frankfort to compete for the Boys and Girls Club’s 2012 State Youth of the Year title.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Howard lauded for G/T work
Glasgow Superintendent Sean Howard was presented the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education’s Michael Caudill Educator Award on Monday at the annual KAGE conference in Lexington.

February 9, 2012
Teens to be tried as adults
Barren Circuit Court released the names of two juveniles charged in an armed robbery in October, after the court decided to try the teens as youthful offenders in adult circuit court.

February 8, 2012
Payne pleads guilty to lesser charge
A Glasgow man who had been facing a felony charge of custodial interference pleaded guilty Tuesday in Barren Circuit Court to a lesser charge.

February 8, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Mammoth Cave among top wonders

Site Map