NEW MEXICO – The iconic Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2023, and will hold a series of activities and events throughout the year to celebrate its anniversary.
Just last March 7, the park inaugurated 20 Story Walk exhibits along the Carlsbad Lake Recreation Area, in collaboration with the city and the public library. Mayor Dale Janway and Library Director Sarah Jones joined in the celebration.
The unveiled exhibits showcase the park’s history, cave formations, plants and animals that make Carlsbad Caverns their home. The exhibits will be open throughout the park’s 100th anniversary.
“The anniversary of Carlsbad Caverns celebrates a century of discovery, conservation and protection,” said Superintendent Carmen Chapin. “It is an important time to remember the lessons of the past as we move forward into the next 100 years of stewardship and continued partnerships with the community.”
The park will celebrate its anniversary on Oct. 25, 2023, the date on which President Calvin Coolidge signed into law the creation of the park in the state of New Mexico. The park was created to protect its “…extraordinary proportions and…unusual beauty and variety of natural decoration…”.
Carlsbad Caverns is located in the northernmost part of the Chihuahuan Desert, the largest in North America. The park is home to 67 species of mammals (including 17 species of bats), 357 species of birds, 55 different reptiles and amphibians, and about 900 species and subspecies of plants.
For thousands of years, the area has been an important place for Native Americans to hunt, gather plants, and for religious and medicinal purposes. The Story Walk exhibits have been made possible through the support of the Western National Parks Association, a non-profit organization associated with the park.
Centennial events and activities will be held throughout 2023 and will be announced on the park’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
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