User talk:Nightbomb

Mammoth Caves. In 1797, a European entered the caves, and legend has it that he gave it the name Mammoth Caves. While hunting, John Hounchins wounded a bear and chased to the huge cave’s large entrance. When he found the cave, he entered it, and gave it the name Mammoth caves because it was so huge. In fact, it was later discovered that Mammoth Caves were the largest collection of caves in the world! Mammoth caves are located in Kentucky. The closest city to it is Cave City, Kentucky. The area is exactly 52,835 acres, or 214 km2. It was established as a National Park on July 1, 1941, and its total visitation (as of 2004) is 1,888,126. Mammoth cave is developed in thick Mississippian-aged limestone strata topped by a layer of limestone making it a huge limestone wall. 367 miles of passageways is known so far and there could be many more out there. In the caves, the upper layer is made up of big and crafty sandstone, thin and sparse covered with a limestone wall. This gives it the appearance of a limestone labyrinth from a top view. Also, springs sometimes form in high levels, and the runoff of other water appears on the sides of the springs. The resurgent water from these springs then flows shortly on the surface before sinking underground again at elevation of the contact between the sandstone caprock and the underground massive limestones. The upper caprock in Mammoth caves is very hard, and therefore hard to penetrate and erode. That is why most of the other parts of the caves are more eroded and deeper, while these parts aren’t soft. Stalactites are other formations in the cave made of mineralized water solutions. They are cone shaped formations on the top of the cave, and they keep growing down to the ground. Also, they have water at their tips that water that drips to the ground and forms stalactites. The stalactites also keep growing, and are also made of mineralized water solutions. They eventually, along with the growth of the stalagmites, keep growing and meet the stalagmites forming a dripstone column. Dripstone columns, stalactites, and stalagmites are the three main formations in caves. Now, mammoth cave is home to many animals, but a lot of them are endangered, over 70! Here are some animals.

1.	Cave Salamander 2.	Raccoon 3.	Red Spotted Newt 4.	Tiger Salamander 5.	Black Crappie 6.	Eyeless fish Cave 7.	Beaver 8.	Big brown bat 9.	Bobcat 10.	Coyote 11.	Deer mouse 12.	Eastern fox squirrel 13.	Eastern Chipmunk 14.	Eastern Woodrat 15.	Eastern Pipstrel Bat 16.	Eastern Gray Squirrel 17.	Eastern Mole 18.	Eastern Cottontail 19.	Big Eared Bat 20.	Eastern Harvest Mouse 21.	Evening Bat

History The Kentucky Cave Wars The Kentucky Cave Wars was a period of bitter competition between the owners of the caves. The poor soil of the cave influenced the owners to improve the caves for commercial rights. In 1906, a path for steamboats was opened up. They built a lock and a dam to control the water and allow boats through. The dam would also help further exploration of the caves. In 1908, a young German man named Max Kaemper and his African American helper, Ed Bishop, decided to explore the caves further. After coming from New York, Max Kaemper had not been to many wildlife areas. But, he explored many miles of the caves and gave historians much more information. Then in 1916, Kaemper was killed during World War I at the Battle of Somme. According to modern historians, a famed French explorer named Edouard-Alfred Martel visited the cave for three days in October 1912. He conducted many experiments that later helped Historians understand Mammoth Caves. In the early 1920s, George Morrison blasted a series of holes in Mammoth caves that connected to each other. This provided many entrances for tourists that wanted to visit. But, it turned out that he did not have permission from the owner, and there was a lawsuit. Then, on July 1, 1941, Mammoth Caves became an official National Park.