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Carlsbad, New Mexico

I wander deeper and deeper into the cave. All told, when I reach the deepest section of the cave system I will have descended more than 750 feet. Wow!

Here are some close-ups of the formations. You know, it's really hard to take worthwhile pictures down here in the dark. I can't use a flash because the colors will wash out, so I must resort to using slow shutter speeds to capture the low light. Without the use of a tripod, I'm forced to hold my camera by hand, and than means I have to be "real" still during the exposure. One small move and I'll get a blurry, worthless image.

Aside from earth tones, this is the first color I've seen, green. I wonder, is the color caused by small plants, like algae? There's enough artificial light here to support it.

Joints and solutioning. Joints are naturally formed vertical cracks found within solid rock. They allow water to seep in from the surface and pool into cavities which slowly grow into caverns. This chemical process of cavity creation by dissolving rock in solution is called solutioning.

Onward I shuffle down the footpath, all the while with mouth agape and curiosity piqued. Case in point. Right next to the footpath I encounter these two towering stalagmites. One is colored a boring light brown, however, the other has an interesting purple hue to it.