Snowy River Cave Passage is a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

passage within Fort Stanton Cave as part of Fort Stanton–Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area in

Lincoln County, New Mexico Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,269. Its county seat is Carrizozo, while its largest community is Ruidoso. History Prior to the creation of Lincoln County, the Mescal ...

, obtaining its name from a stream bed of white

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

Geology

The bed of Snowy River is covered with bright white

. Over time, ancient, slow moving ground water dissolved the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

walls of the cave and, with the help of

microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...

, recrystallized limestone into the white-colored mineral. Since prehistoric times, ground water saturated with dissolved calcite has periodically flooded the cave, followed by extended periods of dryness, leaving behind coatings and deposits. Fort Stanton Cave, now including the Snowy River Passage, contains the fourth largest cave footprint (the area within a convex polygon that encloses the known cave passages) in the USA. The

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

reports that Snowy River may be the largest continuous cave formation in America.

Hydrology

Discovered in 2001, Snowy River is a section of a much larger cave complex. Researchers and explorers have not yet determined how the formations relate to the geology and hydrology. After visits to the dry riverbed in 2001, 2003 and 2005, explorers were surprised to find Snowy River flowing with water in 2007 and also in 2010 after a heavy winter snowfall. In 2014, cave surveys reached points as far as 12 miles (19.3 km) from daylight from the cave's single entrance. In August 2014, Snowy River again started flowing and continued to flow for the next three years, severely limiting exploration far upstream past Midnight Junction where a camping area had been established. With surveyed passage reaching 31.59 miles (50.84 km) in 2017, this cave is the third longest cave in New Mexico. At 11 miles, Snowy River is the world's longest calcite formation. The non-profit group has a long history of work in the cave, and in 2017 published a new book 12 Miles From Daylight with over 300 pages and 350 photographs and maps, featuring explorations from 1855 to the present.

Biology

From crusts on the cave walls, antibiotic-producing actinobacteria and some 36 strains of manganese-using bacteria have been discovered. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology says the organisms live in this isolated environment by chemically breaking down manganese compounds,Dr. Penny Boston, New Mexico Tech
creating reconstituted mineral byproducts in the process that may have pharmaceutical uses. Scientists anticipate new biological as well as geologic discoveries will be found.

References

External links

FSCSP: Fort Stanton Cave Study Project
* ttp://www.nckri.org/research/basic_research/snowy_river.htm NCKRI: Dating the Snowy River formation {{authority control Limestone caves Caves of New Mexico Landforms of Lincoln County, New Mexico National Natural Landmarks in New Mexico

Geology

Hydrology

Biology

See also

References

External links