The “Bottomless Pit” in Carlsbad Caverns National Park does indeed have a bottom, and a group of cavers recently made the perilous descent on a strange but important mission.
“At a depth of about 43 meters, it could be a treacherous climb to the bottom,” the New Mexico park wrote on Facebook on May 2.
“Occasionally, speleologists have to descend into the pit to pick up rubbish and other objects that have been thrown into the pit. This can be a dangerous job, but anything thrown into this pit must be removed to protect the fragile cave environment.”
Three cavers took part, and the park shared a photo of the collective junk pile they found in “several Big Room Pits,” including:
-
a bullet casing
-
a wheel nut
-
a Jolly Rancher
-
a pack of BelVita cookies
-
two keys
-
three lip balm sticks
-
five plastic bottles
-
lots of pennies, dimes, nickles and quarters
“A total of $14.36 worth of coins,” the park said, “which were placed in the park’s donation box.”
Park officials also posted a photo of the seldom-seen floor of the well bathed in light, showing that it opens into a giant cavern.
The revelation of what was found has garnered hundreds of comments on social media, with some wanting to know the dates on the coins and others joking that a bottomless pit is the perfect place to lose a cell phone.
The infamous pit is located in the cave’s Big Room, which ranks as “the largest single cavern room by volume in North America” at approximately 357,480 square feet, the park service reports.
“Many people like to gaze beyond the railings and, like early explorers, wonder how deep the darkness goes,” the park service wrote in a 2018 Facebook post.
“For early explorations without strong lights, this gaping hole seemed bottomless.”
Growth resembling cotton candy sprouting from rocks in Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Overzealous tourist brought wooden pole to New Mexico cave filled with 500,000 bats
Strange Cave Formation Found in South Dakota Gets Laughed: ‘It Looks Like a Tater Tot’
