Transcript Mammoth_Cave

Mammoth Cave
by Martin M.
When the park became a national park.
In 1926, Congress gave an approval to make Mammoth Cave a
national park. This was authorized to protect the landscape,
such as the caves, hilly country, and scenic river valleys
in south central Kentucky. The park became an attraction as
early as 1816 but the park was established officially in 1941 by
Congress.
Mammoth Cave was an important part of the beginning of our
country's tourism because it was one of our first big attractions.
As a young country, we couldn't compete with the antiquities of
Europe, but we did have the wonders of nature. Mammoth
Cave, The Grand Canyon, and Giant Sequoia were big and
beautiful!
How the park was formed?
Since North America was located closer to the equater 350
million years ago, a shallow warm-watered sea blanketed the
southeastern U.S. A build-up of tiny creature's calcium
carbonated shells went on for 70 million years. Seven hundred
feet of limestone and shale followed, and to top it off, sixty feet
of sandstone blanketed the layers under it. The sea level
started dropping about 280 million years ago, exposing the
limestone and sandstone. Tectonic forces lifting earth's crust
caused cracks to form between the limestone and sandstone.
Uplifts continued, causing rivers to form which created the
sandstone-capped plateau over millions of years above the
Green River(pictoral slide will show this) and the almost flat
plains of limestone. Rain water, made acified by the carbon
dioxide in the soil, seeped downward through the cracks in the
limestone and started to dissolve and transform the solid rock
into the pathways of Mammoth Cave as they are today. This
process continues daily, forming new underground paths.
What types of rocks can be found
inside your park?
Limestone, dolomite, sandstone, and shale are all found in the
park, but common field rocks are a beauty to some people.
Selenite, mirabilite, epsomite, and gypsum are also found in the
caves.
• Limestone was formed when shells were compacted
together over time.
• Sandstone was part of the ceiling of Mammoth Cave. It was
harder than limestone.
• Gypsum, a mineral, was first discovered in the dryer parts of
Mammoth Cave. You might know Gypsum as a mineral in
drywall.
Landforms and features
Above Ground
• The park consists of woodlands, hemlocks, wetlands, and
open barrens with prarie vegetation.
• There is a wide variety of rare species of both plants and
animals. 872 species have been confirmed so far, with 21
endangered, threatened, or of special concern.
• The Green River flows through the park area with a wide
collection of species, such as 5 species not found anywhere
else, 3 types of cavefish, and freshwater mussels found in
the sand and gravel.
Landforms and features cont.
Features
Mammoth cave can be quiet as you first walk in, but some 200
species live in the caves. Forty-two species have stumbled into
the cave and have adapted to the dark.
• There is not a very big bat population in Mammoth cave, but
there are 12 different types of bats in the cave. They eat
insects and act as a natural pesticides.
• There are 30 species of permanent cave dwellers including
the eyeless and colorless cavefish that grow to the length of
your finger.
• Animals like the raccoon and the bullfrog have tumbled into
the cave. They have adapted to the caves' dark
passageways and live a life of darkness.
cavefish ----->
How is the land in the park changing?
The caves are changing all the time! The Green river cuts
underground and is eroding away at the passageways, forming
new ones every year. This is called Terminal Breakdown. The
Historic entrance is an example of valley deepening and
widening. The entrance has collapsed due to this deepening
and widening.
Historic entrance
What environmental issues are
affecting the park?
• Sprawl, air and water contamination are environmental
issues affecting Mammoth cave.
• Water contamination from animal feeding operations (a
large amount of animals in a small area) and coal-fired
power plants' toxic waste are adding to the issues in and
around Mammoth cave.
• Mammoth cave has endangered species such as the
Mammoth Cave Shrimp, the Bald Eagle, and several
species of bats that are affected by the above eco-problems.
cave shrimp
bald eagle
a bat
How is technology being used to
preserve and maintain the park?
The technology used in Mammoth Cave is to help eliminate a
plant called lampenflora. Lampenflora grows on artifically
lit passageways disturbing the cave's eco-system by
introducing a new source of energy into the food chain.
Scientists from Mammoth cave and are working with cave
scientists from Slovenia to get rid of the lampenflora. Slovenia
has a similar problem in their caves.
Elimination methods:
• Many methods from using water and a brush to physical,
chemical, and biological control have not worked and have
actually made the problem worse.
• The simplest way to restrict lampenflora growth is time
• limited illumination of the caves with an automatic switch
whenever a tourist is absent.
How is technology being used to
preserve and maintain the park? cont.
• Light spectra of lamps must be carefully
• considered for illuminating places and spots that would be
• interesting for tourists.
Light waves
Map
Bibliography
mal Feeding Operations." National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
//cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=7.
psum." Wikipedia.
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum.
mmoth Cave Group." Sierraclub.
://kentucky.sierraclub.org/mammothcave/.
mmoth Cave (Historic Entrance)." Waymarking.
//www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3DJ_Mammoth_Cave_Historic_Entrance.
mmoth Cave National Park - Dwellers in Darkness." National park Information.
://nationalparkinformation.org/mammoth-cave-national-park-dwellers-in-darkness/.
Bibliography (continued)
"Mammoth Cave National Park." HowStuffWorks.
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/mammoth-cave-national-park-ga.htm.
"METHODS OF GROWTH CONTROL." LAMPENFLORA ALGAE.
http://www.caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/v71/cave-71-02-109.pdf.
"Rocks in Mammoth Cave." Thinkquest.
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311340/Karst%20Enviroment/Another%20sedime
ntary%20rock2.htm.