Why you should visit Southern Arizona: Kartchner Caverns

There are many reasons you should visit southern Arizona. I am beginning a series of posts highlighting the great beauty of our area.

Kartchner Caverns is limestone caverns located in Benson, Arizona just about 30 minutes (about 50 miles) southeast of Tucson. Kartchner Caverns offers it's visitors a stunning view of the "living" (still forming) limestone wet cave with many world-class features that have been protected since the cave was discovered in 1974. Inside the cave you will walk along a 1.2 mile "barrier free" trail viewing multi-hued stalactites and stalagmites. Ground water percolates through the limestone, leaching out calcium carbonate. It is then redeposited into all manner of exquisite formations.

This state park is worth a visit because it is such a unique environment. Unlike Carlsbad ... the caverns are still forming and are a breathtaking spectacle to be appreciated in person.

The history of the cave began in November of 1974 with two young cavers, Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts, who were exploring the limestone hills at the base of the Whetstone Mountains. In the bottom of a sinkhole they found a narrow crack leading into the hillside. Warm, moist air flowed out, signaling the existence of a cave. After several hours of crawling, they entered a pristine cavern.

It wasn't until February 1978 that Tenen and Tufts, told the property owners, James and Lois Kartchner, about their amazing discovery.

During the four years of secret exploration, they realized that the cave's extraordinary variety of colors and formations must be preserved.

The cave's existence became public knowledge in 1988 when its purchase was approved as an Arizona State Park. Extraordinary precautions have been taken during its development to conserve the cave's near-pristine condition.

Contact info:
Kartchner Caverns
Benson, AZ
(520) 586-CAVE (2283)

For more info visit: http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/kartchner.html

So what are you waiting for? Visit us here in southern Arizona.....who knows, you just might decide to move here!