Historical Marker
Guadalupe Mountains
Whites City, Eddy County · New Mexico
The reef the panel compares to Australia's grew around the rim of a Permian inland sea, the Delaware Basin, and stands some 750 meters thick. Its exposed sections are among the best preserved fossil reefs on Earth, and the caves cut into it let geologists study the reef from the inside: in Lechuguilla Cave five formations show, the Yates, the Seven Rivers, the Queen, the Goat Seep and the Capitan itself. That inside view is a large part of why Carlsbad Caverns National Park became a World Heritage Site in 1995.
What the plaque says
Official Scenic Historic Marker Guadalupe Mountains Guadalupe Mountains to southwest rise from Pecos River Valley, with higher southern peaks at 8,750 feet. Bold escarpment is of famous Capitan limestone, an ancient reef similar to Great Barrier Reef of Australia, and host to Carlsbad Caverns as well as deep petroleum and underground water. Elevation 3,270 feet.
Where it stands
32.07629, -104.44714 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park — 6.8 miThe way into the cave has changed four times: a guano miner's bucket, a wooden staircase, a 750-foot elevator, and now a timed ticket and a switchback trail down the natural entrance.
More markers nearby
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park — 2.6 mi
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park — 8.2 mi
- Espejo's Trail — 24 mi
- Goodnight-Loving Trail — 25 mi