Showing posts with label folklore / mythology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label folklore / mythology. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Bears Ears National Monument: Losing the Valley of the Gods?

In the Valley of the Gods...
Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016. 

Earlier this week, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke released his initial recommendations on the fate of Bears Ears National Monument.  He also has extended the comment public comment period for Bears Ears to July 10, 2017, the same as the rest of the monuments currently under review.

Unfortunately, the news is that the Valley of the Gods may end up being dropped from the monument, which is a shame. It is an amazing place. Perhaps this is one of the areas Secretary Zinke was suggesting could become a National Recreation Area?

This area is sometimes described as a miniature Monument Valley, and I can see that. I actually visited this valley right after exploring the actual Monument Valley, which is about 20 miles to the south, as the crow flies, and 40 miles away on the highways.

Really, to me, these are very different places. The Valley of the Gods feels more cozy, more intimate. The formations may be smaller, but they are no less spectacular.

The valley is accessed by a 17 mile dirt road, which forms a nice loop with U.S. 163 and Utah 162. When I drove it in the Spring of 2016, it was in better shape than much of the Monument Valley road, but like all of these desert roads, one quick rain burst and they can become impassable to non-four-wheel drive (and even to many four-wheel drive) vehicles very quickly.

Utah.com notes, "Because of its isolated nature, people exploring Valley of the Gods need to be self-sufficient and carry emergency supplies. There are no facilities, no gas stations, stores or services. You may or may not see other travelers along the road."

Also, unlike in Monument Valley, hiking is permitted, though I understand this is mostly cross-country scrambling.  There are no developed trails from what I've seen so far.  Dispersed camping (recommended!) is available along the road (no fires allowed).

Information Kiosk: West Entrance
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016. 
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Near the west end of the access road, there is a bed and breakfast (seen in the distance in the photo above).  The ranch house was first built by the grandson of John D. Lee, who operated Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River near the current location of the Glen Canyon Dam.  Clarence Lee, his wife Mary, and his brother Buck moved to the area in 1933, first living in a "roofless shack against [a] bluff" (BLM Interpretive Sign) in the Valley of the Gods before building the ranch house that is now a part of today's bed and breakfast.
The first part was built by the Lees with their own hands, using natural stone and timbers from abandoned oil drilling sites.  The walls are over 24 inches thick.  Later additions to the house were constructed by Navajo stone masons. (BLM)

Bed and Breakfast, Valley of the Gods West Entrance
Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Water, of course, is not easy to come by here, and has been an issue for all of the property's owners over the years.  Today, the current owners "truck water in from Mexican Hat, and generate their own electricity from wind mills and solar panels." (BLM)  They also use propane for cooking and heat.

However, the water issue for the Lees was a little more complicated:
"We'd go up to the side of the cliff to a little spring. We'd take a sandwich and work all day with picks and shovels trying to get water to flow down more, to get enough water to survive,"said Mary (BLM)

Lady In a Tub at Sunset
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

The formations in the valley are caused by the erosion of 1200 foot high Cedar Mesa and, fittingly, are comprised of Cedar Mesa Sandstone.  This stone was formed during the Permian Age, some 250 million years ago.  Of course the rock was once sand,  "deposited in huge sand dunes near the shore of an ancient sea."

The Sun Has Set Here: Balanced Rock  / Lady in a Tub in Profile
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition website says, "The Valley of the Gods is considered sacred to the Navajo..."  Robert S. McPherson speaks of what the valley's formations mean to them in his book Sacred Land Sacred View:
Rock formations are places of power in which spirits reside, and the formations in Valley of the Gods are some of the most distinctive.  These imposing monoliths are Navajo warriors frozen in stone, who can be appealed to for protection.  They are guardians whose power and strength aid young servicemen going to war.
Not far from Valley of the Gods lies a series of rock formations important in Navajo beliefs.  Lime Ridge, to the north, has a trapezoidal block of sandstone that looks like a hogan (traditional Navajo dwelling).  In it are trapped children who were disobedient to the Sun Bearer and are so being punished.  The story tells of how the God warned them not to steal animals and to be respectful of people's property but they repeatedly failed to do his bidding.  The Sun Bearer placed them in the hogan for four days, trying to bring them to repentance; but when this failed, the hogan turned to solid rock.  When a person is near this site, they can hear them crying.  (BLM)

Lady in a Tub / Balanced Rock
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

According to the BLM brochure distributed at the access road entrance kiosks, the valley and the nearby Moki Dugway are popular for their "classic 'western' look.  "Filming projects include still shots and moving film for commercial ads, major motion pictures, promotions for recreational events such as the Marlboro Adventure Team and hot air balloon rides and even background shots for a PlayStation game," the brochure states.

The two productions that seem to get the most attention are the 1980s television series Airwolf and a couple episodes of Doctor Who.  The secret base of the futuristic helicopter in Airwolf was supposedly located in and shot in the valley, as seen in the opening credits. Yet, there does seem to be in some dispute on whether this was actually shot here or in Monument Valley.

In the next few days, I plan on checking out the first couple episodes of Airwolf and the Doctor Who episodes. Brutal work, but I feel up to the challenge! I'll share what I discover in a future post.

Pyramid in the Valley of the Gods
Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 
Like Monument Valley, this valley has been the location for a number of films and television shows.

At first it seems rather amazing to me that Secretary Zinke appears to suggest that the Valley of the Gods is removed from the Bears Ears National Monument.  This is a spectacular place, one of the best within the current monument boundaries and it seems like it would fit well with the criteria of the Antiquities Act, as the Secretary himself interprets it.

Grazing Bull Calf in the Valley
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

I suspect this decision is fueled by grazing and land use issues.  Some parts of the valley are private property, but the majority of the formations are on BLM land, and some are even within the Road Canyon Wilderness Study Area, generally from the road north, through the heart of the valley.

There could be several issues involved with the choice to consider cutting the valley from the monument, and while I suspect grazing is the main reason, it makes me nervous that there was enough wood from oil operations in the area at one point for the Lees to build a house.

Perhaps the mixed use properties of a National Recreation Area would fit this section of the monument better, but only if they are looking at just continuing the current land use here.  This is one of the places within the monument that could easily be destroyed by oil or gas operations.
Spire and Mountains
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Instagram: Tonight's campsite... Valley of the Gods
Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFVIiefnCjZ
www.aflitt.com/bearsearsnml

East from Camp
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Road Through Rudolph and Santa Claus and Castle Butte
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Valley of the Gods - Road and Butte
Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Castle Butte Profile
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Bull Calf Near Castle Butte
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Charles de Gaulle and His Troops
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Battleship Rock, Franklin Butte, Rooster Butte, and Setting Hen
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 
www.aflitt.com/bearsearsnm 

Wash and Buttes
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Seven Sailors
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016.
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved 

Information Kiosk: East Entrance
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 13, 2016. 
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Information Kiosk: West Entrance
Valley of the Gods. Bears Ears National Monument. Utah. May 12, 2016. 
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Mexican Hat
This formation is near, but not in, the Valley of the Gods and Bears Ears National Monument.
U. S. 163. Mexican Hat, Utah. May 13, 2016. 
Copyright © 2017 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved
www.aflitt.com/bearsearsnm 
BLM: Bears Ears National Monument Map (as of June 2017) - PDF

Links


 Rubble:
Bears Ears National Monument: A Quick Tour of a Monument at Risk
http://rubble.blogspot.com/2017/06/bears-ears-nm-quick-tour.html

Bears Ears National Monument: Video and Links Collection
BLM: 
Wikipedia: 




Department of the Interior:

Department of the Interior Press release on Bears Ears Monument Review (June 13, 2017)
Presidential Proclamation -- Establishment of the Bears Ears National Monument:


Public Lands Initiative:

Website:

FAQ


Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition:

Website



Friends of Cedar Mesa:




Utah residents to Ryan Zinke: Hands off Bears Ears! (New analysis of submitted comments finds overwhelming in-state support for national monuments)



Salt Lake Tribune: 

Sources: Zinke to urge diminishing size of Bears Ears National Monument (June 12, 2017)
Navajo elder says Utah leaders ‘never supported’ preserving sacred American Indian sites (June 9, 2017)
http://www.sltrib.com/news/5385484-155/navajo-elder-says-utah-leaders-never

Op-ed: State politicians may not support our newest monument but real Utahns do (June 9, 2017)

Theodore Roosevelt IV: Bear Ears: A story of what passes and what endures (June 5, 2017)
Jewell defends Bears Ears monument process (April 26, 2017)


Deseret News: 

BLM, Forest Service plotting next steps for Bears Ears


 San Juan Record:

Secretary Zinke recommends reduced size of Bears Ears National Monument (June 13, 2017)

Sec. Zinke to make Bears Ears recommendation (June 6, 2017)

Bears Ears National Monument designation disastrous for Utah grassroots Navajos (April 12, 2016)
http://sjrnews.com/view/full_story/27152945/article-Bears-Ears-National-Monument-designation-disastrous-for-Utah-grassroots-Navajos


NPR:

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Reviews Bears Ears National Monument (June 9, 2017)
http://www.npr.org/2017/06/09/532289014/interior-secretary-ryan-zinke-reviews-bears-ears-national-monument

With National Monuments Under Review, Bears Ears Is Focus Of Fierce Debate (May 5, 2017)
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/05/526860725/with-national-monuments-under-review-bears-ears-is-focus-of-fierce-debate
Utah’s Bears Ears monument is a rock star for night skies – and mineral resources


The Wilderness Society:

Photo gallery: Utah's Bears Ears region is a natural & cultural treasure

Unprecedented outpouring of support for Bears Ears shown during official comment period


National Monuments in Danger:

CLICK HERE for posts about the monuments being "reviewed" by the Trump Administration



To comment on the monument review process (due July 10, 2017):

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has extended the comment public comment period for Bears Ears to July 10, 2017, the same as the rest of the monuments currently under review.

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Thursday, July 21, 2016

Natural Bridges National Monument: Sipapu Bridge

Sipapu Bridge
Natural Bridges National Monument.  Utah.  May 13, 2016
http://www.aflitt.com/naturalbridgesnm
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Photo of the Day by A. F. Litt: Day of Several Photos - July 21, 2016


Let's get this out of the way quickly...  Arches are dry; natural bridges are over water.  That's the main difference.  Because of this, the erosional processes that lead to their creation are a little different.  Generally, natural bridges form where creeks and rivers erode through the walls of incised meanders (think of the Goosenecks in the San Juan River...  in fact, bridges may eventually form there!), while arches are usual formed by erosion from wind, rain, and freeze/thaw cycles.  This is why bridges are usually in canyons and arches are usually up high on cliffs and fins.  Of course, this is the most basic geologic explanation possible, there are whole books on this stuff, but it should suffice.

Under Sipapu Bridge (Panorama)
Natural Bridges National Monument.  Utah.  May 13, 2016  
http://www.aflitt.com/naturalbridgesnm 
Copyright © 2016 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved
At Natural Bridges National Monument, you must hike the canyons!  Period.  No excuses.  The views are fine from the scenic Bridge View Drive, and worth checking out, but to really understand the scale of these things one must climb down to them, stand under them, sit in their shade on a hot day...  Of course, if you only have time for the drive, it's still worth a visit, but know that it is just not the same.

Unfortunately, I broke a huge rule of hiking when I climbed down into the canyons at Sipapu.  I accidently left my map behind and wandered down the wrong canyon at Kachina Bridge.  The trails in the canyons are vague at times, and a vague trail led down White Canyon when the actual trail climbed up into Armstrong Canyon where Owachomo Bridge is located.  I was lucky that the vague trail turned into no trail pretty quickly and the rough terrain around the creek grew so difficult (not impassable, by any means, but tough enough to suggest to me that I was off trail) that I finally figured it out and turned around.

The detour, though, burned too much time and energy, so I climbed out of the canyon at Kachina and took the overland trail back to the Sipapu Trailhead.  I shall return, sooner than later, I hope, to finish the hike.

Oh, and a "pro tip."  Park where you want to end your hike and then take the overland trail to the trailhead where you want to descend.  The trail is nice enough, pretty enough, but, well, its boring compared to the canyon, and it sucks hiking it when you are hot and tired and done.  I suspect the rangers tell people to do this at the Visitor Center, but I failed to talk to them about this hike before I dove in...  Another oops.

As for the bridge...  This is the biggest in the park, the second biggest natural bridge in the U.S. (after Rainbow Bridge), and the fifth largest arch in the U.S.  It was originally reported (1908) to have a span of 268 feet and a height of 167 feet, which would have made it the seventh largest natural arch in the world, but revised measurements (2007) put the span at approximately 225 feet and a height of approximately 144 feet.  Rankings of size are disputed, but The Natural Arch and Bridge Society currently ranks Sipapu as the 13th largest arch in the world (based on span), and, by my count off of their list, the seventh largest natural bridge in the world.  

Wikipedia points out, "Since the closure of the trail leading under Landscape Arch due to safety concerns, and the voluntary prohibition placed on passing under Rainbow Bridge in deference to (often debated) Navajo and Hopi spiritual beliefs, Sipapu is now the longest natural arch in the world to have an active trail beneath it that visitors may pass under, affording spectacular views of the underside of the arch."  This is not entirely correct based on updated measurements of several arches and bridges in China, but you would have to travel to China or Chad to walk under a larger one.

The name Sipapu comes from the Hopi word for the opening between worlds that the people emerged from in many Indian creation myths.  It was first named President in 1883 and Augusta in 1904.  The Sipapu name "was given by William Douglas, who led a government survey party to the bridges in 1908, mapping the exact boundaries of the new national monument." (NPS)


NPS - Natural Bridges National Monument
https://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm

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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Wind Cave National Park


Boxwork
Wind Cave National Park. South Dakota. August 7, 2014.
Copyright © 2014 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved
Photo of the Day by A. F. Litt:  November 13, 2014

 On a snowy and icy day here in Oregon…

I find myself wishing I’d taken more than a single, blurry photo above ground in Wind Cave National Park.  It was a beautiful evening when we were there and, above ground, the park is almost as nice as it is below, with a wild buffalo herd (one of only four “free roaming and genetically pure” herds remaining on public lands in the United States), prairie dog towns, and an old highway reminiscent of the HCRH. 

But it was late in a long day that was far from done and we’d seen buffalo in Yellowstone, prairie dogs at Devils Tower, and rolling grasslands, well, everywhere…  But it was our first cave of the trip, so my focus was somewhat subterranean here.

The park service really embraces the idea that this is two parks in one, one above ground, one below, and the nation’s seventh national park, founded in 1903 and the first to focus on a cave, “includes the largest remaining mixed-grass prairie in the United States.” (Wikipedia)  It really is a wonderful place. 

Earlier in the day, we’d been to Mt. Rushmore, wandered the museum at Crazy Horse, and then tried to tack on a trip to Jewel Cave National Monument, but by the time we arrived, the tours were done for the day.  So we hauled ourselves rather quickly over to Wind Cave and managed to catch one of the last tours of the day.  When we arrived, the light was just settling into the golden hour, it really was a great time for photos, but at the time I think these sorts of shots just felt a little redundant to me by this point in the trip. 

Besides, as my oldest son often points out, sometimes its ok, even better, just to have the memories, and I know that sometimes I enjoy the sights a little bit better if I am not worried about taking pictures, so in this way, the lack of pictures is well worth the wonderful memories of the evening’s drive through the park.

Beaver_Creek_Bridge_in_Wind_Cave_National_Park

Beaver Creek Bridge in Wind Cave National Park
Unknown - Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division HAER: SD-53-6
Underground, the 140 mile cave is currently the sixth longest known cave in the world, and is primarily known for the boxwork formations seen in today’s photo.  The cave contains “approximately 95 percent of the world’s discovered boxwork formations.” (Wikipedia)  It is also recognized “as the densest (most passage volume per cubic mile) cave system in the world.”  (Wikipedia) 

Some people suspect that Jewel Cave, currently the third longest known cave in the world at 166 miles, is connected to Wind, that they are actually the same cave, and since I first visited these caves as a kid, I’d always hoped that this was the case.  It is a possibility.  Both caves have yet to be fully mapped, but after this visit, I have my doubts.  They just feel very different, but then again, on our short, guided tours, we only saw very small portions of the systems, far less than 1% of the passageways in either, so that is pretty bad science even for a gut feeling!

Until a couple decades ago, Jewel was considered the second longest cave in the world, well behind the 405 miles discovered in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, and Wind was the fourth longest, but the discovery of the interconnectedness of the cenotes in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula has placed the Sac Actun / Dos Ojos system at second place with 198 miles of passages and the Ox Bel Ha system at fourth with 159 miles of passages.  These are flooded cave systems, however, leaving the old rankings of Jewel and Wind standing if only looking at dry cave systems.


Natural Entrance
Wind Cave National Park. South Dakota. August 7, 2014.
Copyright © 2014 A. F. Litt, All Rights Reserved

Wind Cave is another very sacred site that we visited on this trip, the site of the Lakota Emergence Myth, and one of the coolest things about the visit was that our guide was a Lakota who shared the version of the tale that she grew up hearing with us.  It was quite something to hear this myth told well, deep in the cave.

In this version of the myth, Inktomi tricks some of the people to come up to the surface, which is still unshaped and devoid of life.  When the people realize that they were tricked, they appeal to the Great Spirit for justice.  However, instead of bestowing mercy upon the deceived, the Spirit is angry with them for having defied his command to wait in the subterranean world until he led them to into the world above.  Because of this, he punishes them by turning them into the buffalo that the people, who when they emerge at the proper time, will be tied to and rely upon for their sustenance and survival.

As our guide pointed out, this version differs slightly from other versions of this myth, including the version I linked to below, but that this should not be seen as there being right versions and wrong versions of the story, but rather a collective of thought where all versions work together to explore and enhance different aspects and themes of the collective myth.

The tiny natural entrance to the cave was considered to be the emergence tunnel.  Because of the size of the cave and the tiny entrance, pressure differentials in the air above and below ground causes the hole to breathe, to blow and suck, depending on the weather, hence the name.

It was first found by westerners in 1881 because of the wind blowing from the entrance.  According to our guide, when the brothers who found the cave they brought some other folks out to see the site, one of them threw their hat into the hole, expecting it to be blown up into the air.  However, the weather had changed since their first visit, so instead of blowing, the cave was now inhaling, and it sucked the hat down into the cave, never to be seen again.

My boys were fascinated by this story, and I am pretty sure that they were hoping to find the hat on our tour, but the nearby elevator deposited us far below the natural entrance, far from any possible hiding spot of this long undiscovered historical artifact.

The boys were also fascinated with our guide’s stories about the caves first, full time guide, Alvin McDonald, a teenager who practically lived in the cave and mapped most of the 8 – 10 miles of passages that were known until the 1960s.

On many of his tours, Alvin would notice a new passage and leave his guests with a couple candles and scurry off to explore the new corridor.  On one of these tours, after exploring a new find, he forgot about his tour and just went home.  The next morning, at breakfast, someone asked him how the previous day’s tour went, and he leaped up and ran back to the cave… remembering that he’d left the folks abandoned down in the dark overnight!

Because of the vagueness of time in a dark, sensory deprived environment, the folks on the tour did not realize that they had spent the entire night in the cave, and thought that Alvin had only been away from them for a short period of time, a few hours at most.

Our guide told us another story about a girl who’d wandered off from her tour, again back in the candlelight days. She’d been lost in the cave for something like three days, but when they found her, she asked if she was going to be late for dinner, thinking only a couple hours passed while lost in the dark.

Of course, since then, my oldest boy has been wanting to experiment with this whenever we’re in a cave.  However, I have no desire to waste time sitting in the dark for a long period of time when there is a cave to explore!  Plus, I do not think, having watches to check and lights to check them with, that we could really duplicate such an experience.

On www.aflitt.com: http://www.aflitt.com/windcave/e8278e3d

On 500px: https://500px.com/photo/89667651/wind-cave-boxwork-by-a-f-litt
Lakota Sioux Creation Myth - Wind Cave Story:
"About 20 miles to the west of the Pine Ridge Reservation is the Black Hills (Paha Sapa), a sacred, spiritual and hallowed spot to the Lakota Sioux. After the treaty was signed in 1868, the Sioux were promised the Black Hills forever. But after gold was discovered the promise was broken by the US Government. Now, to many Indians, the Black Hills are tarnished with the heads of five dead presidents and has become a veritable “Coney Island.” “We Indians saw it as a beautiful place where we can go and pray and to receive something, perhaps, that is better than the gold that is in there. A lot of our creation stories and a lot of our Indian medicine came from the Black Hills. -Dog Eagle”"

THE SACRED SIGNIFICANCE OF WIND CAVE AND ITS ENVIRONS: http://www.nps.gov/wica/historyculture/upload/-11D-14-Chapter-Fourteen-Wind-Cave-Pp-530-577-2.pdf

Speleothems - Boxwork - Wind Cave National Park (U.S. National Park Service): "The origin of boxwork remains one of the biggest mysteries of Wind Cave."

Wind Cave National Park (U.S. National Park Service): "Swaying prairie grasses, forested hillsides, and an array of wildlife such as bison, elk, and prairie dogs welcome visitors to one of our country’s oldest national parks and one of its few remaining intact prairies. Secreted beneath is one of the world’s longest caves, Wind Cave. Named for barometric winds at its entrance, this complex labyrinth of passages contains a unique formation – boxwork."

Wind Cave National Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Caves are said to "breathe," that is, air continually moves into or out of a cave, equalizing the atmospheric pressure of the cave and the outside air. When the air pressure is higher outside the cave than in it, air flows into the cave, raising cave's pressure to match the outside pressure. When the air pressure inside the cave is higher than outside it, air flows out of it, lowering the air pressure within the cave.[5] A large cave (such as Wind Cave) with only a few small openings will "breathe" more obviously than a small cave with many large openings. Rapid weather changes, accompanied by rapid barometric changes, are a feature of Western South Dakota weather. If a fast-moving storm was approaching on the day the Bingham brothers found the cave, the atmospheric pressure would have been dropping fast, causing the cave's higher-pressure air to rush out all available openings, creating the "wind" for which Wind Cave was named."

Alvin McDonald - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Alvin Frank McDonald (1873 – December 15, 1893) was an early American caver and tour guide at what became Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, the fourth longest cave system in the world, from 1889 to 1893.[1] From the age of 16 until he was 20, he discovered and mapped the first 8 to 10 miles (13 to 16 km) of the cave using candlelight. His exploration and mapping was so extensive and thorough for the time that it was not until 1963, 70 years after Alvin McDonald's death, that major new passageways were discovered in Wind Cave."

Alvin McDonald's Diary (Text) 1891 - Wind Cave National Park (U.S. National Park Service): "Here follows the diary of Alvin McDonald. Apart from correcting the spelling and formatting the text, everything remains as the author wrote it. Use the links below to jump within the diary."

List of longest caves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The highest concentration of long caves in the world are found in the Pennyrile of Southern Kentucky, USA, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA, and in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico."

Drivers urged to use caution in Wind Cave: " In the wake of three bison being struck by vehicles in the last week, Wind Cave National Park officials Wednesday urged drivers to use caution while on the preserve’s roadways. In a news release, Wind Cave Superintendent Vidal Davila said recent snowfalls have caused some of the park’s 400 bison to gather on or near the roadways, particularly on Highway 385 near the park’s south entrance."

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