Wind Cave National Park is in the southwestern corner of South Dakota covering an area of 33,971 acre, established in 1903.
Wind Cave, in the Black Hills, is two parks in one. Above the surface span grass prairies and pine forests, with herds of bison and elk, coteries of prairie dogs and flocks of wild turkeys. Below runs a jumble of 130 miles of tunnels, the sixth longest on Earth. Nearing the caves, one can’t help noting a loud whistling sound emerging from inside, created by changing interior pressure, which causes 70 m.p.h. winds to rush in and out of the entrance.
Many of the chambers are laced with distinctive minerals, such as the honeycombed calcite formations called boxwork. The cave’s unique features inspired Theodore Roosevelt to make this the world’s first park to protect underground space.
Location : South Dakota, United States
ESTABLISHED 1903
33,971 ACRES
ANNUAL VISITORS: 615,000
