2006-07-05 Great Basin National Monument 07

Lehman Cave - We did a cave tour of Lehman's Cave this morning. I was impressed that they had an airlock in place around 1940, shortly after the cave was commercialized. This is a living cave that still has water and minerals dripping thru it. When caves like this are commercialized, a larger opening is created, changing the humidity levels so much that the cave dries out and "dies", or the formations stop growing. Carlsbad Caverns is an example of a cave that was "killed" by commercial use. Lehman's Cave is a very highly decorated cave, meaning it has lots of formations. It is also a living cave, meaning it's formations are still growing. In the beginning of it's tourism life 100 years ago, the cave had damage due to visitors being allowed to take "souvenirs" with them. There is evidence of the cave formations continuing to grow on these broken areas.