CARLSBAD CAVERNS TOUR ONE About 250 million years ago, Nature began creation of one of the greatest of all her wonders — the vast subterranean marvel now known as the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico. The caverns were visited by prehistoric Indians and, toward the end of the last century, by white men whose main interest was the mining of the rich guano deposited on the floor of one section by millions of bats. One of the miners, James Larkin White, made the first sustained effort to probe the lower depths, and his explorations brought the Cavern to public attention. In 1923 and 1924, Department of the Interior explorations resulted in the area's being proclaimed a national monument by President Coolidge. In 1930 it achieved national park status. Since then, under administration of the National Park Service, its awesome beauties have been viewed by millions of visitors. Our VIEW-MASTER Guided Picture Tour will be made in two sections, of which this is the first.

VIEW-MASTER REEL ONE   CAVERN HEADQUARTERS V Without the Visitor Center building, seen here from the air above the desert vastness of southeastern New Mexico, there would be no clue whatsoever that below the dry and rocky surface lies one of the world's most awesome natural wonders—Carlsbad Caverns. Vast enough to swallow small cities, and renowned enough to draw more than half a million visitors a year, this stupendous hole in the ground forms the nucleus of the 46,000-acre Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It is situated near the Pecos River, 27 miles southwest of the city of Carlsbad, in the foothills of the Guadalupe Mountains. Nearest major city is El Paso, Texas, 155 miles to the west. (n) NATURAL ENTRANCE  Many centuries ago, collapsing limestone opened this entrance to the vast labyrinth of the caverns. Since then it has been used by numberless generations of bats as a dormitory between their nightly forays for food, and later by prehistoric Indians seeking shelter. Now it welcomes ever-growing parties of tourists who follow their National Park Service guides on three-mile tours into the depths of the earth. ETC