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Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty along with Barbara Klein. This week on our program, we explore a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the American Southwest, near the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Carlsbad Caverns National Park contains more than one hundred caves below the surface of the desert. Most are closed to the public. But anyone can visit the main attraction, one of the largest caves in the world. (MUSIC) BOB DOUGHTY: Huge. Incredible. Inspiring. Words like these come to mind as visitors enter a world of silence, darkness and cold, almost two hundred thirty meters under the ground. An elevator lowers you into the world of Carlsbad Cavern, the big cave at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.Silent, except for the voices of guides and visitors. And not completely dark. The National Park Service has enough lighting to see many of the beautiful formations all around. The temperature is about thirteen degrees Celsius. A cavern is a large cave. But Carlsbad Cavern is really a long series of chambers. One of these is called the Big Room. The Big Room is more than three hectares big. The ceiling is 77 meters high. The Big Room is the single largest underground chamber ever found in North America. BARBARA KLEIN: The Big Room and other parts of the cavern contain huge, sharp formations of minerals. People are free to explore the lit formations in the Big Room. But park rangers must guide visitors to other areas of the cave. | 
