Kartchner Caverns, southeast of Tucson near Benson, is one of Southern Arizona's top attractions.
The cave, operated by the state parks department, opened a new room, the Big Room, to the public in November 2003. The Big Room, which encompasses about 1.7 acres, is almost double the size of the upper caverns.
The limestone cave is home to a maternity colony of bats April through September that are critical to the cave's ecosystem. Tours of the Big Room will be restricted when the bats are in the cave.
The Big Room features the world's most extensive collection of the colorful brushite moonmilk cave formations and is a more intimate setting, with stalactites stalagmites, stalactites and formations within an arm's reach.
Take a virtual tour of Kartchner Caverns by launching our Flash audio-enhanced slide show, above.
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