While looking into all the National Parks the United States has to offer, I found that the majority of the parks were either historic or a monument parks (historic battle grounds, national monuments, city parks that protect birds and small rivers, etc.) I wasn't interested in any of those, so I kept on researching until I finally came across one National Park that got my interest - Mammoth Cave National Park in South Central Kentucky.

             One of the most interesting facts and features about the Mammoth Cave would be the ecosystem (Mammoth Cave National, 2012). It is known to be all interconnected it is now closely monitored in order to maintain its balance as much as it can be so that people can enjoy it years from now.

             The most important feature is of course the minerals it holds as well as the many miles of cave that is under the Green River Valley (Mammoth Cave National, 2012). Out of all these reasons why the park is a site to see, it is apparent that the park was initially created to preserve the ecosystem. That includes the exotic wildlife that grows in the cave along the walls and floors. As well as distinctive plants that are not usually seen on a day to day basis, and of course the history of all the people who have mined as well as the history of human habitation in it, about four thousand years ago.

             The Mammoth Cave was formed by an ancient sea that once covered the central part of the United States (what we call Kentucky) about 325 million years ago. It was more than 600 feet of limestone and on top of that was sandstone giving us the second layer. When the sea and the river dried out, erosion began. About ten million years ago is when the cracks and holes began to come up from the surface showing the limestone underneath that allowed rainwater to work its way underground in the form of a sinking stream. That is when the cave started to form (Corps, 2010). The cave is not done forming because of the penetration of water still seeping through sinkholes and about fifty feet of lime stone.